Right to Enter Neighbour’s Land for Repairs

You no longer require a permit to enter your neighbour’s land (for example, their backyard,front or side yards) to repair property that you own or rent. The Building Construction and Demolition Bylaw has been amended to reflect this.

As of March 1, 2023, to enter your neighbour’s land you must follow the rules summarized below.

Note that even though the bylaw allows you to enter your neighbour’s land, under certain conditions, to conduct repairs or alterations to your property, you are not allowed to be on or in any buildings on your neighbour’s land. You also cannot park a vehicle or store materials or equipment on your neighbour’s land. The bylaw does not authorize exemption from other applicable federal or provincial legislation or City bylaws, including the Provincial Trespass to Property Act, which is enforced by the Toronto Police Service.

If you need to enter your neighbour’s land (for example, their backyard,front or side yards) to repair property that you own or rent, you must:

  • Display proper identification, if requested
  • Provide written notice to your neighbour at least 24 hours before entering their land
    • This notice must include a description of the work, the date of entry, duration of work and your telephone number
    • The notice must be given personally or by registered mail to your neighbour
    • In the case of an emergency, the written notice may be given with less than 24 hours notice before the work, or as soon as it is practical after the work begins
    • If the scope or duration of the work changes, a new notice must be provided
  • Ensure that a hazard is not created on the neighbouring land as a result of the work
  • Restore your neighbour’s land to its original condition
  • Provide compensation for damages caused by the entry or the work done on your neighbour’s land

You can only enter your neighbour’s land (for example, their backyard, front or side yards) to conduct repairs or alterations to a building, fence or other structure on your own property if:

  • The repair or alteration cannot be made from your own property or a street
  • You are only entering your neighbour’s land to conduct the work

The power of right-of-entry does not allow you to:

  • Enter into or climb on to a building on your neighbour’s land
  • Store materials or equipment or park vehicles on your neighbour’s land
  • Conduct any work other than the repair described in the written notice
  • Conduct work from a City-owned property. Note that if you intend to use City property to make repairs or alterations, for example by laying out your tools or construction materials on the sidewalk or street, you must obtain a City of Toronto permit

If a dispute arises and cannot be resolved by talking to your neighbour, you can access mediation services at The TNG Community Services. The TNG Community Services provides free community mediation services to Toronto residents as an alternative means to resolving a dispute with the help of neutral mediators.

Mediation can help the City deliver better service, divert some cases from bylaw enforcement and get to the root cause of long-standing community or neighbour-to-neighbour issues. The process is separate from bylaw enforcement and completely confidential.

You may seek resolution to your issue by contacting The TNG Community Services directly. For properties north of Eglinton Avenue contact 416-839-3425 or crt.northyork@tngcs.org and for south of Eglinton Avenue contact 416-827-5929 or crt.intake@tngcs.org.

If you have a complaint about a neighbour who is not following the right-of-entry rules in the bylaw, you can submit a service request online or call 311. If submitting a complaint online, the form can be found under Bylaw Violations and Property Issues/Property Issues.

When making a complaint, provide the following information so that the City staff can investigate:

  • Any notices provided by your neighbour
  • Photographs of the property before, during and after work is completed
  • Documents showing the communication between the property owners involved and the progress of the work

The City will only investigate potential bylaw violations. If you have other questions about your legal rights, you should retain a lawyer or other legal professional who can provide you with independent legal advice. The Law Society of Ontario has a referral service which can be found on the LSO website.