Local tree-rule guide
Mississauga tree rules
Private trees 15 cm+ plus public trees.
The local rule
A permit is required to injure or remove a private tree 15 cm or greater in diameter, including dead or dying trees.
Public trees cannot be injured, removed or pruned without a permit.
The City asks for supporting documents such as tree locations, an arborist report and a replanting plan when applicable.
Dead/dying-tree applications can still require a permit, but the City says the base and additional tree-removal fees are not charged for dead or dying trees.
Application details
What Mississauga currently asks for after the 15 cm trigger
- Mississauga’s permit page gives homeowners a fairly complete decision path: application documents, current fees, review timing, approval criteria and the replacement formula are all published.
The non-refundable base permit fee is $399.77 including HST. After review, each additional healthy private tree 15 cm or larger—and each public tree included in the application—carries a $139.72 fee. The City says there is no base or additional tree fee when the application is only for dead or dying trees.
The City can require tree locations, drawings, an arborist report and a replanting plan. Arborist reports are required for development and construction projects but not for a dead tree application.
Mississauga says it has 30 business days to review a complete application from the date it is received.
Staff look at the reason for removal, tree condition, species and location, development conflicts, property damage that cannot be mitigated through arboricultural work and the existing canopy on the lot.
One replacement tree is required for every 15 cm of diameter removed. A 45 cm tree therefore produces a three-tree replacement requirement under the published example.
The City determines a security deposit for private replacement planting. Qualifying replacements are shade-bearing native trees of the published minimum size, and the deposit can be refunded after the replacement trees have survived for one year and passed inspection.
Local exceptions and conditions
Scope and protected trees
- Mississauga requires a tree permit for one or more private trees at least 15 cm in diameter, including a dead or dying tree.
- Older references to a three-tree allowance should not be used for the current rule.
- City trees require permission for proposed injury or removal at any size.
- The application question is therefore not simply whether a backyard tree is big enough: a fence footing, driveway, utility trench or other construction near a public tree may be reviewed as an injury.
- Check the ownership line and measure each trunk before assuming that a small project falls outside the City's tree system.
Applications and timing
- The City's application form covers public and private trees.
- Identify the tree, reason, location and proposed work, and supply supporting photographs, plans or an arborist assessment when the City requests them.
- The base permit fee is waived for applications to remove dead or dying trees, but the permit requirement remains.
- Approved private removals at or above 15 cm normally bring replacement-tree obligations.
- The City publishes 30 business days from receipt of a complete application. An incomplete file or further documentation can affect the review.
- Do not start the cut while an application is pending.
Enforcement and exceptions
- Mississauga's enforcement concern includes injury, not just felling: roots compacted under stored soil or branches cut improperly can be part of a permit violation.
- The official application page does not state a single penalty amount for every offence, so the current bylaw and enforcement decision govern the actual charge and remedial planting.
- The page does not identify a separate citywide 'heritage tree' diameter apart from the 15 cm general trigger; a listed heritage property or an approval condition can still add restrictions.
The reason for removal
- A 15 cm measurement in Mississauga is the start of the application, not a guarantee that a tree may be removed.
- The City's current service says one or more qualifying private trees require a permit, including dead and dying specimens.
- If a tree is on or near the property boundary, establish whose tree it is and whether a public tree is affected before a contractor quotes a single-yard removal.
- A photo, trunk measurement and location sketch let Forestry distinguish a tree growing on private land from the City tree beside the sidewalk.
- Injury includes root and canopy damage, so a retained tree should be shown alongside any proposed fence, pool or service excavation.
A waived fee still needs a permit
- The waived application fee for a dead or dying tree is easy to misread as a waiver of the permit.
- It is not.
- Submit the City's application with evidence of condition, wait for the determination and keep any replacement conditions with the contractor instructions.
- A healthy-tree removal may bring planting or cash obligations that change the site layout; reserve space for that decision before paving the entire yard.
- The municipal Private Tree Protection By-law 0021-2022 and the public-tree bylaw operate together, while a development approval can add retention terms.
- A garden renovation involving a 14 cm tree planted as a condition of approval needs that older condition checked even if the ordinary 15 cm rule seems inapplicable.
Before work starts
- Ownership: check the property line. Public and boundary trees may follow a different process.
- Site context: review any development approval, covenant or protected-area conditions.
- Work requirements: confirm any permit, exemption or protection requirements that apply to the planned work.
Official sources
Last verified: October 1, 2026 · Primary municipal source rechecked October 1, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with the local authority before work. How we research
Local detail review: October 1, 2026.