Local tree-rule guide
Montreal tree rules
Private trees; borough-specific permit details.
The local rule
Borough matters
Montréal’s tree-felling process is borough-specific. The citywide portal requires the user to select a borough because thresholds, fees, validity periods and replacement rules can differ.
Private trees
Many boroughs require a felling authorization for private trees once a stated diameter threshold is reached; the exact measurement height and threshold must be checked for the borough.
Injury can count
Some borough rules also regulate major branch/root cutting or significant grade changes, not only full removal.
Replacement
Several boroughs require replacement planting after permitted removal.
Local exceptions and conditions
Scope and protected trees
- Montréal's permit service is borough sensitive.
- Its unselected-borough overview describes a trunk of 10 cm at 1.3 m, or 15 cm near the base, and also treats major root or branch cutting and a grade rise beneath the crown as regulated work.
- A borough entry on the same City page can instead specify 5 cm at 1.4 m and different pruning percentages.
- Select the actual arrondissement before quoting a threshold, fee or document list.
- This matters on dense lots where a small tree next to a foundation might be covered even though a neighbour in another borough used a different rule.
Applications and timing
- The City lists accepted reasons such as irreversible decline, public-safety danger, substantial property damage, disease spread, or a permitted building footprint where alternatives are exhausted.
- Leaves, shade, sap and visible roots alone are not accepted reasons in its general guidance.
- Prepare a certificate of location or a drawn plan numbering each tree, indicating diameter, species where known and the proposed work.
- Apply through a Montréal account or the borough counter.
- Some files include an inspector's assessment.
- Where tree removal belongs to a construction or conversion project, the City says to coordinate that authorization with the building file rather than submit the ordinary felling form separately.
Enforcement and exceptions
- The general page says an issued certificate normally gives 12 months to fell and replace, with a possible written six-month extension sought before expiry; it does not publish a uniform decision time across boroughs.
- Its displayed assessment fee is tied to the selected service context and should be checked at submission.
- Ash trees follow a separate free application route.
- Cutting first risks a municipal offence and replacement requirements, but a single citywide fine amount is not supplied by this permit page.
- No universal 'heritage tree' diameter is stated there; local site designation and borough regulations need their own check.
Borough-specific thresholds
- A single Montreal address can change the number in a permit answer.
- The City's borough selector, for example, describes a 10 cm trunk measured 1.3 m above soil in several boroughs, a 5 cm measure in another, and an 8 cm measure in Ville-Marie.
- Some also regulate raising the soil by more than 20 cm beneath the crown or taking a large share of live roots.
- A property owner should keep a record of the selected borough's rule with the tree inventory, because the unselected overview is not a substitute for that entry.
- On a row-house extension, a tree may remain upright while excavation or added fill becomes the regulated work.
Replacement and construction
- Replacement is another reason to decide the file before the saw arrives.
- A permit may require a new tree within the time set by the borough, and the City describes a normal certificate validity of 12 months with a written extension request possible before expiry.
- If a contractor finds a second tree in the work area after approval, the first certificate describes only the trees it identifies; the new stem needs its own review.
- The ash route, neighbour ownership and a tree on public land must also be separated from the ordinary private-lot certificate.
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: September 28, 2026 · Primary municipal source reviewed September 23, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with the local authority before work. How we research
Local detail review: September 28, 2026.