Fence Removal

Hi Dennis;

The location of fences is not the City's business in the Greater Toronto Area. They care about how tall the fences are but do not enforce where they are placed. They will not send anyone to examine it nor is there a civic process for fining a neighbour for taking down a fence. Nor is it a police matter. The removal of a fence that's on the boundary is not a criminal offence. The only recourse you have is, unfortunately, through the legal system. You need to hire a lawyer if you want to fight it. But this takes time and money. Alternatively, you can deal with it yourself with your neighbour.

Can your neighbour take down the old fence? One would think not, however given the fact that your only recourse is expensive legal proceedings, by which time the fence has probably been removed and replaced, it's unlikely that you'll get the immediate outcome you're looking for.