What is a fence-viewer and how does the Line Fences Act process work to resolve a dispute in Ontario?

A fence-viewer is a municipal official appointed by a local municipality, under the authority of the Line Fences Act, specifically to help resolve disputes between neighbours over building, repairing, or maintaining a shared boundary, or "line," fence. Fence-viewers aren't a separate court or tribunal; they're a practical, specialized mechanism the Act creates for exactly this kind of dispute, and "fence-viewer" describes their role, not the name of the governing statute itself.

The process generally works like this: when neighbours can't agree on whether a fence is needed, who should build or repair it, or how to split the cost, either owner can ask the municipality to appoint fence-viewers. The fence-viewers inspect the properties, consider the circumstances, and issue a decision, often called an award, that apportions the cost between the two owners and can specify the type or standard of fence required. That decision is binding and enforceable, regardless of whether both neighbours actively participated in the process.

This route tends to be faster and more specialized for this specific kind of dispute than going straight to court, which is why it's generally the first resort for a genuine boundary fence disagreement in Ontario.