Ontario Line Fences Act: Plain-Language Summary of Your Duties

A fence on the edge of your yard can turn into a disagreement quickly. One neighbour thinks it is falling apart. The other does not want to pay for a new one. Many Ontario homeowners search for the Line Fences Act hoping it will tell them who has to do what.

This article walks through what the Act does, who it covers, what happens when neighbours cannot agree, and what deadlines matter. It is general information, not advice on your own situation. Your municipality's rules can change the answer, so confirm the details that matter to you.

What the Line Fences Act is for

The Line Fences Act gives owners of adjoining properties in most of Ontario a way to resolve disputes about fences on a shared boundary line. It does not cover fences that are not on the boundary line. A fence built a metre inside your own property, for example, is generally outside this procedure.

The Act is meant as a last step, not a first one. Informal discussion between neighbours is encouraged before anything formal begins.

When the formal procedure applies

The Act's procedure applies only where the owners cannot agree and one of two situations exists.

• No fence exists on the boundary and one owner wants one built.
• A line fence exists and one owner thinks it needs to be reconstructed or repaired.

If one owner builds, reconstructs or repairs an entire fence on their own initiative and then asks the neighbour to pay part of the cost, the Act's fence-viewer procedure does not apply. That is a common trap. Building first and asking for money afterwards does not give you access to the formal process.

How the process works step by step

In most places the municipality handles line-fence arbitration, and the owner starts it by asking the municipality to assign fence-viewers using Form 1, Request for Fence-Viewers. In unorganized territories, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness handles arbitration.

Three fence-viewers must be present at a viewing. They can address only two things: how the fencing work is apportioned between the two owners, and the description of the fence, including materials.

After the viewing, the fence-viewers issue an award and allocate the costs of the proceeding between the two owners.

What the fence-viewers cannot decide, and your appeal rights

The arbitration deals only with fence disputes. It does not decide where the boundary is, and owners must resolve boundary-location questions themselves. If you doubt where the line runs, sort that out first, because the whole process assumes the fence is or will be on the boundary.

If you are unhappy with an award, you have 15 days from receiving a certified copy of it to appeal. An award sent by registered mail is deemed received seven days after it is sent. The 2026 appeal fee is $406.05, adjusted each January 1 by Ontario's CPI. Only the original award can be appealed.

A fence-viewers' award, a certificate of default based on it, and a written line-fence agreement in the prescribed form can be registered in the land registry office. Older bulletins cite earlier section numbers because the Act has since been renumbered, so check current numbering before relying on any citation.

Check whether your municipality has opted out, then take next steps

A municipal council may pass a by-law exempting all or part of its area from the Line Fences Act and assigning line-fence costs by by-law instead. Whether the Act applies to you therefore depends on your municipality.

• Talk to your neighbour first, and keep a short written note of what was said.
• Confirm where the boundary is, ideally with a survey, before any formal step.
• Ask your municipal clerk whether the Line Fences Act applies in your area or has been replaced by a by-law.
• Do not build or repair the whole fence and then bill your neighbour if you want to use the formal process.
• Note every deadline in an award, especially the 15-day appeal window.
• Speak to a lawyer if the boundary, cost or an award is in dispute.

Frequently asked questions