Who Pays for a Shared Fence Under Ontario's Line Fences Act

You want a fence repaired or replaced, your neighbour refuses to chip in, and the cost keeps climbing. It is natural to ask whether the law forces them to pay half. In Ontario, the answer depends on the process you use and on when you start it.

This article explains how the Line Fences Act approaches cost, the situations where it does not help, and what you can do if a neighbour will not pay.

There is no automatic split: the Act steps in when you cannot agree

The Act's arbitration process applies only when owners cannot agree and either there is no fence on the boundary and one owner wants a new one, or there is a line fence that one owner thinks should be repaired or rebuilt. The process runs through fence-viewers appointed by your municipality.

Fence-viewers may decide how the fencing work is divided between the owners and the description of the fence to be built, including materials. An award may name one owner to build the fence and require the neighbouring owner to pay that owner one-half of the costs incurred. Whether the split in your case is one-half or something else is for the fence-viewers to decide, so do not assume it in advance.

What fence-viewers weigh and what limits them

• They must consider how suitable the fence is for the needs of each neighbouring owner.
• If a municipal by-law sets fence height or construction, the fence in the award must comply with it.
• Three fence-viewers must examine the property and, if either neighbour asks, hear evidence.
• The award also states in what proportion each owner pays the costs of the proceeding.

In some cases fence-viewers may decide that no award will be made, for example because they lack jurisdiction or the owners ask for none. They must still decide which owner or owners pay the costs of attending.

The big trap: building first and asking for money later

If one owner, on their own initiative, has already built, rebuilt or repaired a line fence and then wants the neighbour to share the cost, the arbitration process does not apply. That is why it matters to start the process before you hire a contractor. You begin by notifying your municipal clerk on Form 1, Request for Fence-Viewers. The clerk must set the arbitration day no more than 30 days after the notice is deemed received, although a municipality may stop arbitrations between November 1 and March 31.

If the neighbour still does not pay

An unhappy owner may appeal the award to the referee within fifteen days of receiving a copy, with the prescribed fee. The 2026 appeal fee is $406.05. The referee's decision is final.

If an owner does not follow the award, the other owner may serve a notice requiring them to comply. If it is not obeyed within two weeks after service, the enforcing owner may do the work the award directs and recover its value. The fence-viewers certify the value, and the clerk may have the amount collected like property taxes, or the certificate may be filed with the Small Claims Court and enforced against the owner's goods and land. Once registered, the award or certificate becomes a charge on the land.

Special cases and what to do next

The Act may not apply in your area, because a municipality may opt out for all or part of its territory. In a registered condominium, the corporation, not the unit owner, is treated as the owner. An award cannot make the Crown responsible for more than one-half of the fence. The Act does not apply to public highways. And if the real argument is about where the line is, the Act will not resolve it.

• Ask your clerk whether the Act applies to your property.
• Get written quotes, but do not build before you have an agreement or an award.
• Offer your neighbour a written agreement; Forms 14 and 15 can be registered and enforced like an award.
• File Form 1 with the clerk if you cannot agree.
• Diarize the fifteen-day appeal period once an award arrives.
• Talk to a lawyer if the boundary or title is in doubt.

Frequently asked questions