Can my neighbour remove a shared fence in Barrhaven?

Whether your neighbour can remove a shared fence depends on who owns it, and that question is not always straightforward. The City of Ottawa Fence By-law No. 2003-462 sets the rules for how a fence must be built and maintained, but it does not, on its own, say who owns a fence on or near a boundary line.

We found no rule in the Fence By-law that settles who may remove a fence. Where the fence sits and who paid for it matter, and the answer may depend on your title documents, any written agreement between the owners, or what a fence-viewer would decide under Ontario's Line Fences Act. The City's guide says to check your deed or title documents for any easements or agreements, and to consider speaking with a lawyer if there is any doubt about ownership.

Ontario's Line Fences Act gives either owner a path to formal arbitration. An owner who wants a boundary fence built, repaired or rebuilt can notify the municipal clerk to have fence-viewers examine the site. Three fence-viewers can set the location and description of the fence and, by default, assign each owner a half to build, or require one to build and the other to pay half the cost. Under the City of Ottawa's Delegation of Authority By-law 2025-69, staff can appoint fence-viewers to carry out this process. We could not confirm which parts of Ottawa the process covers or what it currently costs, so ask the City whether it applies to your property in Barrhaven and what the fee is. An appeal of a fence-viewer award goes to the referee within 15 days of receiving it.

One important limit: the municipal guide to the Line Fences Act notes that arbitration does not apply where one owner has already built or rebuilt a fence on their own initiative and then wants to make the neighbour pay after the fact. It also notes that a municipality cannot decide where the boundary between two properties actually sits; that is a civil matter between the owners, and only an Ontario Land Surveyor can survey the boundary.

The Fence By-law does require that any fence on residential property be kept stable, vertical, in good repair, safe and free from hazards.

The first step in any boundary fence situation is a direct conversation with your neighbour. If that does not resolve it, ask the City about the fence-viewer process and speak with a lawyer about what your title documents say.

If this leads to getting quotes for a new fence, place two written quotes side by side and check that each one states the same height and material, the same total length, how posts are set and how deep, gates as a separate line with their own price, and removal and disposal of the old fence as a separate cost.