Does Ottawa have a fence by-law for townhouses in Riverside South?

Yes, the City of Ottawa Fence By-law No. 2003-462 applies to townhouses in Riverside South, the same as any other residential property in Ottawa. The height limits are 1 m in the front yard and 213 cm (about 7 feet) in side and rear yards.

A few specifics worth knowing for a townhouse setting:

• Front yard: the front yard runs from the front lot line to the nearest point of the house, across the full width of the lot. No fence there may exceed 1 m.
• Side and rear yards: the 213 cm limit applies. In those yards only, a gate may be up to 30 cm taller than the fence, an archway forming part of an entrance may reach 250 cm, and decorative caps on structural posts may exceed the limit by up to 15 cm.
• Finished side: the finished or "good" side of the fence must face the street and neighbouring properties.
• No building permit is needed for a residential fence that does not enclose a pool. If the fence will enclose a pool, that falls under the Pool Enclosure By-law and a permit is required; ottawapoolinstallation.ca covers that.

If your lot shares a boundary with a common element or a condominium corporation's land rather than a neighbouring private lot, ask the City of Ottawa whether the Fence By-law applies to that shared line the same way it does to a standard property boundary, and check your condominium declaration or rules for any additional restrictions.

Before the fence goes in, pull up your property on geoOttawa to see the approximate lot lines and check your title documents for any easements along the fence line. If there are trees near the planned fence line, check with the City's Forestry Services before digging within the critical root zone.