Fence Building Thorold in Niagara Region, Ontario

Thorold regulates fences through Fence By-law 28-2008, passed in April 2008 and amended since. The City posts a consolidated copy that it calls unofficial, and the official text comes from the City Clerk. In a residential zone a fence can be up to 2 m, about 6'6" (s.2.2.1). Where your lot line borders a park or a utility corridor, that goes up to 2.3 m (s.2.1.10). A hedge can grow to 3 m (s.2.2.2). Height is measured from the ground next to the fence, and where one side of the lot line is higher, from the higher side. The front of the lot is where solid and see-through fences part ways. The by-law calls a fence "open construction" when at least two thirds of its face is open space, which a chain-link fence is. Within 4.5 m of the nearest street line in the front yard, a closed fence or a hedge can be 0.9 m (3 ft) and an open fence 1.2 m (4 ft) (s.2.3.1). If your house sits closer than 4.5 m to the street line, the shorter distance applies. On a corner lot, the sight triangle runs 9 m along each street line from the corner, and only an open fence up to 0.9 m is allowed inside it (s.2.4.1), so a solid fence cannot go there at all. No fence can go on City land or the road allowance (s.2.1.1). Thorold also sets rules for a privacy screen, a taller panel that shields part of a yard: up to 3 m high, never in a front yard, at least 4.5 m from a street line and 1.2 m from the rear lot line (ss.3.2-3.4). Does a fence need a permit in Thorold? No. The City's fence information package says it directly: "there is no requirement for a property owner to obtain a permit from the City prior to the erection of a fence." A pool is different. Under Pool By-law 27-2008, you need a permit before you put up a pool or its enclosure (s.2.1.1). The enclosure has to be at least 1.5 m (5 ft) high (s.4.1.2), with gates that close and latch on their own, the latch on the pool side. Lattice and basket-weave panels do not count as an enclosure. The City's 2026 permit fees are $50 for a seasonal pool, $75 for an above-ground pool, and $120 for an in-ground pool plus a $500 deposit. Where the fence and pool by-laws differ, the stricter one applies. Sharing the cost with a neighbour works differently in Thorold than in most of Ontario. The by-law says it outright: "the Line Fences Act shall no longer apply in the City of Thorold" (s.4.1.1), so there are no fence-viewers to call. The by-law has its own rule instead. Neighbours share "a just proportion" of a fence on the boundary (s.2.5.1). If you cannot agree on what kind of fence to build, your neighbour only has to contribute if the fence you build is a 1.22 m (4 ft) chain-link fence. Build any other kind, such as a 6 ft wood privacy fence, and they owe nothing toward it (s.2.5.2). To enforce it, you send your neighbour a notice by registered mail, and they have 30 days to comply (s.2.5.3). The City stays out of it. Its package calls cost recovery "A CIVIL LEGAL MATTER" between the two owners. So if a cost split matters to you, agree on it in writing before the posts go in. Two more checks. Under Ontario Regulation 41/24, the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) must approve a solid privacy fence in a wetland, within 30 m of one, in a river or stream valley, or on certain other hazard lands. Chain link is treated differently: the regulation exempts "a rail, chain-link or panelled fence with a minimum of 75 millimetres of width between panels, that is not within a wetland or watercourse", so a chain-link fence near a wetland or in a valley needs no NPCA permit unless it sits in the wetland or watercourse itself. And before any post hole is dug, Ontario law requires a locate request through Ontario One Call. The request is free under the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012 (s.5.1(4)), and skipping it can bring a fine of up to $10,000 (s.18). We book the locate before the post holes go in.