Ontario Will Send Three Strangers to Decide Whether Your Neighbour Helps Pay for the Fence
They are called fence-viewers, they have existed for a very long time, and almost nobody knows about them.
In short
A six-foot pressure-treated fence in the GTA runs about $45–90 per linear foot installed, cedar $60–120. On a typical back yard that is $6,000–15,000.
Most people assume that if the neighbour refuses to contribute, that is the end of it. It is not. Ontario’s Line Fences Act provides a procedure: where adjoining owners cannot agree, one can ask the municipality to assign fence-viewers, who decide how responsibility for the work is apportioned between the two owners.
Three fence-viewers must attend the viewing. They issue a decision called an award, and they also allocate the cost of the proceeding itself. One caveat first: a municipality may have exempted itself from the Act and set its own rules, so check yours.
What a fence costs
Market quotes, autumn 2026 — published by GTA businesses that sell the work, not an independent survey.
| Type | Typical installed price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pressure-treated wood, 6 ft | $45–90 per linear foot | The default for most back yards |
| Cedar, 6 ft | $60–120 per linear foot | Longer life, higher price, less maintenance |
| Chain link | $25–50 per linear foot | Cheapest, and often what a by-law permits at the front |
| Vinyl or composite | $70–150 per linear foot | Low maintenance, high up-front cost |
| Gate | $300–900 each | Priced separately; double gates cost more |
| Removing and disposing of the old fence | $8–20 per linear foot | Concrete-set posts are the expensive part |
A typical suburban back yard needs 120 to 150 linear feet, which is where the $6,000–15,000 range comes from. Access matters more than people expect: a yard reachable only through a narrow gate is hand-carried material and hand-mixed concrete.
What the Line Fences Act actually does
It provides a dispute resolution procedure between owners of adjoining properties in most of Ontario, for fences on the boundary line — also called boundary or division fences. It does not deal with fences that are not on a boundary.
| Question | The answer |
|---|---|
| When does it apply? | Only where owners cannot agree, and only in two situations: no fence exists and one owner wants one built to mark the boundary, or a line fence exists and one owner believes it needs reconstruction or repair |
| Who decides? | Fence-viewers appointed by the municipality, people with broad knowledge of the community. Three must be present at a viewing |
| What can they decide? | Two things only: how responsibility for the fencing work is apportioned between the owners, and the description of the fence including materials |
| What comes out of it? | An award. They also allocate the costs of the proceeding between the two owners |
An appeal is available. The fee in 2026 is $406.05, adjusted each 1 January by the Ontario Consumer Price Index. In unorganized territories the arbitration is handled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness under Regulation 716.
Two things to check before you rely on any of this
Whether the Act applies where you live. A municipal council may pass a by-law exempting all or part of the municipality from the Act, and instead assign the costs of line fences between owners under its own by-law. That is a real and common arrangement in urban Ontario. Call your municipality and ask directly.
Whether the boundary itself is in dispute. Fence-viewers decide apportionment and the description of the fence. They do not determine where the property line is. If that is the actual disagreement, what you need is a survey, and after that possibly legal advice — not a viewing.
And separately from all of this, your municipal fence by-law sets heights and other rules, with pool enclosures having their own requirements. Check that before you build, in the same way you would check whether a permit is needed.
The conversation to have first
The Act is a backstop, not an opening move. A viewing is a formal proceeding with costs attached, and it does not improve a relationship with someone who lives next door for the next twenty years.
Red flags
What to do next
Two calls before anything else. One to your municipality: does the Line Fences Act apply here, or has the municipality passed its own by-law? One to your neighbour, before you have a favourite design.
Then compare home services and renovation companies on Ontario24 and contact them directly. Ontario24 is a classified directory — we help you find and compare, and we do not vet anyone. Also useful: how to choose a landscaper and when you need a building permit.
Before you call anyone, it helps to know what this job should cost and what the next one will. What things cost in Ontario in 2026 puts 75 service prices in one table.
Frequently asked questions
Market quotes commonly run $45 to $90 per linear foot supplied and installed for a standard six-foot pressure-treated wood fence, and $60 to $120 for cedar. On a typical suburban back yard of 120 to 150 feet that is roughly $6,000 to $15,000, with gates, post removal and difficult access on top.
Not automatically, and not by simple agreement either — but Ontario has a procedure. Under the Line Fences Act, where owners of adjoining properties cannot agree, one owner can ask the municipality to assign fence-viewers, who decide how responsibility for the work is apportioned between the two owners.
People appointed by the municipality with broad knowledge of the community. Three of them must be present at a viewing. Their authority is narrow: they may address how responsibility for the fencing work is apportioned between the two owners, and the description of the fence to be built or rebuilt, including the materials.
Only in two situations, and only where the owners cannot agree: where no fence currently exists at the boundary and one owner wants one built to mark it, or where a line fence exists and one owner believes it needs to be reconstructed or repaired. It does not deal with fences that are not on a boundary line.
The fence-viewers issue a decision called an award, and they also allocate the costs of the proceeding itself between the two owners. An appeal is possible — the fee in 2026 is $406.05, adjusted each 1 January by the Ontario Consumer Price Index.
No, and this is the caveat to check first. A municipal council may pass a by-law exempting all or part of the municipality from the Act and instead assign the costs of line fences between owners under its own by-law. Contact your municipality to find out which applies where you live.
Municipal fence by-laws set maximum heights and other rules, and pool enclosures have their own requirements, so check locally before building. On the boundary itself, the Line Fences Act procedure does not determine where the property line is — if that is genuinely in dispute, a survey is the answer, not fence-viewers.
Sources and how current this is
Checked 19 September 2026. The scope of the Act and its application only to boundary line fences; the two situations in which the arbitration procedure applies; that fence-viewers are appointed by the municipality, that three must be present at a viewing, and that their authority extends only to apportioning responsibility for the work and describing the fence including materials; that they issue an award and allocate the costs of the proceeding; that a municipal council may by by-law exempt all or part of a municipality and assign costs under its own by-law; the 2026 appeal fee of $406.05 adjusted each 1 January by the Ontario CPI; and the role of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness under Regulation 716 in unorganized territories all come from the Ontario page on the Line Fences Act and the Act itself. Fence-viewers do not determine property boundaries — that is a survey question. Municipal fence by-laws, height limits and pool enclosure rules are local and are not covered here. This is not legal advice. Prices are market quotes published by businesses that sell the work, not an independent survey. Ontario24 is a classified directory and does not build fences or vet the businesses listed.