FAQ
Do landscapers need a licence in Ontario?
No. There is no provincial licence for landscaping or landscape design, and anyone may advertise as a landscape designer. The exception is the title Landscape Architect: under the OALA Act only a full member of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects may use it, and section 10(3) makes it an offence for anyone else. For structural elements you want a professional engineer, verifiable in the PEO directory.
Is calling before digging actually required?
Yes. Ontario One Call states that if you are planning to dig you must submit a locate request and that it is the law. Requesting it is free, it has to go in at least five business days before you dig, infrastructure owners have five business days to respond to a single address request, and a locate is valid for at least sixty days.
Can I level out my sloped back garden?
Not by yourself. The City of Ottawa's landscaping guide states that you are not allowed to change the grading of a property, that water must follow approved drainage patterns and cannot be directed to neighbouring properties, and that ditches must not be altered. Restoring an approved condition is different from changing it, and the Site Alteration By-law covers larger changes.
When does a retaining wall need a permit?
Over 1 m. The City's guide lists retaining walls over 1 m as requiring a building permit, and the Ontario rule is that a wall exceeding 1,000 mm of exposed height adjacent to public property, building access or private property open to the public needs a permit and an engineer's design confirming compliance with Part 4 of the Building Code, with a guard where the drop exceeds 1.0 m.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree on my own property?
Often. The City's landscaping guide lists a tree permit for removal of a private tree over 30 cm diameter, and the Tree Protection By-law sets different thresholds for larger lots and for the rural area. City-owned trees may not be removed or pruned by a homeowner at all. Confirm your own case with the City rather than relying on a remembered number.
How much of my front yard must stay planted?
Fifty per cent or more of the front lawn has to be soft landscaping, and the City's guide states that artificial turf does not count as a soft landscaping material and is not allowed in the right-of-way. Hard landscaping in the right-of-way is limited to driveways and walkways.
Why do my cedars die along the driveway?
Road salt. Salted snow is thrown two to three metres from a driveway or sidewalk from December to March, and cedar, boxwood and most broadleaf evergreens burn on the exposed side and do not recover. Use salt-tolerant species within about three metres of any hard surface.
What is the best month to start a landscape project in Ottawa?
Have the design done over the autumn and winter and the build starts in May. The ground here is frozen or saturated from late November to mid-April, so the construction window is roughly May to early November, and good crews are booked out by March.