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Get My Free Estimate →Free, in about five minutes, and then properly for a few hundred dollars. TRCA publishes a Regulated Area Search tool and Credit Valley Conservation publishes a regulation mapping viewer. Both carry disclaimers, and section 4(5) of O. Reg. 41/24 provides that where there is a conflict about boundaries the statutory description “prevail[s] over the depiction of the areas in the maps” — so a lot can be off the map and still regulated. For anything material, order the paid inquiry: TRCA’s Property Inquiry Service is $385 per parcel, or $770 expedited, and TRCA states staff require at least two weeks to reply; CVC’s solicitor, realtor or property inquiry is $392. Regulated status is not registered on title and Brampton’s compliance letter, for one, does not cover it.
A conservation authority permit is the approval most homeowners have never heard of until a building department tells them their permit cannot be issued. It applies to a lot of ordinary west GTA property — and the rules changed substantially on 1 April 2024, then again in 2026.
Three things almost nobody has right. First, the prohibition on interfering with a watercourse or a wetland has no distance component at all — it applies anywhere in the authority’s jurisdiction. Second, since 1 April 2024 an authority can no longer refuse a permit on grounds of “pollution or the conservation of land”: those words were deleted from the test. Third, on 1 February 2027 or a later prescribed date, TRCA and Credit Valley Conservation both cease to exist as separate authorities — they are being amalgamated into new regional bodies by statute.
What is actually prohibited
Section 28(1) of the Conservation Authorities Act prohibits two different things, and they work differently:
| Paragraph | What it prohibits | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Activities to straighten, change, divert or interfere in any way with the existing channel of a river, creek, stream or watercourse, or to change or interfere in any way with a wetland | Anywhere in the authority’s area of jurisdiction. No distance test at all |
| 2 | Development activities | Only in hazardous lands, wetlands, river or stream valleys, shoreline areas that may be affected by flooding, erosion or dynamic beach hazards, and other areas determined by regulation |
“Development activity” is defined in section 1(1) of O. Reg. 41/24 and it is broader than most people assume:
- construction, reconstruction, erection or placing of a building or structure of any kind;
- any change to a building or structure that would alter its use or potential use, increase its size, or increase the number of dwelling units;
- site grading; or
- the temporary or permanent placing, dumping or removal of any material, from the site or elsewhere.
The distances, and where there are none
There is no single definition of “the regulated area”. Section 2 of O. Reg. 41/24 supplies limits for two of the five categories and adds one new one. Two categories are regulated as mapped features with no setback attached at all.
| Feature | Limit | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| River or stream valley, apparent stable slopes | Stable top of bank plus 15 metres, to a similar point on the opposite side | s. 2(1) para. 1 |
| River or stream valley, apparent unstable slopes | The predicted long-term stable slope, or the predicted toe location after 100 years of stream erosion, plus 15 metres | s. 2(1) para. 2 |
| River or stream valley, not apparent | The furthest of the outside edge of the maximum flood plain under the applicable flood event standard, and the predicted meander belt expanded to convey flood flows, plus 15 metres on each side | s. 2(1) para. 3 |
| Shoreline | From the furthest offshore extent of the authority’s boundary to the furthest of the 100-year flood level with wave uprush, the predicted long-term stable slope over a 100-year erosion period, or 30 metres inland where a dynamic beach exists — plus a further 15 metres | s. 2(2) |
| Wetland buffer | Within 30 metres of a wetland | s. 2(3) |
| Hazardous lands | No metre figure. Regulated as the mapped feature itself — land that could be unsafe for development because of naturally occurring processes associated with flooding, erosion, dynamic beaches or unstable soil or bedrock | s. 1(1) definition |
| Wetlands | No metre figure. Regulated as the mapped feature itself | s. 1(1) definition |
The flood event standard for both TRCA and Credit Valley Conservation is set in Schedule 1, Table 1 of the regulation: the Hurricane Hazel Flood Event Standard, the 100 Year Flood Event Standard and the 100-year flood level plus wave uprush. In this market, Hurricane Hazel is still the governing benchmark seventy years on.
The map is not the law. Section 4 requires an authority to develop maps, file them at head office, publish them online, and review them at least annually. But section 4(5) provides that “in case of a conflict regarding the boundaries… the description of those areas in that paragraph and in section 2 of this Regulation prevail over the depiction of the areas in the maps.” A lot can be off the map and still regulated. TRCA’s own screening tool carries the disclaimer that it “is not intended to constitute advice nor is it to be used as a substitute for specific advice from a qualified professional”, and CVC’s map viewer says it “does not represent all areas regulated by Credit Valley Conservation”.
What is exempt — the complete list
Section 5 of O. Reg. 41/24 exempts a short and specific set of activities. There is no general exemption for work on an existing structure, and no general agricultural exemption. The complete list:
| Exempt | Conditions |
|---|---|
| Seasonal or floating dock | 10 m² or less, no permanent support structures, removable in the event of flooding |
| Rail, chain-link or panelled fence | Minimum 75 mm width between panels; not within a wetland or watercourse |
| Agricultural in-field erosion control structures | Not within, and no outlet directed or connected to, a watercourse, wetland or river or stream valley |
| Non-habitable accessory building or structure | Incidental or subordinate to the principal building, 15 m² or less, not within a wetland or watercourse |
| Unenclosed detached deck or patio | 15 m² or less, not within a watercourse or wetland, and not cantilevered |
| New tile drains | Not within a wetland or watercourse, not within 30 m of a wetland or 15 m of a watercourse, no outlet connected to either. Maintenance or repair of existing tile drains is also exempt |
| Livestock watering pond | Not connected to or within a watercourse or wetland, not within 15 m of either, no excavated material deposited in a regulated area |
| Maintenance or repair of a driveway or private lane | Outside a wetland, and provided it is not extended or widened and the elevation, bedding materials and existing culverts are not altered |
| Maintenance or repair of municipal drains | In accordance with the Drainage Act and Conservation Authorities Act Protocol |
| Reconstruction of a non-habitable garage with no basement | Does not exceed the existing footprint and does not allow a change in potential use to create habitable space |
Two things to notice. A 15 m² deck is 3.9 metres by 3.9 metres. Almost every real backyard deck, pool, addition or garage in Etobicoke, Mississauga or Caledon exceeds these thresholds. And section 5 exempts only from paragraph 2 of section 28(1) — development activities. It does not exempt anything from paragraph 1. A 14 m² deck needs no permit as a development activity, and you still cannot interfere with a wetland to build it.
Free tool — AI condo value estimator
Condo Valuation
What’s your condo
worth today?
Three quick steps. Condos don’t price like houses — your floor, your view, and whether you own parking move the number more than anything else. This weighs all of them.
Reading recent condo sales…
Estimated market value
—
$0–$0
Most likely $0 · about $0 per square foot
What moved the number
Starting from what comparable units in your area sell for, here’s what your specifics added or subtracted.
Market context
—
—
Two units, same floor plan,
$90,000 apart.
That happens constantly in condos — one has the parking, the right exposure, or a board that keeps the reserve fund healthy. A model can’t see your status certificate. I can.
What changed on 1 April 2024, and why it matters
Before that date, section 28.1(1)(a) allowed an authority to consider whether an activity was likely to affect the control of flooding, erosion, dynamic beaches “or pollution or the conservation of land”. Section 9(1) of Schedule 2 to the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022 repealed that clause and substituted:
“(a) the activity is not likely to affect the control of flooding, erosion, dynamic beaches or unstable soil or bedrock”
“Pollution” and “the conservation of land” are gone as grounds for refusal. The permit test is now purely a natural hazard test. An authority can no longer refuse a permit on general environmental or land-conservation grounds.
The same statute revoked all thirty-six individual conservation authority regulations at once — including O. Reg. 166/06 for TRCA and O. Reg. 160/06 for Credit Valley — and replaced them with the single province-wide O. Reg. 41/24. One consequence is concrete and local:
| Wetland buffer | To 31 March 2024 | From 1 April 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| TRCA | 120 metres from all provincially significant wetlands and wetlands on the Oak Ridges Moraine; 30 metres from all other wetlands | 30 metres from any wetland, flat |
| Credit Valley | 120 metres from all provincially significant wetlands; 30 metres from all others | 30 metres from any wetland, flat |
The 120-metre provincially significant wetland and Oak Ridges Moraine buffers were eliminated. For Caledon and north Brampton in particular, land that was regulated before 1 April 2024 may not be now. The same section also cut the no-decision appeal trigger from 120 days to 90.
Timelines: what is law, and what is a service promise
There is no statutory deadline for a conservation authority to decide a permit application. Anyone who tells you there is has confused a decision deadline with an appeal trigger.
| Step | Time | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-submission consultation | If the applicant requests one, the authority is required to engage in it — an enforceable right, not a courtesy | O. Reg. 41/24 s. 6(2) |
| Notice of whether the application is complete | 21 days from receipt of the required information and the fee | s. 7(2) |
| Once complete | The authority cannot demand new studies, technical information or plans unless the applicant agrees. It may still ask for clarification | s. 7(3) |
| Internal review | If requested, the authority must complete it no later than 30 days after the request | s. 8(1), 8(2) |
| Appeal for no decision | If the authority fails to give notice of a decision within 90 days after the application is made, the applicant may appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal | CA Act s. 28.1(22) |
TRCA publishes its own service standards: completeness within 14 days for minor applications or 21 for major, and a comment or permit within 21 days for minor or 28 for major after a complete application is confirmed. Major permits go to its Executive Committee, which generally meets the first Friday of each month. Those are commitments, not entitlements. CVC states the statutory position directly on its own FAQ — 21 days for completeness, and appeal to the Tribunal if no decision within 90 days — which matches the regulation exactly.
If they refuse
| Step | Provision | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Right to be heard | s. 28.1(5) | An authority shall not refuse an application or attach conditions unless the applicant has been given an opportunity to be heard |
| Written reasons | s. 28.1(7) | After the hearing |
| Request the Minister’s review | s. 28.1(8) | Within 15 days of receiving reasons |
| Minister replies | s. 28.1(9) | Failure to reply within 30 days is deemed an indication that the Minister does not intend to review |
| Minister’s decision | s. 28.1(19) | Final |
| Appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal | s. 28.1(20) | Within 90 days after receiving the reasons. An applicant who sought the Minister’s review cannot appeal unless the Minister refused to review or 30 days elapsed with no reply (s. 28.1(21)) |
| Tribunal powers | s. 28.1(26) | It may take evidence, refuse the permit, or order the authority to issue the permit, with or without conditions |
A permit lasts a maximum of 60 months including extensions, under section 11 of the regulation, and an extension application must be made at least 60 days before expiry.
The penalties, and the one that should worry a buyer
| Who | Fine | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | Up to $50,000 and/or imprisonment up to three months, plus up to $10,000 for each day the offence occurs or continues | s. 30.5(2)(a) |
| Corporation | Up to $1,000,000, plus up to $200,000 per day | s. 30.5(2)(b) |
The court may increase a fine by the amount of any monetary benefit gained. Prosecution must begin within two years of the offence first coming to an officer’s attention.
And then section 30.7(1): on conviction the court may order the person to remove, at their own expense, any development and to repair or rehabilitate the damage. If they do not, the authority may do the work and recover the cost by action. That is the provision to think about before buying a property where somebody built something near a ravine without asking.
Your building permit is blocked until you have it
Section 8(2)(a) of the Building Code Act, 1992 requires the chief building official to issue a permit unless the proposed work “will contravene this Act, the building code or any other applicable law”.
The Building Code’s definition of applicable law expressly includes section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act with respect to the prohibition of development activities, and sections 28.1, 28.1.1 and 28.1.2 with respect to a permit for construction of a building or structure “or for any change to a building or structure that would increase its size, alter its use or increase the number of dwelling units”. The Code also provides that a chief building official shall not issue a conditional permit unless compliance with those same provisions has been achieved.
So it is not, as some municipal pages put it, an “additional approval you may need”. It is a statutory bar on issuance.
What it costs
TRCA, from its fee schedule effective 1 February 2026, approved by its Board on 30 January 2026:
| Category | Fee | What falls here |
|---|---|---|
| Minor ancillary residential | $250 | Requires setback of at least 6 metres from all hazards and 10 metres from a wetland, with no technical review, no site visit and no meeting |
| Minor | $560 | Ancillary structures such as decks, sheds, garages and pools, and placement of less than 30 cubic metres of fill adjacent to a natural feature or hazard. Includes a site visit or a meeting with a planner and one submission |
| Standard | $1,045 | Additions, minor additions or ancillary works in the floodplain; structures not within or directly adjacent to flooding or erosion hazards; scoped technical review in one discipline |
| Major | $1,490 base | Additions, new structures or buildings, works in the floodplain or erosion hazard |
| Complex | $2,840 base | Major additions greater than 50 per cent of the original ground floor area, new structures or buildings, works in the floodplain or erosion hazard |
Major and complex are base fees: the schedule states that additional technical review, project management and processing fees specific to the application will be assessed. Permit non-compliance is $2,750 to resolve each issue.
Credit Valley Conservation, from its 2026 fee page:
| Category | Development | Interference with wetlands / alterations to watercourses and shorelines |
|---|---|---|
| Small scale | $561 | $997 |
| Medium scale | $2,157 | $7,191 |
| Large scale | $19,176 | $23,438 |
| Major scale | $26,634 | $30,896 |
Permit for minor works $274. Fill placement under 500 cubic metres $879. Unauthorised works cost twice the current fee where compliance follows and three times where it does not.
Two things I am not going to do. I am not going to tell you what a deck costs at CVC. Its schedule is structured by scale — small, medium, large, major — and it publishes no definitions of those bands and no line items for a deck, a pool, an addition or a new dwelling. TRCA publishes project-type definitions; CVC does not, on that page. And I am not going to give you a CVC effective date: the page is headed “2026 Permits Fees” and cites Board Resolution 23/26, but states no effective date. Confirm with CVC directly.
A stale TRCA fee document ranks well in search. There is a PDF circulating headed “draft proposed fees 2021-2022 – under review” and titled for Ontario Regulation 166/06 — a regulation revoked on 1 April 2024. Its figures are obsolete. If a fee sheet mentions O. Reg. 166/06, it is out of date by more than two years.
Nobody will tell you in a normal transaction
There is no requirement anywhere in the Act or the regulation to register regulated status against title. The statutory disclosure mechanism is the authority’s published map, and section 4(5) says the map does not even govern.
Nor does a municipal compliance letter necessarily cover it. Brampton’s compliance letter page lists five categories — legal, site plan, zoning by-law and building code, financial, and cemetery matters. Conservation authority regulation is not among them; the page instead tells owners “to determine whether your property is in a fill regulated area, please contact your local conservation authority.” I checked Brampton specifically; I have not checked every GTA municipality, so confirm with yours.
It surfaces in a deal only if somebody deliberately orders it. Both authorities sell a product aimed squarely at lawyers and agents:
| Product | Cost | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| TRCA Property Inquiry Service | $385 per property parcel or response letter; $770 expedited | TRCA states staff require at least two weeks to reply. The letter confirms whether the property is affected, general restrictions, previous violations, and a regulated area map if applicable |
| CVC solicitor, realtor or property inquiry | $392 | Not stated on the fee page |
That these products exist, and are marketed to solicitors and realtors, is itself the clearest evidence that the information does not otherwise reach a buyer.
Both authorities are being abolished
This is the part almost nothing written about conservation authorities has caught up with. Sections 1.2 to 1.4 of the Conservation Authorities Act, added in April 2026, amalgamate Ontario’s conservation authorities into nine new regional bodies on a transition date of 1 February 2027 or such later date as may be prescribed by the regulations.
| Predecessor authorities | Becomes |
|---|---|
| Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority + Toronto and Region Conservation Authority | Central Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority |
| Credit Valley Conservation Authority + Halton Region Conservation Authority + Hamilton Region Conservation Authority + Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority | Western Lake Ontario Regional Conservation Authority |
The transitional rules in section 1.3(3) are reassuring for anyone mid-process:
- the new authority’s jurisdiction is the union of its predecessors’ jurisdictions;
- an application made before the transition date and not yet decided continues as an application to the new authority;
- pending hearing requests and part-heard hearings continue before the new authority, which is deemed the party to any pending hearing, review or appeal;
- the amalgamation is deemed not to give rise to a breach, termination, repudiation or frustration of any licence, permit or other right — existing permits survive.
Do not treat 1 February 2027 as certain. The statute says that date “or such later date as may be prescribed by the regulations”, and I could not verify whether any regulation has pushed it. What is certain is the direction: a provincial agency created in November 2025 has as its objects promoting “consistent policies, standards and fees” and supporting “a standardized and centralized system for processing applications for permits”. Every fee figure and every mapping tool on this page has a limited shelf life. Check the date on whatever you are reading.
What to do
- Screen the property before you write an offer. TRCA’s Regulated Area Search and CVC’s map viewer are free, and both carry disclaimers you should take seriously.
- If anything is close, buy the inquiry letter. $385 at TRCA or $392 at CVC is cheap against the cost of finding out later — and TRCA’s letter reports previous violations.
- Allow the two weeks. TRCA states it needs at least that, which means the request has to go in at the start of a condition period, not the end.
- Request a pre-submission consultation. Section 6(2) makes it mandatory once you ask.
- Measure your project against the exemptions. 15 m² is smaller than it sounds.
- Do not assume the map is the answer. Section 4(5) says the written description prevails over the map.
- If you are buying something already built near a ravine or a wetland, find out whether it was permitted. Section 30.7 lets a court order removal at the owner’s expense.
Buying near a ravine, a creek or a wetland in the west GTA?
The screening tools are free and take five minutes, and they will tell you whether the question is worth asking properly. If it is, the inquiry letter is a few hundred dollars and it comes back with the previous violations on the property, which is not information you will get anywhere else. Send me the address and I will run the screening and tell you honestly whether this is a non-issue or something to put a condition around before you firm up.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
Confidential. Read personally and answered within 24 hours. I never share, sell or distribute your information.
Buying near a ravine, a creek or a wetland in the west GTA?
Send me the address and I will run the free screening and tell you whether this is a non-issue or something to put a condition around.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
Confidential. Read personally and answered within 24 hours. I never share, sell or distribute your information.
Free tool — AI condo value estimator
Condo Valuation
What’s your condo
worth today?
Three quick steps. Condos don’t price like houses — your floor, your view, and whether you own parking move the number more than anything else. This weighs all of them.
Reading recent condo sales…
Estimated market value
—
$0–$0
Most likely $0 · about $0 per square foot
What moved the number
Starting from what comparable units in your area sell for, here’s what your specifics added or subtracted.
Market context
—
—
Two units, same floor plan,
$90,000 apart.
That happens constantly in condos — one has the parking, the right exposure, or a board that keeps the reserve fund healthy. A model can’t see your status certificate. I can.
Frequently asked questions
How close to a wetland can I build in Ontario?
Section 2(3) of O. Reg. 41/24 makes areas within thirty metres of a wetland regulated, so a development activity there requires a permit from the conservation authority. That is a change: before 1 April 2024, TRCA regulated areas within 120 metres of all provincially significant wetlands and wetlands on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and Credit Valley regulated within 120 metres of all provincially significant wetlands. Those 120-metre buffers were eliminated when the individual authority regulations were revoked and replaced with the single province-wide regulation. Separately, paragraph 1 of section 28(1) of the Conservation Authorities Act prohibits changing or interfering in any way with a wetland anywhere in an authority’s jurisdiction, with no distance test at all, and none of the section 5 exemptions apply to it.
What can I build without a conservation authority permit?
Section 5 of O. Reg. 41/24 sets the complete list. The ones that matter to a homeowner are: a seasonal or floating dock of 10 square metres or less that needs no permanent supports and can be removed in a flood; a rail, chain-link or panelled fence with at least 75 mm between panels, not in a wetland or watercourse; a non-habitable accessory building or structure incidental to the principal building and 15 square metres or less, not in a wetland or watercourse; an unenclosed detached deck or patio of 15 square metres or less that is not cantilevered and not in a watercourse or wetland; maintenance or repair of a driveway or private lane outside a wetland, provided it is not extended or widened and the elevation, bedding materials and existing culverts are not altered; and reconstruction of a non-habitable garage with no basement within the existing footprint. Fifteen square metres is 3.9 metres by 3.9 metres. There is no general exemption for work on an existing structure and no general agricultural exemption.
How long does a conservation authority have to decide a permit application?
There is no statutory decision deadline. What the law sets are: twenty-one days from receiving the required information and the fee for the authority to notify the applicant in writing whether the application is complete, under section 7(2) of O. Reg. 41/24; thirty days to complete an internal review if one is requested, under section 8(2); and, under section 28.1(22) of the Conservation Authorities Act, a right to appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal if the authority fails to give notice of a decision within ninety days after the application is made. That ninety days is an appeal trigger, not a decision deadline. TRCA separately publishes service standards of fourteen or twenty-one days for completeness and twenty-one or twenty-eight days for a decision, but those are commitments rather than entitlements.
What does a TRCA permit cost?
From TRCA’s fee schedule effective 1 February 2026, approved by its Board on 30 January 2026, for works on private residential property: minor ancillary residential $250, minor $560, standard $1,045, major $1,490 and complex $2,840. The schedule places decks, sheds, garages, pools and placement of less than thirty cubic metres of fill in the minor category at $560. Major and complex are base fees only; the schedule states that additional technical review, project management and processing fees specific to the application will be assessed. Permit non-compliance is $2,750 to resolve each issue. Credit Valley Conservation structures its 2026 fees by scale rather than project type, starting at $561 for small-scale development, and publishes no definitions of the scale bands.
Can I get a building permit without conservation authority approval?
No. Section 8(2)(a) of the Building Code Act, 1992 requires the chief building official to issue a permit unless the work will contravene the Act, the building code or any other applicable law. The Building Code’s definition of applicable law expressly includes section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act with respect to the prohibition of development activities, and sections 28.1, 28.1.1 and 28.1.2 with respect to a permit for construction or for any change that would increase a building’s size, alter its use or increase the number of dwelling units. The Code also provides that a chief building official shall not issue a conditional permit unless compliance with those same provisions has been achieved.
What happens if someone built without a conservation authority permit?
Section 30.5(1) makes it an offence to contravene section 28(1) or a permit condition. Section 30.5(2)(a) sets a fine of up to $50,000 for an individual, with imprisonment up to three months, plus up to $10,000 for each day the offence occurs or continues; for a corporation the maximum is $1,000,000 plus $200,000 a day. More important for a buyer, section 30.7(1) allows the court to order the convicted person to remove, at their own expense, any development and to repair or rehabilitate the damage, and sections 30.7(2) and (3) allow the authority to do the work and recover the cost by action if they do not. TRCA’s Property Inquiry letter reports previous violations, which is the practical reason to order one before buying a property with unexplained structures near a ravine or a wetland.
Related reading
- Surveys and SRPRs: what title insurance will not fix
- Easements and rights of way in Ontario
- Mutual driveways in Etobicoke and Toronto
- Encroachments and possessory claims under Land Titles
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these, and each was read on 1 September 2026. Primary sources only — statute, regulation, and the government or agency that administers the rule. Where I could not verify something from a primary source, the page says so instead of guessing.
- Conservation Authorities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.27 — Ontario e-Laws. Section 28(1) prohibits interference with a watercourse or wetland anywhere in an authority’s jurisdiction, and development activities in hazardous lands, wetlands, river or stream valleys, shoreline areas and other prescribed areas. Section 28.1(1) sets the permit test. Section 28.1(5) gives the right to be heard before a refusal or conditions. Sections 28.1(8) to (19) set the Minister’s review; sections 28.1(20) to (26) the appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Section 30.5(2) sets penalties and section 30.7 the removal and rehabilitation order. Sections 1.2 to 1.5, added by S.O. 2026, c. 2, Sched. 3, s. 2 in force 24 April 2026, amalgamate Ontario’s conservation authorities on a transition date of 1 February 2027 or such later date as may be prescribed. Consolidation from 24 April 2026. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- O. Reg. 41/24, Prohibited Activities, Exemptions and Permits — Ontario e-Laws. In force 1 April 2024 and unamended as at the e-Laws currency date of 28 August 2026. Section 1(1) defines development activity, hazardous lands and wetland. Section 2 sets the limits: fifteen metres beyond the stable top of bank for an apparent river or stream valley, a further fifteen metres for shoreline areas, and thirty metres from a wetland. Section 4 requires authorities to publish mapping and review it at least annually, and section 4(5) provides that the statutory description prevails over the map. Section 5 lists the exempt activities. Section 6(2) makes pre-submission consultation mandatory once requested. Section 7(2) requires notice of completeness within twenty-one days. Section 11 caps a permit at sixty months. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, S.O. 2022, c. 21, Schedule 2 — Ontario e-Laws. Section 9(1) repealed clause 28.1(1)(a) of the Conservation Authorities Act, which had read “the activity is not likely to affect the control of flooding, erosion, dynamic beaches or pollution or the conservation of land”, and substituted “or unstable soil or bedrock”. Section 9(3) reduced the no-decision appeal trigger in section 28.1(22) from 120 days to 90. Section 16 revoked all thirty-six individual conservation authority regulations, including O. Reg. 166/06 for the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and O. Reg. 160/06 for Credit Valley Conservation. All in force 1 April 2024. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 23 — Ontario e-Laws. Section 8(2)(a): the chief building official shall issue a permit unless the proposed building, construction or demolition will contravene the Act, the building code or any other applicable law. Consolidation from 2 June 2026. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- TRCA administrative fee schedule for development permitting services, effective February 1, 2026 — Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Approved by the TRCA Board of Directors on 30 January 2026, resolution RES.#A 8/26. Works on private residential property: minor ancillary residential $250, minor $560, standard $1,045, major $1,490 base fee, complex $2,840 base fee. The schedule notes that for major and complex projects additional technical review, project management and processing fees will be assessed. Permit non-compliance $2,750 to resolve each issue. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Property inquiries — Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. The Property Inquiry Service costs $385 per property parcel or response letter, or $770 expedited, and staff require at least two weeks to reply. The letter confirms whether the property is affected, general restrictions, previous violations, and a regulated area map where applicable. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Regulated area search — Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. TRCA’s online screening tool. Its own disclaimer states that “the information in this tool is not intended to constitute advice nor is it to be used as a substitute for specific advice from a qualified professional.” Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- How the permit process works — Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. TRCA’s service standards: completeness within 14 days for minor applications or 21 days for major; comment or permit within 21 days for minor or 28 days for major after confirmation of a complete application. Major permits go to the Executive Committee, which generally meets the first Friday of each month. These are service commitments, not statutory deadlines. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- 2026 permit fees — Credit Valley Conservation. Development small scale $561, medium $2,157, large $19,176, major $26,634. Interference with wetlands or alterations to watercourses and shorelines: small $997, medium $7,191, large $23,438, major $30,896. Permit for minor works $274. Fill placement under 500 cubic metres $879. Unauthorised works where compliance follows, twice the current fee; where non-compliance continues, three times. Solicitor, realtor or property inquiry $392. The page cites Board Resolution 23/26 but states no explicit effective date, and publishes no definitions of the scale bands. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Regulation mapping — Credit Valley Conservation. CVC’s mapping page, reflecting the Conservation Authorities Act and O. Reg. 41/24, with updated mapping approved by the Board of Directors on 20 February 2026. The map viewer’s disclaimer states that it “does not represent all areas regulated by Credit Valley Conservation and is meant for information purposes only.” Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Planning and permit FAQ — Credit Valley Conservation. CVC’s own statement of the statutory timelines: within twenty-one days of receiving the required documents and fees it must notify the applicant in writing whether the application is complete, and within ninety days after submission, if no decision is issued, the applicant may appeal directly to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Compliance letters — City of Brampton. Lists five categories of compliance letter: legal, site plan, zoning by-law and building code, financial, and cemetery matters. Conservation authority regulation is not among them; the page instead states that “to determine whether your property is in a fill regulated area, please contact your local conservation authority.” Zoning by-law and building code matters $267.23 within ten business days. Read 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Plan to Protect Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2025 (No. 2), S.O. 2025, c. 15, Schedule 3 — Ontario e-Laws. Created Part VIII.1 of the Conservation Authorities Act, establishing the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency as a Crown agent. Its objects under section 35.4 include overseeing the transition to a regional watershed-based framework, promoting consistent policies, standards and fees, and supporting a standardised and centralised system for processing permit applications. In force 27 November 2025; read in the consolidated Act on 2 September 2026. Accessed 1 September 2026.
About the author — Jatin Dua, Broker of Record
I’m the Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke, and I work with buyers and sellers across the west GTA. Boundaries, easements and the paper record behind a lot are the part of a deal that almost nobody looks at until it is a problem — and by then the fence is built, the addition is framed, or the closing is a week away.
I am not a lawyer and I do not read title. What I can do is quote the statute, the regulation and the municipality accurately, with the section number and the date the source carries, so you know what question to put to your lawyer or your surveyor. Where a figure is simply not published anywhere, this page says so rather than inventing one. connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.