Deck rules in Toronto.
A deck more than 60 cm above the ground needs a building permit in Toronto. Whatever its height, the zoning by-law limits how high its floor can be and how far it may reach into your yard setbacks: at the back of the house, a deck no higher than the first floor may come up to 2.5 m into the rear yard setback, or half of it if that is less.
From Zoning By-law 569-2013, office consolidation dated 31 July 2024, with city-wide amendments to 30 April 2026, and the City’s permit pages.
Do you need a permit?
- A deck more than 60 cm (24 in) above the ground needs a building permit. At 60 cm or lower it doesn’t, but the zoning rules below still apply.
- The permit application needs a site plan, plus the deck drawings: footings (size, spacing, depth, frost protection), column and beam sizes and spans, stairs, and guards.
- Fee: $214.79 for residential decks, porches and carports (from 1 January 2026).
Check if your deck needs a permit · How to draw the site plan
A deck attached to the house
A deck attached to the house, or within 0.3 m of it, is treated as part of the house: it must meet your zone’s building setbacks, except where the by-law lets it reach into them. 10.5.40.50(2) Its sides count as open, not as walls, if at least half of them above the floor are open. 10.5.40.50(1)
How far it can reach into a setback
| Where | Floor no higher than the first storey | Floor higher than the first storey |
|---|---|---|
| Rear yard | 2.5 m into the rear yard setback, or half of it if less. At least 0.3 m from a side lot line, and at least as far as the floor is above the ground at that side. | 1.5 m, or half of it if less. From a side lot line: the side yard setback plus the height of the first floor above the ground along the back wall. |
| Front yard | 2.5 m into the front yard setback, or half of it if less, no closer to a side lot line than the side yard setback. The space under it may be enclosed. | 1.5 m, or half of it if less, no closer to a side lot line than the side yard setback. |
| Side yard | Up to 1.5 m into the side yard setback, at least 0.3 m from the side lot line. | 1.5 m only where the side yard is beside a street; otherwise not at all. |
10.5.40.60(1) Example: if your zone’s rear yard setback is 7.5 m, a deck at first-floor level may come 2.5 m into it (half of 7.5 m is 3.75 m, so 2.5 m is the lesser) and must stay at least 5.0 m from the rear lot line. Your zone’s own setbacks are in its chapter of the by-law.
How high its floor can be
- At or below the first storey: no higher than 1.2 m above the ground at any point below it. Next to the back wall, the part within 2.5 m of the wall may be as high as the floor you step out from; next to a side wall, no higher than that floor; next to the front wall, 1.2 m above established grade. 10.5.40.50(4)
- At the second storey or above: no more than 0.2 m above the floor you step out from. 10.5.40.50(3)
A deck standing apart from the house
A deck at least 0.3 m from the house, with at least half its sides above the floor open, must be at least 0.3 m from the rear and side lot lines, or as far as its floor is above the ground below it, whichever is more. A floor 0.9 m up stays 0.9 m from those lines. 10.5.60.20(11)
Before you rely on it
- These are the rules in Zoning By-law 569-2013 for Residential zones (R, RD, RS, RT, RM). A lot still under a former city’s by-law, or with a site-specific exception (an x number in its zone label), can have different rules. See your zone label.
- Building near a tree? A protected tree’s protection zone counts too. Check the tree.
- Outside the front yard, a fence on an unroofed deck can be up to 2.0 m above the deck (Municipal Code Chapter 447, Table 1). Fence height check.
Sources
- Zoning By-law 569-2013, Chapter 10, office consolidation dated 31 July 2024, with city-wide amendments to 30 April 2026: clauses 10.5.40.50(1)–(4), 10.5.40.60(1) and 10.5.60.20(11).
- When Do I Need a Building Permit?, toronto.ca, last modified July 21, 2026
- Decks and Porches, toronto.ca, last modified August 27, 2026
lotmara isn’t made by or connected to the City of Toronto. Rules change: check the source before you build.