Can a bylaw officer enter your property without permission ?

And people think only condo residents have to live with shitty neughbours and all restrictions
Guess its everywhere and even free houses are going to be sheepled. There’s your FREEDOMS lolz
Welcome to canada where u are at neighboyrs mercy

Back home you can do anything in your own house they dont have bylaws buy a house there instead

What about arsons fire triggered in California to Canada throughout last 5 years?

Gero43 wrote: ↑ I live in Mississauga. I made a quiet bonfire, bylaw just made it to my house without permission and I thought so many questions for potential debate. Is this allowed? Can they force me to put out the fire? What happen if I refuse to let them in or refuse to put it out ? Can you “self defence” yourself since someone came into your house without permission ?
Fire had to be put out because of “Nuisance”. When everybody in my area makes fires except for the next door guy. So he has the right to call by law every time he wants although it’s not close to him and I’m following all bylaws because of Nuisance?!?!

I heard there is a “loophole”. If you are cooking on the fire pit, they can’t make you stop, is that true ?

All comments encouraged

What would you prefer, a bylaw officer showing up or the fire department with a nice bill for you to pay

Gero43 wrote: ↑ Gotta love the comments and I do like the knowledge rather than trying to bend the rules. I was doing a fire pit not a bonfire, I thought they were equivalents. We were 2 people on a quite small fire.

I was just asking because it came to my mind bylaw have a lot of power to just walk into your property. In this case he asked me and I said yes please come in, but wondered what would happen if I say no (I probably wouldn’t have the guts to say it even if it was my right ). Good thing we have a huge backward we moved the fire pit to the other corner while following bylaws of 12-15 feet I think it was and hope is good enough for Neibourghs. Now, if neibourghs still get annoyed and call again, and bylaw comes ready to issue me a ticket, I would be interested in knowing a “loophole”. I don’t see that as “being above the system” but rather making sure they don’t ticket me on the second try where I modified some behaviour and trying again. Unfortunately Neibourghs are not friendly enough to have a conversation and discuss it.

And yet, I find it funny how someone can call and say it’s a nuisance because they don’t like you and you cannot make fires ever again. Not like noise complaints where they can actually measure your decibels. Would be nice to have something along those lines

OP, you are in the wrong here, not your neighbour. You can't control where the smoke goes, I would be quite angry if I was trying to enjoy my back yard and start having to smell smoke or get it in my face. Your smoke could damage your neighbour's property (think of clothes lines and then your smoke drifting into the freshly washed clothes).

If you like camp fires, then go to an actual camp ground.

webshark wrote: ↑ If he asked than it means he can't come on to your property. Just say no. Never give consent to anything with any enforcement unless you are 100% in knowing you are not breaking any laws. Same thing applies if police/ enforcement ask to search your car or a bag. You have to give consent. If they arrest you then its a whole different story.

When it comes to illegal fires, always play nice. Don't exercise your rights because the fire department has a ton of power to enter your property to put out the fire, and you will get a large bill to pay for the costs of the truck and the firefighters. It's always better to put out the fire yourself if asked, otherwise you will have the fire department show up and put it out for you. If you refuse to let them enter, that's when police will show up, arrest you and then the fire department will put out the fire anyway.

Fire officials have far more power to enter your property/house than police do.

Yes, they can. Legally speaking, it's clear as day. They can't go snooping, but if they get a tip, then they have a valid reason to enter.

Gero43 wrote: ↑ I heard there is a “loophole”. If you are cooking on the fire pit, they can’t make you stop, is that true ?

Let's ask RFD for a loophole.....Brilliant!

Bylaw officers usually don't show up unless they received a complaint from your neighbor. My dad used to be quite the gear head and we would leave our heavy tools, trailers, tires and projects on the driveway and backyard. We had a very nosy neighbor who would complain to the city on a weekly basis, even after we cleaned up the front yard and tried to hide everything in the back. She's one of those crazy ladies in her late 50s that went through PMS for the last 20 years and didn't get enough in the bedroom, so she is always cranky and upset at everyone.

My dad put up a solid 6-7ft high oak fence that you can't even peek over. The bylaw guy still tries to get into our backyard so he can write up a ticket, and we cannot lock the fence to the backyard because legally the meter guy need to be able to walk in to read the utility meters. We put up a "beware of dogs" sign so bylaw guy stopped coming in, but it also scared away the meter guy.

Not being able to peek through the tall fence, the crazy woman walked over to the other side of the backyard one day with a chair so she can stand on it and look to see if there is a mess inside our backyard, because she can't see it from her side. At that point I was thinking, how is this any of your business anymore when you can't even see the mess from your house? Moral of the story, don't live next to crazy people.

I know these bylaw officers are mostly just doing their jobs, but some are real pricks. Our other neighbor back then had 2 stretched limos on his driveway. Him and his son drove limos for their livelihood and they were not allowed to park them on their driveway because a limo is considered as a commercial vehicle. Like how does that bother anyone?

Gero43 wrote: ↑ I don’t see that as “being above the system” but rather making sure they don’t ticket me on the second try where I modified some behaviour and trying again.

So, in other words, you DO think you're above the law. Pillock.

stinastr wrote: ↑ *musical note* This fire is out of control
I'm going to burn this city, burn this city

You can contain your fire in a portable charcoal bbq.
If it happens again... you can say “oh its a misundersdanding... i was actually just roasting some weiney’s on this small charcoal bbq... “

Then show your little bbq with a fire starting

“Maybe the kindling j used for the coals was really smokey!”

HghSsociety wrote: ↑ Can't you just follow the bylaws?

⬆

People just don't care about others around them now a days.

Society has shown its true colours especially with COVID-19

a lot of areas, you need a grill to show its a cooking fire.(and some type of extinguisher/water hose close by)

I use a cut down steel oil barrel to contain fire (about 20-30 inches high) and have an old steel grate right beside it.. that counts as legal in my cottage country

Omg 2 people next to a small fire crime of the century.

Oh but the asthmatics. My god I’m glad I don’t live in the burbs with you by law calling losers.

hmm, fire pits are illegal?

webshark wrote: ↑ If he asked than it means he can't come on to your property. Just say no. Never give consent to anything with any enforcement unless you are 100% in knowing you are not breaking any laws. Same thing applies if police/ enforcement ask to search your car or a bag. You have to give consent. If they arrest you then its a whole different story.

Great .... another armchair lawyer who is giving out nonsensical information. Even a quick Google search will tell you it is far more complicated than your "consent or nothing" theory
https://www.svlaw.ca/blog/details/item/ ... -my-rights
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/r ... /art8.html
http://www.cba.org/cba/cle/PDF/CRIM12_P ... lliams.pdf

In most places a propane / Natural Gas fire table is legal all the time

But any sort of open fire ... that uses wood for fuel
like a bonfire, campfire, fire pit, chimenea etc ... is not

Certainly not legal in most urban / suburban areas (See your Municipal Bylaws)

They may however be legal in rural areas
But would ALWAYS also be subject to bylaws regarding where it was on your property (distance from structures)
And what measures were in place to secure the fire ... base requirements, supervision, nearby extinguisher / water on hand

AND ... such a fire, would also be subject to PROVINCIAL Open Fire Bans
(Where a propane / NG Sourced fire is still ok even when such Bans are in place)
As anyone who camps can tell you

The reasoning ... Wood Fires are far more difficult to extinguish than other types
With a propane / NG BBQ, of fire table, you just turn off the gas
With a wood fire ... too many people don’t put them out properly

In an urban setting ... that is a disaster waiting to happen with so many houses close together
Just ask the O’Leary Family of Chicago ... Lol, or their cow

cahk wrote: ↑ Great .... another armchair lawyer who is giving out nonsensical information. Even a quick Google search will tell you it is far more complicated than your "consent or nothing" theory
https://www.svlaw.ca/blog/details/item/ ... -my-rights
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/r ... /art8.html
http://www.cba.org/cba/cle/PDF/CRIM12_P ... lliams.pdf

Lots of info on those links.

The answer is there, in black and white. In the case of fire, the by-law officer has a good reason to enter your property, even your house (if the fire is inside, or appears to be inside, or for the purpose of investigating). The officer does NOT need your permission, or a warrant.

The Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997 also provides for rights of warrantless entry. Under that Act, no distinction is made between parts of your property that are used as a ‘dwelling’ and those that aren’t, and a fire inspector may enter and inspect land and premises, without a warrant and at all reasonable times, for the purposes of assessing fire safety. Moreover, the fire safety issue does not need to present an immediate health and safety concern.

So... anything related to fire falls under "exigent circumstances" and no warrant is needed at all. By-law officer or cop or firefighter can enter your property, even the inside of your house. If they are responding to a complain, even more so.

I think the OP should stop making fires, and his problems will go away.

Heh. We lived in the suburbs when I was a kid and had a fire pit. They were legal to use for BBQing. Once my father used it to burn leaves and garden waste. It made a huge amount of smoke. Neighbours complained and call the fire department. They showed up in a fire truck and full gear. My mom called out to him from the house "The fire department's here!" I've never seen him move so fast. He ran into the house and back out with a couple of wieners. By the time the firemen came into the backyard he had the grate down and a pair of pink wieners on. The firemen just rolled their eyes.

Kiraly wrote: ↑ Heh. We lived in the suburbs when I was a kid and had a fire pit. They were legal to use for BBQing. Once my father used it to burn leaves and garden waste. It made a huge amount of smoke. Neighbours complained and call the fire department. They showed up in a fire truck and full gear. My mom called out to him from the house "The fire department's here!" I've never seen him move so fast. He ran into the house and back out with a couple of wieners. By the time the firemen came into the backyard he had the grate down and a pair of pink wieners on. The firemen just rolled their eyes.

If the OP wants to talk about "options", he could try to do a couple of things to still have a fire. Someone already was kind enough to post the Mississauga by-law (post #6 of this thread).

#1 - OP could apply for permit from the Fire Chief, or
#2 - OP could operate a cooking fire (no permit required), "the fire is not more than 0.3 meters by 0.3 meters" etc. etc. etc.

HOWEVER.... if there is a complain again.... by-law officer would show up again... and OP has to put the fire out. Even a "cooking" fire, or a fire with a permit, cannot take place "if it creates a Nuisance."