Can Snow Be Pushed Into the Street in Montréal?

No. In Montréal, snow cleared from private property may not be pushed, blown or piled onto the street, the sidewalk or any public place, unless the city has issued a specific permit allowing it. Commercial, industrial and institutional properties that run out of room on site need either that street-deposit permit or a contractor who hauls the snow to a municipal disposal site. Private snow contractors working in the city also need their own permits, one per vehicle.

The rules are applied borough by borough, so the details below are a starting point. Always confirm with the borough where your property sits before the season starts.

The basic rule: private snow stays on private land

The general principle in Montréal is simple: snow and ice from a private lot belong on that lot. A plow operator who windrows a parking lot onto the curb lane, or a blower crew that throws a walkway's snow over the sidewalk, is in breach of the bylaw. So, in many cases, is the property, because the owner hired the work.

This matters most for properties that were never designed for snow storage:

• Retail strips with parking right up to the property line
• Medical and professional buildings on narrow urban lots
• Older industrial buildings where every square metre is used for loading or trailer parking
• Multi-unit buildings with a single driveway and no green space

On a large suburban lot the rule rarely bites, because there is always a corner or an island to stack on. On a tight urban site in Ville-Marie, the Plateau or Saint-Laurent, it decides the whole snow plan.

Permits the contractor needs

Montréal requires private snow removal contractors to hold a permit for each vehicle used for plowing or clearing. The permit has to be displayed in or on the windshield at all times, and it runs for the winter season (October 1 to May 1 of the following year). Fees are set by the city and change from year to year.

Contractors must also install at least one identification stake on every private property they clear, showing the company's name and contact information. If you manage a site in Montréal and see no stake by December, ask your contractor about it.

For a property manager, the practical checks are:

1. Ask for a copy of the contractor's municipal permit, or the permit numbers for the trucks assigned to your site.
2. Confirm the identification stake is in place on each property.
3. Make sure your contract says the contractor is responsible for complying with municipal snow bylaws, including fines tied to its own operations.

The street-deposit permit for commercial properties

When a property truly has nowhere to put its snow, the city can authorize depositing it in the street so that municipal loading crews pick it up during their own operations. For commercial, industrial and institutional establishments, and for residential buildings with nine or more units, this requires a permit.

Points worth knowing before you apply:

• Who applies. The owner, an occupant, or the snow contractor acting with a written authorization (procuration) from the owner.
• How it is priced. The fee is calculated on the surface to be cleared, per square metre, at a rate the city sets. Check the current rate on the city's permit page, since published figures differ by building type.
• It can be refused. The city may decline a request if the snow cannot be deposited in a way that respects the bylaw's conditions, for example on a busy artery or where it would block drainage or sightlines.
• Timing rules apply. Deposited snow generally has to be placed so the city's crews can load it, and not at times or in places that create a hazard for traffic or pedestrians.

Apply early in the fall. A permit you discover you need after the first big storm is a permit you will be waiting on while the snow sits.

Hauling: the option that always works

If storage on site is impossible and a street-deposit permit is not available or not worth the cost, the snow has to leave the property. Contractors load it into trucks and take it to one of the municipal snow disposal sites the city makes available to private haulers.

Hauling is usually billed separately from plowing, by the truckload or by the hour for a loader and trucks. What moves the cost:

• Lot size and how much snow storage the site loses to parking demand
• Distance and travel time to the nearest disposal site
• Whether hauling is done at night (often required on tight commercial sites so the lot is usable at opening)
• How many storms in the season push piles past what the site can hold

We cover this in more depth in our guide to snow hauling for commercial properties in Montréal.

Laval and the rest of the region

Laval, Longueuil and the suburbs of the North and South Shores have their own bylaws. Most follow the same principle (no private snow on public roads and sidewalks) and many also require a permit or registration for private snow contractors. Pile placement rules differ too: some municipalities restrict how close a pile can be to a fire hydrant, a property line or a street corner for visibility.

If your portfolio spans several municipalities, one contractor who knows each set of rules saves you a lot of surprises. See our Laval snow removal service page or the Montréal service page for the areas we cover.

Building compliance into the snow contract

A few clauses keep the bylaw question from becoming your problem in February:

• Site snow plan. A simple marked drawing of where piles go, which areas stay clear (fire lanes, hydrants, accessible parking, drains) and the trigger for hauling.
• Bylaw responsibility. The contractor holds the required permits and is responsible for fines caused by its crews pushing snow onto public property.
• Hauling terms. A per-load or hourly rate agreed in advance, and who decides when hauling starts.
• Street-deposit permit. If one is needed, who applies, who pays, and who keeps a copy on file.

Frequently asked questions

Can a business blow snow onto the sidewalk in Montréal?

No. Snow from private property may not be blown, pushed or piled onto the sidewalk, the street or any public place in Montréal without a permit. The rule applies to snowblowers on walkways as much as to plows in parking lots, and it applies whether the work is done by staff or by a hired contractor.

Does a snow removal contractor need a permit in Montréal?

Yes. Private snow removal contractors need a city permit for each vehicle used for clearing, displayed in the vehicle for the whole season, which runs from October 1 to May 1. They must also place at least one identification stake on each private property they clear.

What happens if there is no room to store snow on a commercial lot?

There are two options: apply for a permit that allows the snow to be deposited in the street for city pickup, or have the contractor haul it to a municipal disposal site. The permit is priced per square metre and may be refused, so many tight commercial sites budget for hauling instead.

Are the rules the same in Laval and Longueuil?

The principle is similar across Greater Montréal, but each municipality has its own bylaw, permit process and pile placement rules. Check with the city or borough for each property before the season, especially if you manage sites in several municipalities.

Get a snow plan that fits the bylaws

Tell us about your property, its layout and where the snow goes today, and we will build a plan that keeps your lot open and your snow off the street. Request a quote.