A new colour-coded rating system to indicate the maintenance status of apartment buildings has been approved by city council, marking the most significant expansion of the RentSafe program since its launch in 2017.
Starting next year, landlords will be required to post signs at building entrances indicating the state of property standards compliance.
The system, modelled after the City’s DineSafe program for restaurants, will issue green signs for buildings in good repair, yellow for those with minor issues, and red for serious health and safety violations such as mold, pests, or inoperable appliances.
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Under the motion from Councillor Josh Matlow and Mayor Olivia Chow, city audits will place increased emphasis on more serious issues like inadequate heat.
The plan also introduces a new fine structure that enables steeper penalties and limits landlords’ ability to dispute them.
“Council sent a clear message to landlords today that they will be held accountable for not providing renters with clean, safe, and healthy homes. If there are cockroaches or mold in your apartment the City will stick a red sign in the window until it’s fixed,” Councillor Josh Matlow said in a statement.
The policy change follows months of organizing by grassroots groups including ACORN, the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations, York South Weston Tenants Union, and NoDemovictions, who canvassed buildings, launched petitions, and lobbied councillors ahead of the vote.
“This is a huge victory for tenants across the City of Toronto. As we roll out colour-coded signage next year, it will send a clear message that as a City we are committed to strengthening RentSafeTO and implementing enforcement measures to ensure our rental housing is safe, livable, and well maintained,” Councillor Chris Moise said.
The new RentSafe signage system has sparked a wave of online reaction, with many tenants applauding the move as a long-overdue step toward landlord accountability.
“This is a great change. Time for a clear and easy to understand warning that a building has significant outstanding work orders,” one Reddit user commented.
“This is awesome. Being a landlord is a job,” another said.
Others expressed relief, with one user simply stating, “Finally this is happening.”
But not all reactions were purely celebratory. Some raised concerns about how effective the system will be in Toronto’s tight rental market.
“It’s better than nothing but a system like this would work best in a competitive rental market where there’s enough supply so renters can easily walk away. Given how much trouble people are having finding affordable rent these days, the least privileged will just opt to ignore these labels,” one user pointed out.
“I would love for this to work, but I’m not sure it will? DineSafe works because customers can easily choose another place to eat when they see a red or yellow sign, putting immediate financial pressure on the owners to fix the issue. Apartment turnover is so low, and choice so limited, that I don’t see how this applies for renting. It’s not like people can just move out? It’s not like potential renters can just walk to the next building?” another user said.
A spokesperson from Councillor Matlow’s office said the approved changes mark important progress, but emphasized that the system still needs further reform to truly protect tenants.
“The current system provides little incentive for landlords to make timely repairs. There are buildings receiving scores of 70-80% despite having cockroaches, mold, or appliances that don’t work,” they said.
“It’s confusing and frustrating for many tenants.”
The current rating model awards points for basic upkeep like clean lobbies, working elevators, and laundry facilities — standards, the spokesperson noted, that renters already pay for.
“The City doesn’t need to congratulate landlords for the basics. That’s what the rent is for.”
