What to know
- The Toronto mayor introduced a “Cracking Down on Bad Landlords” motion that includes a public database to track rental buildings with repeated complaints and help city departments coordinate enforcement.
- Landlords with multiple violations could face proactive investigations and have their properties labeled “problem buildings,” triggering more intensive oversight.
- The city is expanding its RentSafeTO enforcement team and plans to introduce colour-coded signs on apartment buildings to signal maintenance conditions.
- The motion also targets long-standing issues at a 14-storey building at 500 Dawes Rd., Toronto, where tenants have reported pest infestations, mould and unsafe infrastructure.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow is toughening up on landlords that fail to provide repairs, after decades of complaints tied to a city building.
On Tuesday, the mayor introduced “Cracking Down on Bad Landlords,” a motion that proposes tougher regulations to ensure landlords are complying with their responsibility of maintaining proper living conditions.
The new regulations include a cross-divisional, publicly-available database that would track activity at rental properties that have received multiple complaints. Starting in July, the database will make it easier for the different departments within the city to monitor activity in the properties and make sure landlords are delivering repairs.
Coordination will be led by the Housing Secretariat, supported by Public Health, Toronto Fire, Legal Services, Municipal Licensing & Standards, and Toronto Building to enforce regulations and take remedial action if repairs aren’t made.
“Half of Torontonians rent their homes. Landlords are required to maintain safe, clean, dignified housing, and when bad landlords fail to do so, the city must be there to help…I will not tolerate slumlords,” Chow said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Chow’s motion also aims to crack down on landlords who manage multiple properties across the city and fail to comply with regulations. Under the new rules, those who are found to have repeated violations will be proactively investigated by the city, and could have their properties identified as “problem buildings,” which will be treated with “more intensive” enforcement.
As part of the city’s 2026 budget, the mayor has also employed more RentSafeTO officers, who have the authority to investigate and deploy city services to fix issues not attended to by landlords.
According to the mayor, the city will also soon be introducing colour-coded signs on apartment buildings to enforce maintenance.
Read More
Issues at 500 Dawes Rd.
Chow’s new motion also specifically addresses issues at 500 Dawes Rd., a 14-storey building in East York that’s been receiving complaints from residents about property standards violations for decades.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the mayor recalled she visited the property herself last summer, and heard from residents about precarious living conditions, including pest infestations and infrastructure issues.
“I met families who keep their clothing in plastic bags because the pest infestation is so bad. Tenants whose walls are crumbling from moisture and mould, balconies that are unsafe to stand on common areas in disrespect, the laundry room with a massive hole in the wall, exposed wiring and pests,” she said.
Under the new proposal, Chow is requesting the city’s Housing Secretariat to take remedial action regarding 500 Dawes Rd., with assistance from Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) and CUPE 416, as the organizations have resources to support action.
The motion passed on Tuesday, and councillors will be discussing any regulations needed to support the city’s regulations and the possibility of increasing penalties for landlords who fail to provide repairs at an upcoming meeting on March 25.
