What to know
- Olivia Chow is proposing a new “Bad Landlords Task Force” focused on proactive inspections, court orders and repairs.
- Chow is pointing to 500 Dawes Rd., where tenants have reported years of problems including mold, pests and deteriorating infrastructure.
- The building’s owner, Carolyn Krebs, has also faced fire safety enforcement at another property on Dawes Road.
- Mayoral rival Brad Bradford says the City had enforcement tools available earlier and questions Chow’s timing.
Olivia Chow is promising to create a dedicated enforcement team targeting Toronto’s worst landlords and rental buildings if she is re-elected mayor.
Chow announced her proposed “Bad Landlords Task Force” Friday, saying it would bring together enforcement officers and lawyers with a mandate to proactively inspect problem buildings, pursue court orders for repairs and take action against landlords who repeatedly fail to maintain their properties.
“Half of Torontonians rent their homes, they deserve safe and healthy places to live,” Chow said. “There are too many slumlords who won’t do the basics, they’ve been getting away with it for too long.”
Chow points to 500 Dawes
The proposal builds on the City’s ongoing enforcement at 500 Dawes Rd., a 14-storey East York apartment building that has faced decades of complaints from tenants about mold, pests and deteriorating infrastructure.
Chow has previously said she visited the building and heard from residents who kept their clothing in plastic bags because of pest infestations. Tenants have also reported crumbling walls, moisture and mould, unsafe balconies and problems in common areas.
The building is owned by Toronto landlord Carolyn Krebs, who also owns 608 Dawes Rd.
The City has carried out about $200,000 in repairs at 500 Dawes and billed the landlord.
Krebs has also faced fire safety enforcement at 608 Dawes, where she was sentenced to 15 days in custody and ordered to pay a $120,000 fine in May.
Bradford challenges Chow’s record on 500 Dawes
Brad Bradford, the councillor for the area and rival mayoral candidate, is criticizing Chow’s focus on 500 Dawes, arguing the City had tools to intervene at the building before Chow made it a centerpiece of her campaign.
In a statement to Now Toronto, Bradford’s campaign says the City used remedial action at 500 Dawes in 2020, including cleaning work that was added to the landlord’s tax bill. He argues Chow then waited until her current election campaign to make the property a major focus.
“Every tool the Mayor used at 500 Dawes this spring was on the shelf the day she was sworn in,” Bradford said in a statement.
Bradford also pointed to his own work on the building, saying his office had pushed for further
enforcement and explored options including a potential city acquisition or expropriation.
Chow’s campaign says the new task force would expand the City’s ability to proactively target problem landlords across Toronto.
New team would target problem landlords
Under the proposal, the task force would conduct proactive inspections and pursue court orders requiring repairs.
For landlords who refuse to act, Chow says the City would ramp up remedial action, arranging the repairs itself and billing the property owner.
“If you own even one problem building, we will take action in every building in your portfolio,” Chow said.
Chow also pointed to measures introduced during her current term, including a Renovictions By-law, increased funding for eviction-prevention programs such as the Rent Bank and an expansion of RentSafeTO enforcement.
