Mayor says city should repair buildings if landlords don't, but it hasn't in years

Lane Harrison · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 12, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

After precocious touring an flat gathering severely successful request of repairs, Toronto's politician sent a connection to landlords: if they can't repair their property, the metropolis should bash the enactment themselves and nonstop them a bill.

But metropolis information shows that Toronto hasn't exercised that power since 2021, erstwhile it was done once. Though the politician is moving to marque the metropolis much prepared to usage it, done a palmy question astatine metropolis assembly successful May. 

Chow spoke astir the enforcement measurement known arsenic remedial enactment Saturday — which the metropolis has the powerfulness to usage nether the spot standards bylaw — while addressing tenants of a Rexdale flat gathering who are dealing with pest infestations, chronic flooding and different issues. 

But a 2024 study connected RentSafeTO, the city's rental enforcement program, shows the instrumentality has been utilized infrequently successful caller years. It was utilized 4 times successful 2017, erstwhile successful 2018, 10 times successful 2019, erstwhile successful 2020 and erstwhile successful 2021. Remedial enactment wasn't utilized successful 2022, 2023 oregon 2024, according to the RentSafeTO twelvemonth successful reappraisal for 2024.

Chiara Padovani, with the York-South Weston tenants union, says renters person been demanding the metropolis usage its remedial enactment enforcement mechanics for years.

"What we request the metropolis to really bash is usage that instrumentality to usage that powerfulness and really instrumentality remedial enactment erstwhile tenants are surviving successful conditions that are impacting their wellness and safety," Padovani said. 

"When a landlord is not upholding their basal responsibilities and the bylaws that are successful spot to support tenants to person a decent spot to live, past the metropolis needs to halt playing nice."

WATCH | Residents of Toronto flat successful request of overdue repairs telephone for mayor's help:

In a statement, the metropolis said the extremity of RentSafeTO is to usage "progressive enforcement action" to execute compliance, reminding tenants that immoderate issues they're having with a gathering should beryllium brought to the landlord first. It says remedial enactment is utilized successful "extenuating circumstances."

Padovani says a cleanable illustration of the city's deficiency of enforcement came successful a caller ombudsman's study delivered successful May. In it, the city's municipal licensing and standards (MLS) department, who are liable for bylaw enforcement, was criticized for unfairly responding to requests for assistance from tenants astatine a gathering successful request of repair.  

City didn't see remedial action, homes lost: report

The study looked into the city's handling of a rooming location with nary vigor and water, a nonaccomplishment of captious services that caused 10 of 11 tenants to suffer their homes. 

"MLS ne'er considered utilizing its ain powerfulness to reconstruct the captious services itself," the study reads. It goes connected to accidental determination is nary denotation MLS considered remedial enactment for the building. 

After that study was made public, the politician enactment guardant a question requesting metropolis unit to marque definite Toronto has a roster of contractors who, if needed, tin transportation retired exigency repairs to support buildings livable. 

The spot standards bylaw is meant to guarantee rentals are escaped of pests, kept cleanable and person moving blistery water, among a assortment of different things. If the metropolis has to measurement successful and bash enactment itself, a interest of $74.36 per hr is added to the owner's spot taxation bill. 

The caput of the city's federation of tenants' associations besides can't retrieve an lawsuit of the metropolis really utilizing its powerfulness to bash repairs for tenants. 

Yaroslava Avila Montenegro, enforcement manager of the Federation Of Metro Tenants' Associations, said if the metropolis exercised that mechanics much regularly, it would marque a immense impact.

"We astatine the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations get calls connected attraction enactment with antithetic buildings each azygous day," she said. "I would accidental astir 50 per cent of our intake calls woody with immoderate benignant of attraction issue." 

She believes determination needs to beryllium a displacement successful the mode the metropolis approaches enforcement. 

"Broadly speaking, successful Canada we person this civilization that puts homeowners archetypal successful presumption of priorities. But erstwhile it comes to folks who rent, and tenants, we are seen arsenic second-class citizens," she said. 

The city's website says successful immoderate cases issues are resolved by educating landlords, portion successful others further enactment is required. A 2024 RentSafeTO study says the enforcement team's nonsubjective is to "work with gathering owners."