Mayor says city should repair buildings if landlords don't, but it hasn't in years
After recently touring an apartment building badly in need of repairs, Toronto's mayor sent a message to landlords: if they can't repair their property, the city should do the work themselves and send them a bill.
But city data shows that Toronto hasn't exercised that power since 2021, when it was done once. Though the mayor is working to make the city more prepared to use it, through a successful motion at city council in May.
Chow spoke about the enforcement measure known as remedial work Saturday — which the city has the power to use under the property standards bylaw — while addressing tenants of a Rexdale apartment building who are dealing with pest infestations, chronic flooding and other issues.
But a 2024 report on RentSafeTO, the city's rental enforcement program, shows the tool has been used infrequently in recent years. It was used four times in 2017, once in 2018, ten times in 2019, once in 2020 and once in 2021. Remedial action wasn't used in 2022, 2023 or 2024, according to the RentSafeTO year in review for 2024.
Chiara Padovani, with the York-South Weston tenants union, says renters have been demanding the city use its remedial work enforcement mechanism for years.
"What we need the city to actually do is use that tool to use that power and actually implement remedial action when tenants are living in conditions that are impacting their health and safety," Padovani said.
"When a landlord is not upholding their basic responsibilities and the bylaws that are in place to protect tenants to have a decent place to live, then the city needs to stop playing nice."
WATCH | Residents of Toronto apartment in need of overdue repairs call for mayor's help:
Residents of Toronto apartment in need of overdue repairs call on mayor's help
3 days ago
Duration 2:52
Mould, insects, and plumbing problems are just some of the issues tenants at a Rexdale apartment complex are raising to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. Tenants say their landlord isn't doing anything to address the problems, and the city's enforcement is failing them. CBC's Naama Weingarten reports.
In a statement, the city said the goal of RentSafeTO is to use "progressive enforcement action" to achieve compliance, reminding tenants that any issues they're having with a building should be brought to the landlord first. It says remedial action is used in "extenuating circumstances."
Padovani says a perfect example of the city's lack of enforcement came in a recent ombudsman's report delivered in May. In it, the city's municipal licensing and standards (MLS) department, who are responsible for bylaw enforcement, was criticized for unfairly responding to requests for help from tenants at a building in need of repair.
City didn't consider remedial action, homes lost: report
The report looked into the city's handling of a rooming house with no heat and water, a loss of vital services that caused 10 of 11 tenants to lose their homes.
"MLS never considered using its own power to restore the vital services itself," the report reads. It goes on to say there is no indication MLS considered remedial action for the building.
After that report was made public, the mayor put forward a motion requesting city staff to make sure Toronto has a roster of contractors who, if needed, can carry out emergency repairs to keep buildings livable.
The property standards bylaw is meant to ensure rentals are free of pests, kept clean and have running hot water, among a variety of other things. If the city has to step in and do work itself, a fee of $74.36 per hour is added to the owner's property tax bill.
The head of the city's federation of tenants' associations also can't remember an instance of the city actually using its power to do repairs for tenants.
Yaroslava Avila Montenegro, executive director of the Federation Of Metro Tenants' Associations, said if the city exercised that mechanism more regularly, it would make a huge impact.
"We at the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations get calls on maintenance work with different buildings every single day," she said. "I would say around 50 per cent of our intake calls deal with some kind of maintenance issue."
She believes there needs to be a shift in the way the city approaches enforcement.
"Broadly speaking, in Canada we have this culture that puts homeowners first in terms of priorities. But when it comes to folks who rent, and tenants, we are seen as second-class citizens," she said.
The city's website says in some cases issues are resolved by educating landlords, while in others further action is required. A 2024 RentSafeTO report says the enforcement team's objective is to "work with building owners."
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