City to review apartment heat

Council approves a motion to consider amending bylaw’s temperature requirements

After an unseasonably warm September that left some tenants sweltering in their units, the city will look at changing the requirements for landlords.

Council approved a motion from Councillor Josh Matlow, which was seconded by Mayor John Tory, for staff to consult on amending the bylaw governing heat in apartments and report back early next year.

“We are regularly hearing from tenants across Toronto who are suffering in 30-degree heat in their own homes,” Matlow said after the vote. “That’s unacceptable. The status quo cannot continue and we need to work together — landlords, tenants and city hall together — to find a solution because peoples’ lives are at risk.”

Last month, Matlow, who chairs the city’s tenant issues committee, was joined by Tory, board of health chair Councillor Joe Mihevc and the city’s ombudsman in pleading with landlords to use “common sense” in the middle of a heat wave. At least one tenant was reportedly hospitalized.

The city’s existing bylaw requires landlords to maintain a minimum temperature of 21C between Sept. 15 and June 1.

But landlords, councillors said, are frequently misinterpreting that rule to mean buildings with centralized air must be switched over from air conditioning to heating.

Not only do those rules need to be clarified, Matlow said, but the city should look at setting a maximum temperature.

This is the second time Matlow has moved such a motion, after a similar request was passed in 2012. Setting a maximum temperature could require landlords to provide air conditioning when none exists, but no specific requirements have been recommended yet.