Council approves reforms to bolster tenant rights
Colour-coded ratings among suite of changes
Landlords in Toronto will have to pay a fee to the city if they fail to provide for tenants in the event the buildings they live in are evacuated due to fire, flood or other service disruptions — part of a suite of changes adopted by city council Wednesday strengthening tenant rights.
Landlords will also have to post a colour-coded sign in a prominent location, displaying a rating from the city, similar to what restaurants currently have to do under DineSafe.
The move comes as the city continues to pay for housing and social services for tenants of 650 Parliament St., about 1,000 of whom remain out of their homes after a fire in the building in August 2018, according to Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam. The cost to the city for that relocation has mounted into the millions of dollars, according to city staff.
“We want a tool to step in when the landlord hasn’t taken the necessary steps to house their tenants,” Carleton Grant, the city’s executive director of municipal licensing and standards, told councillors during the meeting.
Kemba Robinson, a spokesperson for the anti-poverty group ACORN, said the organization is satisfied with the outcome.
“We at ACORN have been fighting for over 10 years to get these rules implemented and we’re extremely happy with the vote that has been passed today,” she said. “We believe that the landlord should be responsible for rehousing (tenants) until the place they’re living in has been fixed.”
In addition to the fees and publicly posting ratings, the new RentSafe measures include new standard timelines for fixing specific property standards violations and limits to time extensions for landlords to complete necessary repairs. The rules apply to properties with three or more storeys and 10 units or more, but all apartments, including single basement apartments, are covered by property standards, according to city spokesperson Brad Ross.
The measures add muscle to the RentSafe initiative approved by council in 2017 and regarded as one of the most comprehensive, progressive and rigorous municipal tenant protection initiatives in North America.
However, enforcement has been lacking, according to Coun. Josh Matlow (Ward 12 Toronto— St. Paul’s), who helped draft RentSafe, together with ACORN and other stakeholders.
“There have been significant failings in the implementation and we addressed those today,” Matlow said. “This RentSafe, if implemented the way that we have requested staff to do, will see buildings across Toronto become healthier and safer places for renters to live.”
The amendments to RentSafe were adopted unanimously by council, after a motion by Coun. James Pasternak (Ward 6 York Centre), to refer the matter back to committee for more study was unsuccessful. Wong-Tam (Ward 13 Toronto Centre) pointed out that the issues have been under discussion for a dozen years, and have been the subject of several public consultations. Also Wednesday, council moved to explore rent controls for units in buildings where developers had received significant public benefits via the mayor’s key housing program.