Outdated bylaw leaves tenants suffering from the heat
Indoor overheating happens every year, says Bretton Place resident
On Monday night, Bretton Place resident Anne Marie MacKenzie slept on her balcony with her dog to escape the baseboard heating inside her apartment — heat she is unable to turn off.
“It’s just so hot in here and I don’t think as residents paying such high (rent), with nothing else included, why our hands are so tied,” MacKenzie said. “We’re all just so fed up.”
On the same day, management put up a notice informing residents they cannot “readily” switch between heating and cooling systems, and need to legally provide heat to residents until June 15. The notice, seen by the Star, also said they will take the forecast into consideration.
Indoor overheating happens every year at Bretton Place, MacKenzie told the Star.
With this spring already feeling a lot more like summer, MacKenzie is only one of many tenants across Toronto who are suffering from too-hot apartments because of landlords who rigidly enforce what some say is an outdated city bylaw.
Despite the law — which says that owners and landlords of residential buildings are responsible for providing heat to a minimum air temperature of 21 degrees, from Sept. 15 to June 1 — the city on Tuesday encouraged landlords to turn off the heat on warm spring days.
Coun. Josh Matlow said Mother Nature doesn’t always follow city bylaws. He has visited residents who live on the 10th floor of a building who have been “boiling in their homes.”
A city spokesperson said the fine for failing to maintain the minimum temperature is $500, however educating landlords is preferred to issuing tickets at this time. The spokesperson also said the city is asking landlords to use their judgment during warmer weather.
Matlow told the Star landlords will not be fined for using common sense and “doing the right thing” on a hot spring day.
There ultimately need to be changes to the bylaw to explicitly relieve landlords from the unrealistic expectations and Matlow said he has repeatedly asked the city to provide clarification.
“I have been going to senior staff and the mayor’s office for years asking for clarity in the bylaw,” he said. “That has not been forthcoming.”
Climate change has impacted the bylaw as “May is different these days than it was many years ago,” he added.
Alejandro Gonzalez-Rendon, a member of ACORN, a union of low-income individuals and families, agreed: “We have to be flexible, we have to be adaptable because global warming is happening,”
If a tenant has a concern about indoor temperatures, the city encourages them to first speak with their landlord or property manager directly and, if the issue persists, contact 311 for the city to investigate.