Toronto considering a bunch of new bylaws that will benefit renters

Mar 20 2017, 10:15 pm

Suffering from a case of a bad landlord? We’ve all been there.

The good news is that the City of Toronto is on your side. Toronto’s Licensing and Standards committee is considering almost 50 new recommendations (aka mandatory regulations) that make life for tenants considerably more pleasant by holding landlords accountable for responsibilities like pest control and building maintenance.

Council will look into the recommendations at the March 28 meeting.

Here are some of the main takeaways if the bylaws pass:

– Owners and landlords must respond to urgent requests within 24 hours and non-urgent requests within 7 days (the discontinuance of fuel, electricity, gas, heat, or hot or cold water qualifies as urgent).

– Information regarding planned or unplanned service disruptions, including disruption to heat, water, security, electricity, elevators must be published on a notice board. This also includes a cleaning plan.

– The owner or landlord shall inspect indoor and outdoor common areas of the building at least once every 30 days for the presence of pests. If pests are detected, they are responsible for stopping their spread into other areas of the building, as well as extermination. Tenants must also be notified of all previous infestations and measures taken to eliminate them.

– Develop and maintain a number of operational plans related to cleaning, waste management and capital planning. Building elements (roof, elevators, façade, windows, mechanical systems, underground garage, interior flooring, interior wall finish, balcony guards, and handrails) and the dates upon which they are scheduled to be replaced or updated must be clearly communicated.

– The owner or landlord shall inspect common areas of the building at least once every day for cleanliness.

You better not take the Licensing and Standards committee for a pushover, either – anyone who contravenes any provision of the bylaw is liable to a fine of no more than $100,000.

Something tells us the workload for university residence managers is about to quadruple.

The new management standards for apartment building owners and operators will take effect July 1 once passed, and is applicable to rental properties with three or more storeys and ten or more dwelling units available for rent.

See also
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