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Another Toronto summer is on its way with no bylaw in place laying out a maximum temperature for the city’s rental units.
After nearly 15 years of discussions at council and significant lobbying by advocacy groups, councillors have now asked for a “framework” for a bylaw by the end of June as they weigh concerns that requiring air-conditioning in more rentals will lead to more costs being passed on to residents.
“Everyone in this room wants a maximum temperature bylaw,” said Coun. Shelley Carroll at a council meeting in mid-May. “[But] we have to follow the path we’re on for the moment.”
“Somebody always pays,” added Coun. Stephen Holyday during the same debate. “Do you think the landlords are going to print some money in the basement, make it happen? It’s going to trickle back to the people who live in those units.”
The discussion at council came shortly after the city’s first heat warning of the year over Victoria Day weekend — and just days before a news conference by city officials cautioning Torontonians to stay safe during extreme high temperatures this season.
“The risk of heat illness for vulnerable individuals increases when the indoor temperature in their living space stays above 26 C for prolonged periods of time,” said Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Michelle Murti.
A 2023 CBC investigation placed temperature sensors in 50 rental apartments without air conditioning in five Canadian cities, including Toronto. It found that more than half of the units were either at or above the 26 C threshold for at least half of the time during which data was being recorded.
‘Every year… another reason’
For Coun. Josh Matlow, one of the biggest advocates of a bylaw, it’s been a frustrating conversation to participate in.
“Every year, city staff have found another reason why [a maximum temperature bylaw] isn’t possible to do, even though it is reality in many jurisdictions around the world,” said Matlow. He first proposed a bylaw like this in 2012.
Matlow says the council’s concern about landlords using above-guideline rent increases (AGIs) to pass on the costs of new cooling systems to their tenants ignores the fact that “many landlords already max out their allowance” for AGIs on other capital improvements anyway.
“What I’m arguing is that if we keep waiting to do something until we figure out all the problems, we’re never going to do anything,” he said.
It’s a position shared by Jacqueline Wilson, a lawyer at the Canadian Environmental Law Association which, along with legal aid clinics, tenants rights groups and environmental organizations, has been pushing for the maximum temperature bylaw under the name the Toronto Heat Safety Coalition.
“I appreciate the [cost] concern,” said Wilson.
“The way to deal with it is to get the safety standard in place, and then do whatever is possible at the city level and make requests to other levels of government… to mitigate the issues.”
City looks to province, feds
City council, however, has indicated that it wants to address the cost issue at the same time as it considers how to craft the new bylaw.
Along with asking for the bylaw framework from the head of Municipal Licensing and Standards, council also requested that city staff make another push on all pre-existing municipal requests to other levels of government.
The hope is that previously requested tenant supports or landlord incentives could soften the financial impact of the new rules.
Among those requests: that the province update the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), including by blocking landlords from using AGIs to fund general property maintenance and repair.
CBC Toronto asked the province it is considering further updates to the act, but did not receive a response by publication time.
Despite a 2022 push by the Ontario Human Rights Commission to alter the RTA, the act currently classifies heat — but not cooling — as a vital service, meaning there’s no provincial rule requiring landlords to provide air conditioning to tenants. As of July 1st, an update to the RTA that was passed in 2023 will come into force, and will largely prevent landlords from prohibiting tenants from installing their own A/C units.
New cooling efforts for summer 2026
Though a bylaw still remains several steps down the road, the city of Toronto has rolled out some new cooling initiatives this season to complement the city’s annual heat relief strategy.
After launching a pilot program giving out free air conditioners to low-income seniors last year, Toronto expanded its reach for 2026.
The plan is to deliver more than 2,400 units by the end of June to “seniors with health-related needs, families with infants, and pregnant individuals,” said Joanna Beaven-Desjardins, executive director of Toronto Emergency Management.
The city says it is working to keep public stay safe during periods of extreme heat this summer. CBC’s Mercedes Gaztambide breaks down the measures in place to keep people cool during the FIFA World Cup.
The city is also introducing a new requirement for many Toronto apartment buildings starting on June 1.
It says that in buildings that don’t provide air conditioning, any pre-existing amenity spaces (for example, a party room) have to be cooled below 26 C so tenants can get a break from the heat in their homes.
Wilson, of the Toronto Heat Safety Coalition, welcomes “any additional public health interventions to address this issue,” but says the cool rooms don’t go far enough.
“What’s really needed is cooling in the apartments,” she said.
