The City has a heating By-law in place to ensure that all landlords provide adequate heating to a minimum air temperature of 21°C from September 15 to June 1. The City also has a property standards By-law that requires that all air-conditioning systems be operated so as to maintain an indoor temperature of not more than 26°C from June 2 to September 14. City Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, recognizing that temperatures are rising due to climate change and that extreme heat waves have grave health consequences for residents in our City. Many tenants living in apartment buildings experience very high temperatures in their units, and only 6 percent of apartment buildings in Toronto are reported to have air conditioning. From September 15 to October 15 and May 1 to June 1, landlords are able to turn the heat down or off if the temperature indoors is above 21°C. However, this is at the discretion of the landlord. Tenants Associations in Don Valley North have reported that while their landlord had the discretion to turn off the heat prior to June 1, they did not. Tenants reported temperatures as high as 30°C in their units. In 2018, the City of Mississauga introduced an Adequate Temperature By-law that defined “adequate and suitable cooling” to be a temperature in a “unit that does not exceed 26°C”. In 2023, the City of Hamilton voted unanimously at its Public Health Committee to support the development of an Adequate Temperature By-law. While Toronto has a heating By-law in place, we do not have a By-law to support our tenants when they experience extreme heat waves. With rising year-round temperatures in Toronto, these conditions will only worsen if we do nothing. City Council has moved a number of Motions in recognition of this problem. Despite our heating and property standards By-laws, tenants across the City continue to report the same concerns with the extreme heat conditions in their units. Introducing an adequate temperature By-law would ensure that tenants are guaranteed access to safe and comfortable accommodation and would protect their health in our hottest months.
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