A new report from City of Toronto officials has recommended the creation of a bylaw that would declare all rented apartments in the city should never be over 26 C.
The report calls for the adoption of a maximum heat bylaw intended to protect tenants without air conditioning in their units. City staff said tenants in overheated apartments are at risk of adverse health effects and even death.
“Like many cities around the world, Toronto is experiencing the effects of climate change with more frequent and extended heat events taking place outside of seasonal norms,” the report reads.
Toronto’s municipal code already protects tenants from the inverse circumstance. All rental units in the city are to be kept above 21 C to prevent tenants from freezing during the cold, winter months.
However, Toronto has no such rules related to maximum heat levels in rented apartments that do not have air conditioning.
City staffers said the health risks of high temperatures in apartments are intensified in multi-unit residential buildings and in urban environments where there is limited greenspace.
In a nod to the city’s longer summers, the report also recommended the city require landlords to keep apartments heated for four fewer weeks per year. Under the proposal, heating rules would be in effect Oct. 1 to May 15 — a change from the existing bylaw that mandates Sept. 15 to June 1.
City staff additionally recommended landlords who provide air conditioning for their tenants be mandated to keep the cooling units operating from June 1 to Sept. 30, an extra two weeks longer in the fall.
The report will be presented to the city’s planning and housing committee on Thursday. From there, it will be considered by the city council on Dec. 17.
A June 2024 Statistics Canada report found people aged 65 or older in Toronto and other major Canadian cities are at higher risk of death during extreme heat waves.
Through examination of daily mortality data from 2000 to 2020, the report found seniors in Toronto and Montreal had higher rates of deaths due to respiratory causes on extremely hot days than their younger counterparts.
In June 2023, the provincial government passed legislation that would grant tenants the right to install a window or a portable air conditioning unit if cooling is not provided by the landlord.
However, the bill still contains a caveat allowing landlords to prohibit tenants from installing units in some cases and grants landlords the right to raise rental prices if they install air conditioning into a building themselves.
Queen’s Park has yet to proclaim the provisions into force.
The bill was tabled after the Ontario Human Rights Commission said landlords who deny their tenants air conditioning could face a human rights complaint.
