Request to Implement an Adequate Temperature By-law - by Councillor Shelley Carroll, seconded by Councillor Amber Morley

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The decision

2023-06-14 · Toronto City Council · amended

As filed

City Council on June 14 and 15, 2023, adopted the following: 1. City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards and the Director, Environment and Energy, in consultation with other appropriate City Divisions, to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee by the first quarter of 2024 on the feasibility of the following options and others as may be applicable for the City to effectively require all landlords who control the temperature in leased residential premises to ensure that: a.

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the air temperature in each unit is heated to a specified temperature whenever the outside temperature falls below a specified temperature; b. if the premises are equipped with air cooling equipment that cool each unit, the air temperature in each unit does not exceed a specified temperature; and c. if the premises are not equipped with air cooling equipment that cool each unit: i. the landlord makes reasonable efforts to turn off its heating equipment when the air temperature in any unit exceeds a specified temperature; ii. the building contains a cooling centre, accessible to all tenants as a respite, where the air temperature does not exceed a specified temperature; iii. each tenant has a right to exchange gas-fired cooking equipment provided by the landlord for a cool-cooking induction stove; iv. information on these rights is posted in the common areas, and v. tenants with special health needs are provided with supplementary heating or cooling that they can control. 2. City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat and the Director, Environment and Energy, in consultation with the Medical Officer of Health and other appropriate City Divisions, to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee by the first quarter of 2024 on what minimum and maximum temperatures should be specified for leased residential premises, and for cooling centres, that protect tenants' health and are consistent with TransformTO. 3. City Council direct the Executive Director, Customer Experience and the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, in consultation with other appropriate City Divisions, to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee by the first quarter of 2024 on how to improve data collection and analysis capacity as it relates to extreme temperatures in rental housing; including: a. a process to monitor, record and analyse tenant complaints to the Customer Experience Division about extreme temperatures in rental housing; b. a process to monitor the effectiveness of removing gas stoves and adding cooling centres in protecting the health of tenants in buildings not equipped with air conditioning; and c. recording the number of complaints submitted from residents regarding the temperature of their unit from June 2023 onwards. 4. City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat and the Director, Environment and Energy, in consultation with the Medical Officer of Health and other appropriate City Divisions, to report back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee by the second quarter of 2024 on options to: a. encourage retrofits of existing residential buildings that reduce summer heat gain, provide passive and/or active cooling and improve tenant comfort in extreme weather, in ways consistent with TransformTO; and b. encourage or require new residential buildings to comply with passive house standards, to ensure tenant comfort despite increasingly severe weather in ways consistent with TransformTO. 5. City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, in consultation with all relevant City Divisions, to report to the Planning and Housing Committee on all documentation and outcomes resulting from the unanimously adopted City Council Item 2018.LS25.1 .

The vote

Amend Item · Carried, 20-1

Against (1)Stephen Holyday

Absent (4)Gary Crawford, Jon Burnside, Mike Colle, Vincent Crisanti

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On the agenda

As the city filed it

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.

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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.

Staff recommended

Councillor Shelley Carroll, seconded by Councillor Amber Morley, recommends that: 1. City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, in consultation with other appropriate Divisions, to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee by the fourth quarter of 2023 on the following: a. require that all landlords provide adequate and suitable heat, meaning the air temperature in a unit is at least 21°C; and b.

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require that all landlords provide adequate and suitable cooling, meaning that the air temperature in a unit does not exceed 26°C. 2. City Council direct the Executive Director, Customer Experience Division and the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, in consultation with other appropriate divisions, to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee by the fourth quarter of 2023 on: a. exploring opportunities to improve data collection and analysis capacity as it relates to extreme temperatures in rental housing; and b. developing a process to monitor complaints submitted by residents about extreme temperatures by collecting information from the Customer Experience Division; and c. recording the number of complaints submitted from residents regarding the temperature of their unit from June 2023 onwards. 3. City Council direct the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration, the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, and the Director, Environment and Energy, in consultation with the Medical Officer of Health and other appropriate Divisions, to report back to the Planning and Housing Committee on the following outstanding from Item 2018.LS25.1 by the third quarter of 2023: a. require that all existing apartment buildings provide air conditioned units or an air conditioned cool room in the building; b. require that all new apartment buildings have air conditioning and add measures that enable passive cooling; and c. require that all apartment buildings undergo retrofits, such as new windows, heavy-duty screens, cladding and other passive and active cooling systems, and updated heating systems to mitigate the negative health impacts of heat on tenants.

On the record

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