Status Update: Implementation of Ombudsman’s Recommendations and Council Directives on the City’s Response to a Vital Services Outage in a Multi-Tenant Home

Addressing vital services disruptions to prevent tenant displacement, and supporting those who become displaced, is a multi-divisional collaborative effort by Municipal Licensing and Standards (MLS), the Housing Secretariat (HS), and Toronto Emergency Management (TEM). Other divisions with roles in responding to a vital service outage, uninhabitable housing, and tenant displacement include Social Development (SD), the Customer Experience Division (CXD), Toronto Fire Services (TFS), Toronto Building (TB), and Toronto Shelter and Support Services (TSSS). The Ombudsman identified concerns over the adequacy and timeliness of the City's response and made 27 recommendations, all of which were adopted by Council. These are aimed at improving policies and procedures, staff training and supervision, and responses to vital service outages for MLS, as well as clarifying programs and improving service standards for the EPIC program. City Council provided an additional 6 directives to Municipal Licensing and Standards, Housing Secretariat, Toronto Emergency Management and Customer Experience Division largely around supporting tenants in the event of displacement. This report provides an update on the inter-divisional work to support the implementation of the Ombudsman's recommendations and related Council directives. City staff are working closely with the Ombudsman's Office on implementation, and all recommended actions are either completed or underway. In response to the recommendations, staff have strengthened enforcement processes, improved staff training, and are establishing stronger protocols for interdivisional coordination to better protect tenants affected by vital services disruptions.