RentSafeTO for Tenants

Owners and operators of apartment buildings need to adopt COVID-19 health and safety measures. If you have health and safety concerns, talk to your landlord or building manager first and submit a service request. If you get no action from your landlord and problems persist, contact 311 for the RentSafeTO team.RentSafeTO: Apartment Building Standards is a bylaw enforcement program that ensures apartment building owners comply with building maintenance standards. The program applies to apartment buildings with three or more storeys and 10 or more units.

Residents need to contact their landlord first and submit service requests for issues such as pests, low or no heat, plumbing problems, leaky ceilings or problems in the common areas of the building.

Landlords need to respond to urgent service requests, such as no heat or water, within 24 hours. Non-urgent service requests need to be responded to within seven (7) days. If you get no action from your landlord and problems persist, you can contact 311 for the RentSafeTO team.

Owners of rental apartment buildings are required to register and comply with the RentSafeTO program. Learn more about what building owners must do to comply.

If landlords do not comply with the maintenance standards, the RentSafeTO team can issue orders and charge landlords, which can result in substantial fines. The City can also have a contractor complete any necessary work and place the costs on the building’s property taxes.
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Condo buildings, townhomes, or units in a private home (basement or main floor apartment) are not part of the RentSafeTO program. If you are renting an apartment in a building that is not part of the RentSafeTO program  and experience a problem, please talk to your landlord first and submit a service request. If you get no action from your landlord and problems persist, you can contact 311 to have the City investigate.