City of Toronto: Municipal Licensing and Standards Division

to ensure that business license holders and permit recipients operate in accordance with conditions of permits and licenses;
to ensure properties are maintained at standards that stall the decay of neighborhoods and increase the quality of life in the City; and
to ensure that specific safety concerns and emergencies within the authority of the Municipal Code are addressed in a timely manner.

Investigation Services inspects and investigates private property and the public right-of-way, as well as municipally licensed and permitted businesses and premises to ensure compliance with Acts, by-laws and regulations in order to maintain a high level of public safety, neighbourhood integrity and cleanliness, and consumer protection.

Investigation Services is comprised of four district-based teams, a licensing enforcement team dealing with mobile business license investigations and a waste enforcement team.

Reporting an Incident and/or Requesting an Investigation

Our offices can be contacted by mail, e-mail, telephone or fax. Some of your concerns will be responded to by officers from our District Offices. In these cases it would be most effective to report an incident to the District Office responsible for the area where the property of concern is located.

When requesting an investigation it is helpful to provide as much information as possible to facilitate conclusive and timely responses by our officers.

If the concern relates to a privately owned property, providing the address is essential. Where no address is available, a description of the location with landmarks (such as nearby intersections) may be helpful. For concerns relating to apartment buildings visit our Apartment Standards Web site for additional information.

If the concern relates to limousines, taxicabs, pedicabs or tow trucks the number of the vehicle would be essential. License plate numbers, operator's name, make of vehicle and a description of the operator may be helpful.

Every situation is unique and therefore the time needed to gain compliance will vary. In cases where a property owner does not comply in a reasonable time, our officers will issue Notices of Violation, Orders to Comply, Emergency Orders and lay charges as warranted by the situation. Priority is given to those situations where there is a threat to public safety.

Due to freedom of information issues each officer is required to make the best efforts to ensure that the privacy of individuals is maintained during an investigation. This will often affect the amount of information that can be communicated and the details that can be provided during an investigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Investigation Services is responsible for enforcement related to the following Chapters of the Toronto Municipal Code:

Bylaw Compliance Program

The bylaw compliance program responds to complaints and initiates proactive prevention through a range of approaches including inspections, alternative dispute resolution, education and, if necessary, enforcement, prosecution and other legal proceedings.

Contact Us

Our enforcement services are district and functionally based. To contact us about an enforcement matter, you may do so by mail, e-mail, telephone or fax. Using the map below, click on your area to see a district map and relevant contact information:

For City-wide operations:

Licensing Enforcement 850 Coxwell Avenue 3rd Floor Toronto, ON M4C 5R1 Tel: 416-392-3000 Toll Free: 1-877-868-2947 Fax: 416-392-3395 E-mail: licenf@toronto.ca		In this area, staff deal with the enforcement of business licenses covered under Chapter 545 - Licensing, which includes but is not limited to restaurants, holistic centres, public garages, taxi and pedi cabs, tow trucks, limousines, hot dog and refreshment carts and driving schools. The staff also handle trade complaints including problems with heating, plumbing, drain and general contractors.

Waste Enforcement & Clean City 433 Eastern Avenue, 2nd Floor Toronto, ON M4M 1B7 Waste Enforcement Tel: 416-392-0873 Fax: 416-392-0762 E-mail: mlswaste@toronto.ca		In this area, staff enforce waste and dumping by-laws on public property and rights-of-way (Chapters 841 - Commercial Properties and 844 - Residential Properties)
		Waste Enforcement does not enforce waste and dumping by-laws on private property or in parks
Clean City Tel: 311 Fax: 416-392-9826		Clean City is also a City-wide operation and staff in this area enforce the City's Graffiti By-law (Chapter 485 - Graffiti)