The City of Toronto’s Official Plan Policy 3.1.6.14 directs that potential and existing properties of cultural heritage value or interest, including cultural heritage landscapes and Heritage Conservation Districts, will be identified and included in area planning studies and plans with recommendations for further study, evaluation and conservation.
Section 27 of the Ontario Heritage Act gives municipalities the authority to maintain and add to a publicly accessible heritage register. The register includes a list of all designated properties, including conservation districts within the municipality. In addition, the register may also contain ‘Listed’ properties – those that are not designated, but are believed to be of cultural heritage value or interest.
Being listed on the Heritage Register is not the same thing as being a designated heritage property. Being listed means further evaluation of the property will take place if there is an intent to have it demolished.
Having properties listed is an important first step in ensuring we can preserve our heritage, but it does not prevent growth. Not everything listed will be formally designated as a heritage property. And for those that are, we know that conservation of full buildings or heritage attributes helps shape change, not prevent it.
The City is changing quickly – building more and building faster. The goal is to be proactive, transparent and open about where potential heritage resources are located and why they have value or interest. While the role of historical architecture is well understood, buildings that may not look pretty by some definitions, but help tell the story of our past, are also very important for their historical context. All recommendations on this list were evaluated to ensure they meet one or more of the provincial criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest.
To find information about properties currently on the Heritage Register you can search by a map or by address:
To find ownership information on properties included on the Heritage Register search the Property Assessment Rolls:
Potential heritage properties must be researched and evaluated by Heritage Planning before they can be added to the Heritage Register. These properties may be brought to the attention of the City by community members, City Councillors, or through planning studies and heritage conservation district studies.
The Ontario Heritage Toolkit: Heritage Property Evaluation, published by the Provincial government, provides guidance on undertaking research and evaluation for heritage properties.
All properties are evaluated against the criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest set out in Ontario Regulation 9/06. A property must meet two or more of the criteria in order to be individually designated.
Properties that are believed to have cultural heritage value but are not designated can be included on the municipal heritage register. These ‘listed but non-designated properties’ are commonly known as ‘listed’ properties. Requests to list a property may come from property owners, municipal heritage committees, municipal heritage or planning staff, or local historical societies or residents’ associations.
A municipality is not required to consult with property owners or the public before including non-designated properties in the municipal register. However, notifying the property owner that their property will be included in the municipal register is recommended. Property owners in Toronto are notified and invited to attend the Toronto Preservation Board meeting to discuss the matter when their property is recommended for inclusion on the municipal register.
The Toronto Preservation Board, an Advisory Board, follows the same protocol established for Toronto City Council under the Municipal Code (Chapter 27, Council Procedures By-Law) whereby agenda items and any associated reports are made available to members of the public once the meeting agenda is published. There is a second opportunity share concerns (in person or writing) when Community Council or Planning & Housing Committee considers the matter at their meeting.
Pro-active listing of properties is intended to give greater clarity to property owners with regards to the City’s interest and the application of Official Plan policies. The primary aim of a batch listing of a collection of properties is to achieve an informed, timely listing of properties in tandem with local area studies e.g. Planning Study or Heritage Conservation District etc.
Since 2017, in order to shorten the time it takes to research and evaluate multiple properties for listing, the City Planning adopted an abbreviated approach, one that still applies provincial criteria (O. Reg. 9/06) as required in the Official Plan, and sets out a preliminary, not exhaustive, set of unique values. An understanding and articulation of contextual value will be prioritized and, where information is readily available, additional values may be identified. The multiple-listing process is an efficient and effective practice that balances the need to respond to unprecedented growth within Toronto with the need to account for the cultural heritage value that adds character to our neighbourhoods.
Non-designated listed properties do not have any protection under the Ontario Heritage Act, except insofar as an owner must give the council at least 60 days’ notice of their intention to demolish or remove a structure on the property. This allows the municipality time to decide whether to move forward with designation of the property under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
Listing does not trigger maintenance requirements over and above existing property standards, restrict altering any features that do not require a building permit. It does not allow the City to withhold a building permit for non-demolition related alterations and it does not preclude a property from undergoing renovation or development.
Properties that are listed on the City’s Heritage Register are flagged for review by Heritage Planning staff. Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) are required for development and demolition applications and alterations that might adversely affect a cultural heritage property. City staff undertake further research and evaluation of the property and may recommend designation of the property under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
It is also important to note that when a property is listed it does not necessarily mean that it will be subsequently “designated”, but designation generally happens within one of three scenarios:
In response to amendments to the Ontario Heritage Act through Bill 23, Toronto City Council has delegated limited authority to the Chief Planner and Executive Director to include properties with cultural heritage value on the City’s Heritage Register as listed properties. Properties eligible for inclusion by the Chief Planner and Executive Director must be subject to an Official Plan Amendment, Site Plan, and/or Rezoning application under the Planning Act. Properties must also meet two or more of the criteria prescribed by the Province of Ontario for determining cultural heritage value or interest under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The Chief Planner and Executive Director will report annually to the City’s Planning and Housing Committee with a list of all of the properties that have been included on the Register using delegated authority. The Committee may receive the report for information and/or recommend that specific properties be referred to the Toronto Preservation Board for advice on whether they should be maintained on the Register.
Notices for properties listed by the Chief Planner and Executive Director can be found on the Delegated Inclusion of Listed Properties page.
All properties that are individually designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act have a by-law registered on title. The by-law includes a description of the property, reasons for designation, and may include a list of heritage attributes, or features of the property that must be conserved. Properties that are listed do not have a by-law registered on title.
Follow this process to locate a property’s designation by-law: and