There are fees associated with the RentSafeTO: Apartment Building Standards program, including registration/renewal fees and building audit fees. In addition, apartment building owners who do not comply with the program’s requirements may be subject to enforcement action, including fines.
Apartment buildings registered with the City must pay certain fees. Current fees can be found in the Fees and Charges Bylaw (Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, Appendix C, Schedule 12). All fees are subject to an annual increase each year in accordance with the City’s User Fee Policy.
Fees are waived for social housing providers, which include:
Tenants can contact 311 to submit complaints about violations of the Apartment Buildings Bylaw. If there is a complaint or information about a possible violation, Bylaw Enforcement Officers investigate, educate and/or take enforcement actions.
The goal is to resolve issues and ensure that apartment building owners and operators are following bylaws. Each issue is addressed on case-by-case basis to make sure reasonable, fair and appropriate actions are taken. For example, in some cases the issue may be resolved through education. In other cases, further enforcement action may be required.
If a building owner contravenes a provision of the Bylaw, they are guilty of an offence. If they are issued a ticket, on conviction they may be liable to the fine for the offence set out in the table below.
If a building owner is issued a summons to court, on conviction they may be liable to a fine of up to $100,000 or to a daily fine of up to $10,000 for each day the contravention continues and, in addition, to a fine equal to any economic gain they have obtained because of the contravention.
These fines are applicable to both private building owners and non-profit social housing providers.
Also, if a building owner does not comply with a City-issued order to correct a bylaw violation, the City has the authority to do the remedial work at the expense of the building owner. The cost of this work is added to the property tax bill.
| Offence | Bylaw Provision | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Owner of apartment building, fail to register | 354-2.1A | $600.00 |
| Fail to ensure a registration is up to date | 354-2.1D | $500.00 |
| Provide false, inaccurate or misleading information | 354-2.1E(1) | $500.00 |
| Offence | Bylaw Provision | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| No process for receiving and tracking tenant service requests | 354-3.1A | $500.00 |
| Fail to respond to urgent tenant service request within 24 hours | 354-3.1C(1) | $600.00 |
| Fail to respond to non-urgent tenant service request within 7 days | 354-3.1C(2) | $500.00 |
| Fail to maintain records related to tenant service requests | 354-3.1D | $400.00 |
| No notification board | 354-3.2A | $600.00 |
| Fail to post information on notification board | 354-3.2B | $400.00 |
| Fail to provide program information to a tenant or prospective tenant | 354-3.2C | $400.00 |
| Fail to provide a copy of most recent building evaluation result | 354-3.2D | $400.00 |
| Fail to inspect property for pests every 30 days | 354-3.3A(1) | $500.00 |
| Fail to inspect property within 72 hours after receiving information about presence of pests | 354-3.3A(2) | $500.00 |
| Fail to prevent spread of pests | 354-3.3B(1) | $600.00 |
| Fail to eliminate pests | 354-3.3B(2) | $600.00 |
| Fail to retain licensed pest management operator | 354-3.3C | $600.00 |
| Obscure or hide the presence of pests | 354-3.3E | $600.00 |
| Obstruct the extermination of pests | 354-3.3F | $600.00 |
| No waste management plan | 354-3.4A | $500.00 |
| Fail to maintain records related to waste management plan | 354-3.4C | $400.00 |
| Fail to post waste diversion literature | 354-3.4D(1) | $400.00 |
| Fail to identify place to deposit garbage, recycling and organic materials | 354-3.4D(2) | $400.00 |
| Fail to inspect once every day for cleanliness | 354-3.5A | $500.00 |
| No cleaning plan | 354-3.5B | $500.00 |
| Fail to maintain records related to cleaning and cleaning plan | 354-3.5D | $400.00 |
| Fail to demonstrate use of certified tradesperson where required | 354-3.6 | $600.00 |
| No state of good repair capital plan | 354-3.7A | $500.00 |
| Fail to provide copy of state of good repair capital plan to tenant or prospective tenant | 354-3.7D | $400.00 |
| Fail to maintain a contact list of tenants | 354-3.8A | $600.00 |
| Fail to create and maintain an electrical maintenance plan | 354-3.9A | $600.00 |
| Fail to maintain information and records related to electrical maintenance plan | 354-3.9B | $400.00 |
| Fail to develop and maintain a vital service disruption plan | 354-3.10A | $600.00 |
| Offence | Bylaw Provision | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Fail to create and retain records | 354-4.1A | $400.00 |
| Fail to provide pest management records to tenant or prospective tenant | 354-4.1D | $400.00 |
| Offence | Bylaw Provision | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Rent unit with confirmed property standards order | 354-6.1A | $600.00 |
| Rent unit when vital service is discontinued | 354-6.1B | $600.00 |
| Rent unit with pests | 354-6.1C | $600.00 |