There is no City requirement for property owners to provide air conditioning.
If provided/supplied by the property owner, air conditioning should go on, from June 1st to September 30th to maintain an indoor temperature of not more than 26 degrees Celsius. The City is unable to take action outside of these dates.
If an air conditioner is supplied by a property owner and is broken, a property owner is required to either repair it or replace it. If you have concerns about air conditioning in your rental unit, you should make your request in writing to the property owner.
If your request is not addressed within a reasonable amount of time, you can submit a service request below or call 311.
NEW: Note that concerns about air conditioning units provided as part of the Pilot Program – Air Conditioning Assistance for Low-Income Seniors will not be investigated by City staff.
NEW: Note that if your building doesn’t provide air-conditioning within apartment units, your building is required to provide an amenity space with cooling with 26 degree Celsius or less.
A building permit is not required to install a window air conditioner in a rental unit or privately owned home. However,, it is the property owner’s responsibility to hire a qualified tradesperson to install an air conditioner and be able to provide proof of this to the City. There are no City bylaw provisions allowing property owners to require this proof from tenants.
Tenants should consult their lease agreement to determine if they are permitted to install a window air conditioner or portable air conditioner in their units. For issues regarding requests from the property owner to the tenant to remove an air conditioning unit, the tenant should refer to the lease agreement for any restrictions. Any concerns regarding what is written in a lease agreement falls under the purview of the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB).
For tenants of a commercial property, where air conditioning is supplied by the property owner, contact the property owner regarding any complaints. If the situation is not resolved within a reasonable period of time, you can submit a service request online at https://www.toronto.ca/311.
Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 629 – 38 Heating and air conditioning and Chapter 497-2.2 A(1) – Indoor Temperature Standards (full details are available on the City of Toronto website)
A. Every heating and air-conditioning system or unit shall be kept in good repair and maintained in good working condition at all times relevant to the operation of that system.
A. Every landlord shall:
(1) Maintain a minimum air temperature of 21 degrees Celsius at 1.5 metres above the floor level in all areas of a rented dwelling unit from October 1 in each year to May 15 in the following year.
(2) Subsection (1) is only applicable to a dwelling unit that is normally heated at the landlord's expense.
(3) For greater clarity, where a dwelling unit is at a minimum air temperature of 21 degrees Celsius, a landlord is not required to operate a heating unit. B. No person may burn used motor oil within a space heater.
A. Every owner, operator and landlord shall ensure that any installed cooling system is:
(1) Operated from June 1 to September 30 so as to maintain an indoor temperature of not more than 26 degrees Celsius.
(2) For greater clarity, subsection (1) applies only to properties that have existing air conditioning systems.
A. Every owner and operator of an apartment building with at least one existing amenity space shall maintain a temperature of not more than 26 degrees Celsius from June 1 to September 30 in each year in at least one existing amenity space if cooling and/or central cooling is not provided in all dwelling units.
B. Subsection A does not apply where the owner or operator can establish that the only way to comply with the requirements of subsection A is to undertake construction or demolition within the meaning of the Building Code Act, 1992.
C. For greater clarity, subsection A applies to all apartment buildings, whether pre-existing or newly constructed.
If you are a condominium unit owner and the building has not turned on the air conditioning or if the air conditioning is on and is unable to maintain an indoor temperature below 26 degrees Celsius, please contact your condo board.
If you are a tenant in a condominium unit (i.e. renting a condo unit), contact the condo unit owner. If the situation is not resolved within a reasonable period of time, you can submit a service request below or call 311.
If A/C is supplied by the condo owners throughout the building and it is not working, the condo unit owners should bring this to their Boards attention. If not resolved in a reasonable period of time, we will investigate. However, the condo board is the first point of contact for condo owners.
In Summer 2025, the City is piloting a program to provide free portable air conditioners to some low-income seniors with health-related needs for air conditioning. This initiative aligns with climate change resilience efforts and complements existing supports, such as the City’s Hardship Fund. Successful applicants for the Air Conditioner Assistance Program have been notified.
A/C units provided as part of this program comes with a 2-year manufacturer’s warranty. Warranty information is included with the air conditioner and the manufacturer will respond to repair concerns within the warranty timeline. City staff will not investigate or take enforcement action if there are maintenance issues for the A/C units provided by the Pilot Program – Air Conditioning Assistance for Low-Income Seniors.
Further information on the Pilot Program can be found on the City of Toronto website. Questions regarding the program can be directed to the Inquiry line, contact details found on the website.