Pest control and maintenance work has begun after Mayor strengthens City enforcement powers
TORONTO - Mayor Chow visited tenants at 500 Dawes Rd. in Beaches-East York on Monday to share an update about the City’s work to get the building maintenance started, get rid of pests and protect tenants. The Mayor recently strengthened the City’s approach to bad landlords that refuse to maintain their buildings.
“I will not tolerate slum landlords in our city. Our work at 500 Dawes is a message to all landlords that refuse to fix their buildings: the City will not stand by and allow it,” said Mayor Chow. “We’re helping with the basics. Pest control, fixing the lights in the stairwell, getting rid of the moldy carpet in the hallway. These are things we take for granted but are denied to these tenants because their landlord refuses to fix them. All renters deserve safe and healthy living conditions.”
Through the City’s powers of Remedial Action, the City can hire contractors to make repairs if the landlord refuses to do them - and then bill the landlord. Since the Mayor’s motion at Council, action has been taken by the City and the landlord on several issues facing tenants at 500 Dawes, including:
- Pest control visiting the site on multiple occasions for rodents and cockroaches.
- Repairing electrical fixtures in stairwells and common areas
- Garbage cleaned up and garbage chutes maintained
- Common area carpeting repaired or removed for replacement with new flooring
- Derelict and abandoned vehicles removed
-
Toronto Building monitoring balcony repairs and working with landlord to fix and reopen the parking garage
- Currently, Toronto Building is in court for two open violations relating to the unsafe balconies and parking garage.
- Continuous proactive engagement with the landlord clarifying the City’s expectations
Recently, the owner of 500 Dawes Rd. was fined $200,000 at the Ontario Court of Justice for failing to comply with property standards orders stemming back to 2024. This included over 40 breaches of the property standards bylaw both indoors and outdoors on the property.
500 Dawes Rd. is widely known as a rental building with poor living conditions due to neglect by the owner, and has been the subject of City inspections and compliance orders for decades. Little action was taken until now.
BACKGROUND:
- Mayor Chow brought a motion forward to expedite the City’s framework for using Remedial Action - the power of the City to make repairs itself and then bill the landlord if the landlord refuses to comply - which strengthens the City’s enforcement ability. 500 Dawes was singled out as both a test case for these powers and is widely understood to be the place most in need of City intervention. See the motion here: EX29.14 - Cracking Down on Bad Landlords