Toronto could make indoor temperatures above 26 C illegal

A major heat wave is settling over Toronto this week, with temperatures feeling like the mid-40s, and the City is moving one step closer to ensuring residents aren't left sweating it out inside overheated apartments.

During City Council's June 24-26 session, staff adopted a framework for implementing a maximum indoor temperature bylaw in order to create new heat protection for renters.

The proposed bylaw would require Toronto landlords to keep rental units below a set maximum temperature, with 26 degrees C being the current benchmark. Council is also calling on the Ontario government to make changes to the Residential Tenancies Act that would create a 26 C maximum temperature standard for rental units across the province and recognize cooling as a "vital service."

The move builds on new heat protection rules that came into effect in the city earlier this summer.

On June 1, apartment buildings enrolled in the city's RentSafeTO program that don't provide in-unit air conditioning were required to offer tenants access to a cooled indoor common area during the hottest months of the year. Landlords must keep designated cooling spaces (lobbies, hallways, laundry rooms or other indoor amenities) at 26 C or below until Sept. 30.

But tenant groups argue that cooling rooms simply aren't enough, and that even 26 degrees C can still feel too hot during long stretches of extreme heat, especially for seniors and people with health concerns.

In a letter to City Council, the Leaside Towers Tenants Association urged councillors to move quickly on a maximum indoor temperature bylaw, saying shared cooling spaces are "not a scalable solution" for large apartment communities.

The association noted that while residents at Leaside Towers are fortunate to have central air conditioning, the vast majority of apartment units (80 per cent) in neighbouring Thorncliffe Park do not, making it difficult for residents to keep cool during prolonged heat waves.

Don Valley Community Legal Services echoed those pleas, saying it frequently helps tenants dealing with extreme indoor heat and barriers to installing air conditioners. The clinic believes keeping homes safe during heat waves should be a landlord's responsibility, not a tenant's burden.

Council directed the City Manager to report back by June 2027 with a proposed bylaw and implementation plan. For renters dealing with another brutal heat wave right now in Toronto, the timeline may feel frustrating. 

City Councillor for Ward 12, Toronto–St Paul's, Josh Matlow, who first brought forward a motion for a maximum indoor temperature bylaw way in 2012, says on X that he has continued pushing for the issue and wants to see it move forward as quickly as possible.

"We will not accept any more excuses for delays," he wrote.

For now, City Council says it will keep looking at how other places have handled similar rules, continue conversations with tenants and landlords, and work out details like how this bylaw would be rolled out and enforced.

Earlier this summer, the City provided 1,500 free portable air conditioners to low-income apartment residents who were struggling with high indoor temperatures. It was much-needed relief for those who can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a unit themselves.