Ontario Tightens Tenant Protections and Building Rules

Summary#

• This bill changes Ontario’s rental housing rules to improve safety, comfort, and transparency. It adds new standards for summer temperatures, security, elevator reporting, and building maintenance records. It also strengthens some tenant protections and limits certain rent increases.
• Key changes:
  • Requires common areas to be kept at 26°C or cooler from May 15 to Sept. 15; cities must investigate complaints and can order fixes.
  • For large buildings (100+ units): require a digital visitor parking system, building-wide security cameras, and at least one security guard.
  • Automatic rent reductions if vital services are out for more than 24 hours in three months (20%) or if elevators are down for more than 48 hours in three months (5%).
  • Landlords with 10+ units or 3+ storeys must post annual maintenance statistics on a provincial website; poor performance blocks above‑guideline rent hikes.
  • Elevators must have remote monitoring, with outages reported to the safety authority and basic details posted online.
  • Other protections: no tenant fees for visitor parking, building permit required with any “renovation” eviction notice, and some rent increases delayed or limited.

Timing: Most rules start when the law takes effect. Digital visitor parking and elevator monitoring start after 12 months. The temperature cap and camera rules start after 3 years.

What it means for you#

• Tenants

  • Common areas like lobbies and gyms must be 26°C or cooler in summer. You can complain to your city if it’s hotter. If the landlord ignores a city order, the Board can cut your rent by 1% per day until it’s fixed.
  • If heat, water, electricity, or another vital service is out for more than 24 hours over three months (and it’s within the landlord’s control), you can get 20% off rent by applying to the Board.
  • If the elevator is out for more than 48 hours over three months, you can get 5% off rent by applying.
  • In buildings with 100+ units:
    • There will be a digital visitor parking sign‑in. Landlords cannot charge tenants for visitor parking.
    • Security cameras must cover all common areas, with clear notices posted. Cameras must be fixed within 7 days if they break. Landlords cannot seek above‑guideline rent hikes because of camera costs.
    • A security guard must patrol and handle non‑emergency issues like noise or smoking in common areas.
  • You must receive a paper guide on move‑in explaining building amenities and how to use them, plus a yearly paper newsletter about any changes.
  • You will be able to see building maintenance statistics (issue type, when reported and fixed, who did the work) on a provincial website. Tenants can add photos and comments.
  • If a major repair or renovation is used to end your tenancy, the notice must include a building permit.
  • If you already had access to a service or facility since day one (for example, bike storage or a lounge), your landlord cannot raise your rent just for that, even if it wasn’t written in the lease.
  • If you have a case at the Board about the landlord not maintaining the place, a scheduled rent increase is paused until the Board decides.
  • If your rent is paid directly to the landlord by Ontario Works or ODSP, you cannot be evicted for “persistent” late payment on that basis.

• Landlords and building owners

  • Keep common areas at or below 26°C in summer; cities will investigate complaints and issue work orders. Ignoring an order can lead to rent abatements and orders to do the work.
  • Buildings with 100+ units must install a digital visitor parking system, building‑wide cameras (with posting and privacy rules), and employ a security guard. Cameras must be repaired within 7 days of written notice.
  • You cannot recover camera costs through above‑guideline rent increases, and you cannot apply for above‑guideline increases if you resolved less than 90% of maintenance requests in the last year.
  • You must upload yearly maintenance statistics to a government portal (issue type, worker name, dates received/resolved). Tenants and you can post photos. This information can be used in Board cases.
  • You cannot charge tenants for visitor parking.
  • Eviction notices for major repairs/renovations must include the building permit.
  • Some rent increases are delayed if a tenant’s maintenance application is still before the Board. You also cannot increase rent for services or facilities the tenant has had since the start, even if not in the written lease.
  • Elevators must have remote electronic monitoring, and outages over 24 hours must be reported to the safety authority; key details will be published online.

• Local governments and agencies

  • Cities must receive and investigate summer heat complaints and appoint inspectors who can issue work orders.
  • The province must create and run an online portal for maintenance statistics and include city registration data where it exists.
  • The Technical Standards and Safety Authority must receive elevator outage reports and publish basic outage information.

• When changes start

  • Most rules: when the bill becomes law.
  • After 12 months: digital visitor parking systems; remote elevator monitoring.
  • After 3 years: summer temperature cap in common areas; building‑wide cameras (other security guard rules take effect earlier).

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

• Tenants will be safer and more comfortable, with cooler common areas during heat waves and security patrols to deter crime and handle nuisance issues.
• Outage‑based rent reductions and faster enforcement give landlords stronger reasons to keep elevators and vital services working.
• Public maintenance stats and elevator reports create transparency and pressure to fix problems quickly.
• The building‑permit requirement helps prevent “renovictions” that are not tied to real, permitted work.
• Bans on tenant fees for visitor parking and limits on certain rent hikes protect tenants from surprise charges.
• Special protection for tenants on social assistance reduces unfair evictions tied to how their rent is paid.

Opponents' View#

• New mandates (security guards, cameras, temperature limits, parking systems) add costs that some landlords may pass on through rent or may avoid by not investing in older buildings.
• Meeting a 26°C cap in older buildings without central cooling could be difficult or expensive, especially during extreme heat.
• Broad camera coverage may raise privacy concerns, and rules for storing and accessing footage could be complex.
• Cities, the province, and the safety authority face new workloads (inspections, portals, data handling) without clear funding.
• Automatic rent abatements could be seen as strict in cases where repairs depend on hard‑to‑get parts or contractor delays.
• Required paper guides and newsletters add administrative burden and printing waste; the digital parking rule may be hard for residents without easy internet access.