This page is reserved for tenants who wish to provide evidence of any unresolved landlord violations against ‘property standards’ and the Residential Tenancies Act. Several comments received from Beaches-East York tenants suggest that ‘building code violations’ are not being handled efficiently and this severely interferes with their quality of life. These landlord are ‘difficult landlords’ and do not take complaints seriously hence building codes and other violations are either ignored or are not resolved within a reasonable period of time. They get away with the violations because many tenants are either unaware of the procedures in place to seek redress or are intimidated by the entire process.
Violations under the RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT can be dealt with by filing either a FORM T2, or FORM T6 with the Landlord and Tenant Board to resolve problems with your landlord.
Building code violations come under the jurisdiction of the City of Toronto. If you have complaints that your landlord won’t do necessary repairs you can also contact the Municipal Licensing and Standards Department – (Toronto and East York District) at: 416-397-9200 and have a building inspector sent to your building.
You should check out the publication title “Code of Conduct for Chief Building Official and Inspectors”. It can be accessed at this link: http://www.toronto.ca/building/pdf/building_codeofconduct_05oct28.pdf
This document clearly states that the Chief Building Official and Inspectors are required to “Apply the Building Code Act and the Building Code impartially, without influence and in accordance with all applicable legislation.”
There is also the annoying issue of excessive noise from aging plumbing/pipes, faulty ventilation and other malfuntioning systems in a building. These ‘hard to identify’ noises seem to be more prevalent in many older buildings but also occur in newer ones. The excessive noise issue should not be taken lightly as it interferes with your quality of life, not to mention the impact on your health. It is a violation of the municipal building and maintenance standards and also the relevant regulations under the Residential Tenancies Act. Some landlords/property managers often claim that the excessive noises have unknown origins and they are looking into the problem but are they simply stalling to keep maintenance costs down. Tenants should pressure these landlords/property managers to act promptly to resolve the excessive noise violation. Tenants also need to come together and co-operate to get these violations resolved by filing a FORM T6 with the Landlord and Tenant Board. It is recommended you check the City of Toronto Municipal Licensing & Standards link for more detailed information on the noise violation bylaw.
Tenants can also contact the Investigation and Enforcement Unit of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to investigate offences under the Residential Tenancies Act. Here is that link: http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page142.aspx
We will list the names of the errant property management and address of your building and will include a detailed description of the Building Code violation as well as your efforts to resolve the problem. We will also post your photos of disrepair, etc. to substantiate your complaint. Please include communications with the landlord and City inspectors in your attempts to resolve your problem. Remember . . . . it is crucial that tenants provide detailed documentation of a building code violation, and also how it is handled by both the landlord and City officials.
You pay rent and abide by the conditions of the rental agreement and are therefore entitled to enjoy all the amenities in your building. Do not be intimidated by the behaviour of the landlord or the landlord’s agents.
You can provide details of your experience in the comments section below:
I think the government should allow tenants to make upgrades/renovations to their rental units which they can they deduct from their income taxes for that year. The same as they did for homeowners.
I live in an older building in Orangeville which is desperately in need of major repairs. We’ve had tenants fall and break arms due to the serious deterioration of our parking lot, among other ongoing problems. It’s time they allowed the tenants to have new flooring installed etc. and deduct the cost from their taxes.
I want to make this as simple as possible.
I live in an apartment building located on Dawes Road, East York. For some time now there have been bad feelings between me and the landlord because he would not pay the annual interest on the last month’s rent as required. So, based on the government regulation we have been paying rent but not the increases. The bad feelings between me and the landlord got worse after I took part in a demonstration about Landlord Licensing. Shortly after the demonstration and, much to my surprise, my key could open the apartment door. However whoever interfered with my lock was unaware that a family member was at home all day and I was able to get into my apartment. Otherwise, I would not be able to enter the apartment. We tried all our keys but they wouldn’t work. The following day (Saturday) I went to the super and I told him I was concerned about my safety and I needed to have the lock changed immediately. The super came up with excuses he cannot do anything on Saturday since the management office was closed. I filled out the repair order form, photocopied it and gave it to him. From that day on I had to make sure someone was at home everyday because we cannot unlock the door from outside and won’t be able to enter our unit until they replaced the lock. Someone always has to be at home. There are outstanding repairs with the wall crumbling and the pipe in the washroom running continuously. On the day of the demonstration a newspaper cameraman took pictures showing the state of disrepair in our apartment as well as areas around the our apartment building. I can’t put up with this much longer.