By-laws & Permits

CITY OF TORONTO

Property Standards

(City of Toronto)

Property Standards Bylaw sets the standards for all properties in Toronto. All property owners are required to repair and maintain their property including owners of properties that are rented out.

Property Standards in Apartment Buildings

RentSafeTO: Apartment Building Standards is a bylaw enforcement program that ensures apartment building owners comply with building maintenance standards.

The program applies to apartment buildings with three or more storeys and 10 or more units.

RentSafeTO for Tenants

RentSafeTO: Apartment Building Standards is a bylaw enforcement program that ensures apartment building owners comply with building maintenance standards. The program applies to apartment buildings with three or more storeys and 10 or more units.

Residents need to contact their landlord first and submit service requests for issues such as pests, low or no heat, plumbing problems, leaky ceilings or problems in the common areas of the building.

Landlords need to respond to urgent service requests, such as no heat or water, within 24 hours. Non-urgent service requests need to be responded to within seven (7) days. If you get no action from your landlord and problems persist, you can contact 311 for the RentSafeTO team.

Owners of rental apartment buildings are required to register and comply with the RentSafeTO program. Learn more about what building owners must do to comply.

Noise

(City of Toronto)

The Noise Bylaw provides standards for noise in Toronto. This includes decibel limits and time restrictions for some types of noise.

Toronto is a growing, vibrant city, where noise can be common. We encourage residents to exercise a reasonable degree of tolerance and to review the bylaw regulations by type of noise (found below) prior to submitting a service request.

Individuals can apply for a noise exemption to work outside of the permitted hours as long as they meet the application requirement. Learn more about the noise exemption process.

Government work, bells, sirens or work needed to respond to an emergency are exempt from the Noise Bylaw.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, provincial regulations have placed certain limitations on the City’s authority to enforce the bylaw. More information is provided below.

By law regulations by type of noise

Here is just a sample - you can read the full list at

More details can be found by viewing Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 591, Noise .

Animals

Persistent noise from any animal is not permitted. Examples include persistent barking, calling or whining. These complaints are enforced by Toronto Animal Services.

Construction

The Government of Ontario passed Ontario Regulation 130/20 under the City of Toronto Act, 2006 that limits the City’s ability to prohibit and regulate certain construction noise. Under the provincial regulations, noise made in connection with construction projects and services associated with the healthcare sector, including new facilities, expansions, renovations and conversion of spaces that could be repurposed for health care space is permitted 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Noise made in connection with any other construction activity is permitted between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week. The provincial regulations are in effect until October 7, 2021.

Loading and unloading

Noise is not permitted from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next day, except until 9 a.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays. This includes noise from loading, unloading, delivering, packing, unpacking and otherwise handling any containers, products or materials.

Some loading and unloading, such as solid waste collection in dense areas of the city, is completed overnight for public safety reasons. Residents are encouraged to exercise a degree of tolerance, before submitting a service request.

As part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the provincial government has passed Ontario Regulation 71/20 that limits the City’s ability to prohibit and regulate noise made in connection with the delivery of goods. This is in effect until September 19, 2021.

How to submit a service request

If you have a concern, consider speaking with those responsible for making the noise to give them an opportunity to correct the issue.

If this approach does not work, you can call 311 or submit a service request online. The online address is toronto311.ca. A possible advantage of an online request is that you can upload photos.

Please note that the Municipal Licensing & Standards Division does not respond to demonstrations, noisy parties or noise from people acting disorderly, such as yelling, screaming and fighting. To report these types of noise, call the Toronto Police Service non-emergency number at 416-808-2222. For emergencies, call 911.

State of Good Repair (Capital) Plan

PLEASE NOTE: This is just QRES' document. The Tenants' Association will review it, and doesn't necessarily agree with all the items characterized as capital nor the indicated timing and will oppose any application for an Above Guidelines Rent Increase that it thinks is unjustified.