The Wait is Over: Toronto’s New Rooming House Bylaw
By Bhavin Bilimoria, Director of Legal Services, Don Valley Community Legal Services
In December 2022, Toronto City Council amended its Municipal Code to add a new chapter called Multi-Tenant Houses. This new chapter legalizes multi-unit dwellings, known as rooming houses, across Toronto. It came into effect on March 31, 2024 and with it the City of Toronto ushered in a new regulatory framework for rooming houses.
Prior to the new Multi-Tenant Houses Bylaw coming into force, the legality of rooming houses varied across and within the six boroughs that now comprise the City of Toronto. Rooming houses were previously illegal in East York. By legalizing and regulating rooming houses across the city with consistent standards, such as the maximum number of rooms and parking requirements, this bylaw aims to ensure rooming houses are a safe and affordable option for tenants.
Under the City’s new bylaw, a rooming house is defined as a building where four or more rooms are rented out to separate tenants. The rooms may have a kitchen or a bathroom for the exclusive use of the tenant who rents that room, but not both. Tenants in the building may share a kitchen and/or bathroom with one another, but they cannot live together as a single housekeeping unit.
In order to operate a rooming house, landlords must obtain a license from the City. In order to obtain a license, landlords are required to develop various plans to help improve property maintenance standards and ensure tenant requests are addressed in a timely fashion. These plans include, but are not limited to, tenant service requests, pest management, fire safety, as well as waste management and collection. Landlords must also comply with the rules and regulations prescribed by Ontario’s Building Code, Electrical Safety Code and the Fire Code. The City also requires landlords to designate a contact person for responding to emergencies, or any inquiries about the operation of the rooming house.
If a landlord fails or refuses to comply with their responsibilities under the City’s new rooming house bylaw, they are guilty of an offence and, on conviction, may be fined up to a maximum of $100,000.00. The responsibilities landlords have under the City’s new rooming house bylaw are in addition to the ones they already have under the Residential Tenancies Act, which is great news for tenants.
If you rent a room in a multi-tenant house, then you are usually covered by the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) and have the same rights and protections as other renters. Tenants can find information online here.
You can learn more about multi-tenant houses on the City’s website:
www.toronto.ca/community-people/housing-shelter/multi-tenant-rooming-houses/
If you have any questions about rooming houses, tenants’ right, or any other Landlord and Tenant matter, please contact your local community legal clinic or the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA).