Tenants, advocates say RentSafeTO needs to issue larger fines

Cockroaches, mice and piles of garbage — those are among the conditions residents of several high-rise apartment buildings in Thorncliffe Park say they're facing.

And the residents say the Toronto's program to protect renters isn't doing enough to hold their landlords accountable. 

"You don't feel like you're living in Canada," said one renter who lives at 71 Thorncliffe Park Drive, one of several buildings where some tenants are holding a rent strike to protest above-guideline rent increases.

"The city has to step in."

The RentSafeTO program, first launched by the city in 2017 to ensure rental buildings meet health and safety standards, is undergoing a host of changes aimed at improving enforcement over the next year. But renters and advocates say until the city hands out heavier fines, they are uncertain the program will substantially improve buildings.

It's a problem the team at Don Valley Community Legal Services hears of often.

Many tenants on Thorncliffe Park Drive are facing above-guideline rent increases, which if approved can allow landlords to raise rents beyond legal limits for repairs or renovations. But the landlords are not maintaining buildings while applying for these, says Laura Anonen, the community development worker at the legal clinic. 

She said the RentSafeTO team is well-intentioned, but needs a bigger budget and more bylaw officers. 

"The program needs more teeth to enforce orders," Anonen said. "In the end, the tenants suffer because nothing's getting done."

CBC Toronto spoke to several Thorncliffe tenants who said they don't feel building owners are intimidated by RentSafeTO. CBC Toronto is protecting the tenants' identities as they're concerned about retaliation from the owners of the buildings where they live.

Tenants described garbage stacked around buildings and said pests like mice and cockroaches are common in hallways. There is also limited security amid the properties and trespassers often sneak in and smoke in common areas, they said. 

CBC Toronto viewed photos of cigarette butts littered all over stairwells and in parking garages, garbage piled in parking garages and chutes as well as mice in hallways. 

The city's RentSafeTO program was created seven years ago after city council passed a rental standards bylaw aimed at protecting tenants.

The program sees bylaw officers evaluate buildings, giving them a score out of 100 based on various criteria including building cleanliness, infrastructure and other factors.