With new instructions emanating from last week’s Toronto Council meeting, the municipal licensing and standards department is working to develop a colour-coded sign system to signal how rental housing buildings rate in complying with the City’s apartment standards. Staff is expected to report back on how this requirement could be integrated into the existing RentSafeTO inspection and evaluation regime in time for Council’s October meeting, and to prepare estimates of staffing needs and other costs for the 2026 budget deliberations beginning later this year.
The directive arises from a motion that Councillor Josh Matlow introduced at the July Council meeting, which advocates colour-coded signs — similar to those Toronto Public Health uses to denote ratings of dining establishments — as an effective way to communicate a message about building conditions to the public. The motion also calls for changes in the weighting of the various elements that contribute to RentSafeTO scores and the introduction of administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) for property standards violations in apartment buildings.
A three-colour sign system is proposed. Red would indicate a building with serious health and safety violations; yellow would denote minor infractions to building standards; and green would signal a building that is in good repair. Landlords would be required to post signs in prominent locations, and replace them if they are damaged or removed. There would be a 15-day period in which to post updated, accurate signage if a rating is downgraded. (Presumably, landlords would welcome the opportunity to revise signage if the rating improves.)
“Landlords and others have claimed that a red sign would ‘stigmatize’ people in apartment buildings, but tenants have repeatedly told Council that mould and cockroaches are stigmatizing, not a sign. In fact, a 2020 survey conducted by the City found that 81 per cent of respondents agreed with implementing the sign program,” Matlow’s motion states.
As dictated in the motion, licensing staff will be exploring how to realign the RentSafeTo scoring system to attach greater emphasis on “high risk” categories related to health and safety, with fewer points attributed to “cosmetic” categories. That includes instructions to deduct more points in cases where orders, notices of violation or emergency orders have been placed against a property. As well, staff will consider how evaluators should be trained and supported to ensure that ratings are consistent from building to building.
“There are buildings receiving scores of 70 to 80 per cent despite having cockroaches, mould or appliances that don’t work. This is confusing and even infuriating for many tenants,” the motion maintains. “The rating system gives points for keeping the lobby clean, functioning elevators and working laundry machines. The City doesn’t need to congratulate landlords for the basics. That’s what the rent is for.”
If Toronto Council gives approval for yet-to-be-developed program changes, the motion proposes that the updated ratings criteria could be introduced through a phased implementation beginning no later than July 31, 2026.
