Rooming Houses and the Toronto Zoning Bylaw

With a low minimum wage and social assistance rates that keep people trapped in poverty, many residents of Toronto find it impossible to pay the market rent for even a small apartment. If they are not in a position to share the rent with someone, people often end up renting a room and sharing a kitchen and/or bathroom with other tenants. If there are more than three of these tenants in a house, the building violates the zoning bylaw in most of the suburban parts of the City. Even though these tenants are still protected by the Residential Tenancies Act, they are very vulnerable to pressure from their landlord or bylaw enforcement officers. Where unsafe or unhealthy conditions exist in their buildings, they often do not take action. They fear that they will be punished by the loss of their homes for the landlord’s illegal activity.

Older parts of the City of Toronto have legal rooming houses. The tenants in these areas have the protection of a licensing system where the City carries out regular inspections for health and safety violations. These homes are not allowed to deteriorate into dangerous places to live.

After ten years of being one City, Toronto finally put the zoning bylaws of the old municipalities together so there are common rules for all residents and property owners. But City Council refused to extend the best practices of the older City to the suburban areas and bring in legal, licensed rooming houses throughout the city. ACTO has appealed this by-law to the Ontario Municipal Board. We are asking this provincial body to reject the new by-law until it meets provincial and City objectives to provide for more affordable housing by recognizing rooming houses as a legal use of the housing stock.