As summer arrives, advocates call for maximum heat bylaws

For many, the arrival of summer is a welcome escape from Toronto’s long, grey winter. But for Melissa Taylor, it brings dread. The past few years have taught her that summer heat doesn’t just arrive — it invades her apartment, making day-to-day living nearly unbearable.

Taylor lives in a two-bedroom apartment in a high-rise on Dawes Road in Toronto’s Beaches–East York area without central air conditioning that becomes suffocating during heatwaves. “You can’t even clean your home properly because you’re sweating so much,” she said. “And if you try to cook, you’re basically baking yourself in your apartment.”

As a low-income tenant, Taylor says she simply can’t afford a new air conditioning unit. The only one in her apartment — an aging window unit in her adult daughter’s bedroom — barely cools a single room. Installing a second unit isn’t an option, not only because of the cost, but because tenants are required to pay extra fees to landlords to use them. 

Taylor’s situation is far from unique. A new national report by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) finds that 44 per cent of low- and moderate-income tenants across the country do not have access to air conditioning, with most citing affordability as the main barrier. 

Based on a survey of 750 tenants, more than half of respondents identified extreme summer heat as the most serious issue in their buildings, while only 19 per cent said they had received any energy efficiency upgrades. 

Of those who did, one-third reported a rent increase following the improvements — reinforcing concerns, says Ottawa ACORN board member Eddy Roue, that climate retrofits are being used to justify unaffordable rent hikes.

“We are seeing the effects of climate change more and more across Canada and around the world, and in many places, it is tenants and low- to moderate-income people who are facing the worst of it,” Roue told Canada’s National Observer.

The health impacts of extreme heat are becoming increasingly severe, Roue added. Many tenants report disrupted sleep, constant fatigue and frequent headaches — conditions that are especially dangerous for people with existing health issues. 

ACORN is urging all levels of government to act quickly. The group is calling for maximum heat bylaws requiring landlords to keep indoor temperatures below 26 C, as well as the creation of national energy poverty programs to help low-income households with utility costs. It also wants clear rules to ensure retrofit funding doesn’t lead to rent hikes or evictions and is pushing for community benefit agreements between tenants, landlords and funders before any building improvements are approved. 

ACORN says the federal government should use its housing funding to require provinces to adopt these protections.

Climate data backs up their sense of urgency. A report from the City of Toronto found the number of days exceeding 30 C has increased by over 17 per cent in the past three decades. That number could triple by the 2040s, with up to 66 extreme heat days annually. For Taylor, those projections aren’t theoretical — they’re already her reality. “It used to be just a couple of heatwaves,” she said. “Last summer, it felt like the whole month was a heatwave.”

Taylor, a member of ACORN, is advocating for stronger protections, including a citywide maximum heat bylaw. Taylor said her health has already suffered during past summers — she’s fainted several times from the heat and often has to take multiple showers a day just to stay cool.

City law mandates a minimum temperature of 21 C in winter but lacks a similar rule for cooling in summer. While air-conditioned apartments must stay below 26 C, this standard doesn’t apply to units without air conditioning.

Advocates warn that this gap can be deadly. During the 2021 heat dome in British Columbia, 619 people died — most of them in homes without air conditioning. A coroner’s report found seniors and residents of older high-rises were most at risk.

Toronto says it is taking steps to protect tenants from extreme indoor heat — particularly those in older apartment buildings without adequate cooling. 

“Like many cities around the world, Toronto is experiencing more frequent and prolonged heat events that fall outside typical seasonal patterns,” said Shane Gerard, senior communications coordinator with the City of Toronto. “As the climate continues to change, the risk of heat-related health impacts is expected to grow.”

In an email response, Gerard added that indoor temperatures in apartment buildings are a particular concern, especially for tenants without access to air conditioning or other cooling equipment, who face heightened vulnerability during extreme heat.

He said city council approved updates to the Property Standards Bylaw last year, including an extension of the required cooling period for landlords who provide air conditioning — lengthening it by about two weeks to better align with shifting summer conditions.

While the city already mandates minimum indoor temperatures during the winter, Gerard said staff are currently exploring the creation of a maximum indoor temperature standard. A formal proposal, aiming to set a health-based limit of 26 C, is expected to be outlined in a staff report later this year, following public consultations and input from the international C40 Cool Cities Network.

In the meantime, he said the city is piloting a program this summer to provide free portable air conditioners to low-income seniors with health-related cooling needs.

Toronto has considered a maximum heat bylaw before. In 2018, city staff declined to recommend a maximum indoor temperature requirement for apartments, citing concerns about potential rent increases, expensive retrofits and added strain on the city’s limited electrical grid.

Abdul Matin Sarfraz / Canada’s National Observer / Local Journalism Initiative