Toronto ACORN launches 2026 State of Repair Report, comparing 10 years of surveys of Toronto tenants

Dozens of Toronto ACORN members were joined by Mayor Olivia Chow and Toronto-Danforth Councillor Paula Fletcher at City Hall for the launch of the 2026 State of Repair Report. With over 300 responses to ACORN’s Tenant Survey, we compared this data to similar surveys conducted by ACORN in 2016, 2020, and 2023 to compare and contrast the problems facing Toronto renters. The report also puts forward recommendations to strengthen the City of Toronto’s RentSafeTO: Apartment Building Standards Program.

Here are some of the key findings from the report:

• On the positive side, bedbugs have become less common amongst respondents, dropping from over 30% in 2016 to under half of that in 2026. Unfortunately, most other common issues have not seen significant changes over the last decade.
• 44% of tenants reported dealing with cockroaches, compared to 45% in 2016.
• In every survey since 2016, roughly two-fifths of respondents say their work orders aren’t fulfilled in a timely manner by their landlord.
• Extreme heat is quickly becoming a top concern for tenants, with over 60% stating that their apartment was too hot last summer, compared to 31.5% only three years ago.
• Alarmingly, about a third of respondents have felt threatened or targeted for submitting work orders to their landlord or making complaints—a statistic that has largely remained unchanged since 2016.
• 27% of survey respondents do not have access to air conditioning in their apartments. 13.5% of respondents say the reason is because it is too expensive.
• For tenants, getting someone to come and do repairs is only half the battle. The other half is making sure the repairs that are done actually solve the problem. Toronto’s Property Standards Bylaw requires that work be done in a “good workmanlike manner.” However, only 20.4% of respondents say that maintenance workers and contractors always or often do quality work in their units or their buildings. A third (33.7%) say the work is rarely or never of good quality.

For tenants who have called 311 to get in touch with RentSafeTO, they were surveyed on their experiences with the program:

• Awareness of the RentSafeTO program has improved amongst tenants, with the number of survey respondents who were unaware of the program dropping from 53.2% in 2020 to less than half of that (24.5%) in 2026. 
• Grassroots tenant organizing plays a role in building awareness of the program; 33.6% of respondents had heard about RentSafeTO via ACORN. 
• A quarter of respondents (27.7%) have called 311 to file a service request related to their apartment in the last 12 months.
• Unfortunately, 1 in 3 tenants (34.2%) still don’t know what RentSafeTO does or how it can help them, while 1 in 4 tenants (26.7%) weren’t aware that they could report property standards violations in their apartments to 311. 
• Meanwhile, 9.7% didn’t report to 311 because they believed there was no point in doing so.

Survey respondents were given the chance to comment on issues they’ve faced with their landlord, and their experiences with 311. Here are a few of their testimonials:

Bylaw get contacted, issue an order. The landlord claims work has been done when it hasn’t, and bylaw closes case. Problem persists. No one cares.

The landlord of this building always cuts corners, [and] does not hire qualified professionals to perform repairs or perform maintenance. […] We currently have a hole in our wall where bathtub pipes were replaced and the hole wasn’t sealed. There is a hole under our bathtub and we can see light in our neighbour’s unit below.

I never saw a bylaw officer after getting a report number.

In light of these survey results, Toronto ACORN is calling on the City of Toronto to give their RentSafeTO program real teeth. To do so, ACORN is putting forward the following recommendations:

• End “education first” enforcement. Bylaw officers should issue an Order to Comply as soon as they identify a property standards violation.
• Conduct in-unit inspections. Tenants don’t sleep in laundry rooms and lobbies.
• Publish Standard Operating Procedures. RentSafeTO and MLS need to be transparent to tenants about what enforcement actions are to be taken and when.
• Have clear and effective follow-up procedures. This means checking with the tenant to ensure the work has been done, and done well, before closing the file.
• Conduct remedial action. Tenants shouldn’t be left in squalor while the landlord continues to flout the law.
• Mandate a universal paper work order form. Seniors shouldn’t be told to go buy a computer so they can access the landlord’s digital portal.
• Re-weigh evaluation scores. Scores should better reflect the actual state of the building.
• Crack down on repeat violations. If the same landlord has the same problem again and again because of a pattern of negligence, they should face steeper penalties on their evaluation scores.
• Expand RentSafeTO’s capacity. Hire more bylaw officers, including officers who can work in the evenings when the majority of tenants are home.
• Improve tenant outreach. There is no substitute for door-to-door outreach.
• Notify tenants of upcoming evaluations. This way tenants can plan to be home to speak to inspecting bylaw officers.
• Make it easier to identify landlords. Property ownership is already publicly available through the Ontario Land Registry – help make it more accessible.
• Make it easier to access files. Tenants should not have to file a Freedom of Information request to get access to documents about their own complaint to RentSafeTO.
• Strengthen inter-divisional collaboration. Minimize tenants being bounced from department to department.
• Accept service requests from the community. Concerned neighbours should be able to report property standards violations.
• Expand RentSafeTO to townhouses.
• Create a municipal rent escrow account.

Read the full 2026 State of Repair Report here.

Add your name to the petition to give RentSafeTO teeth! Sign here!

Looking to get involved with this campaign? Have other changes you want to see in your community? Contact Toronto ACORN at (416) 461-9233 or [email protected]!