Tenants group 'flabbergasted' Toronto-style apartment inspections not backed by city staff
CTV
Tenants hoping London city hall would crackdown on slumlords who fail to maintain their apartments are expressing dismay.
Tenants hoping London city hall would crackdown on slumlords who fail to maintain their apartments are expressing dismay.
A new report by city staff recommends against implementing a local version of Toronto’s RentSafeTO apartment maintenance and inspection program.
“I’m a little bit flabbergasted,” admits Jordan Smith of tenant advocacy group ACORN London. “It’s been effective in Toronto and they’ve managed to make it economically viable. It’s managed to pay for itself. There’s no excuse for that not to happen in London.”
In Toronto, landlords pay $11.24 per rental unit as a registration fee, and $1,917 for an annual audit to ensure that basic building maintenance standards are met.
Failing to meet those standards could result in financial penalties.
There are more than 47,000 rental units here in London.
According to the staff report, a local inspection program modelled after RentSafeTO would require hiring about 37 additional municipal by-law enforcement officers plus a similar number of fire prevention officers.
