Item - 2021.PH22.12

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the City Manager to consult with officials of the Government of Ontario to request the establishment of a Landlord and Tenant Board telephone number where tenants, or the City, can connect with provincial officials outside of regular business hours in situations where residents are the subject of emergency evacuation orders.

The Planning and Housing Committee:

1. Requested the Chief Building Official and Executive Director, Toronto Building, the Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning, the Fire Chief and General Manager, Fire Services, the City Solicitor,  the General Manager, Shelter Support and Housing Administration and the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat  to report to the June 28th, 2021 meeting of the Planning and Housing Committee regarding:

a.  Recommendations on amendments to interdivisional response plans to enhance and improve the effectiveness and timeliness of interdivisional coordination when orders prohibiting occupancy of a building are issued and tenants may be required to evacuate, with a view to ensuring that appropriate communication with tenants takes place and is effective;

b.  Recommendations on protocols that can be developed with respect to ensuring that relevant support staff are on-site to support tenants in their emergency housing needs when evacuation orders are issued; and

c.  Resources and information that the City provides to tenants and property owners when orders prohibiting occupancy of a building are issued and tenants may be required to evacuate and provide recommendations on any further or other information that may be provided to tenants to identify resources available to immediately assist them, including the protection of their rights.

Recently, a number of tenants faced emergency evacuation orders as a result of life safety issues which emanated from the actions of their landlord in creating and renting units that were both unsafe and not permissible under planning and building regulations.  In this instance, where rental units were created above an automotive facility, tenants were presented with twenty four hour evacuation orders on a Friday resulting in considerable distress for these tenants through no fault of theirs. The catalyst for identifying this situation was a tenant's carbon monoxide detector setting off an alarm.  This kind of situation has occurred before and as in this situation, tenants were required to evacuate their homes due to life safety issues.  This clearly occurs too often.  One of the major challenges facing tenants was a lack of clarity and information in terms of their immediate need for alternative housing and also with regard to their rights.