Red, yellow, green: why this Toronto group wants a new system for rating landlords

A group of Toronto councillors and tenants is pushing to implement a colour-coded system for tracking buildings in disrepair in the hopes of improving living conditions and holding both landlords and the city accountable.

The group, which is made up of councillors Josh Matlow and Chris Moise, and includes advocacy groups and local tenants associations across the city, is hoping to piggyback off the success of Toronto's DineSafe signage, which sees restaurants put up a green sign for a pass, a yellow sign for a conditional pass, and a red sign for an order to close.

The signage program was supposed to be part of RentSafe a few years ago but was killed by council in 2020, after some councillors argued that red signs would stigmatize tenants. But the group is putting it back on the table by saying in a statement Wednesday that tenants overwhelmingly feel that "mold and cockroaches are stigmatizing, not a sign."

RentSafe is a city program made to ensure rental buildings comply with maintenance standards.

Matlow says a change to the existing program is seriously needed. He says it's not working due to a percentage-based system that gives high ratings to buildings that barely meet minimum requirements, adding that the city should raise its expectations. 

"We have far too many landlords who allow their buildings to remain with pests, sometimes without running water, in really deplorable conditions with very few consequences," Matlow told CBC Radio's Metro Morning Wednesday.

The campaign is also supported by ACORN, the Federation of Metro Tenants Associations, York South Weston Tenants Union and No Demovictions.

ACORN leader Stacey Semple says this is one step of many to improve in-unit conditions and they'd like to see "stronger remedial action taken by the City to ensure the landlord is in compliance."

The Federation of Metro Tenants Association (FMTA) had a similar message for the city.

"Many of our calls at the FMTA deal with ongoing maintenance/health and safety issues that landlords refuse to address," Yaroslava Avila Montenegro, FMTA executive director said. "The City must fully enforce this program to ensure no tenant is left behind."