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Ontario

Municipal rules, city by city.

The Residential Tenancies Act is the same everywhere in Ontario. What differs is the municipal layer on top of it — the heat bylaw and its dates, the property standards code, whether your building has to be registered, and who a tenant calls when nothing happens.

16 municipalities · read from the bylaws on 25 August 2026

Toronto

  • Minimum heat 21 °C in all areas of the dwelling unit, October 1 to May 15
  • Property standards bylaw Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 629, Property Standards
  • Heat bylaw Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 497, Heating, § 497-1.2
  • Apartment registration RentSafeTO — mandatory for buildings 3+ storeys and 10+ units, renewed annually

Oshawa

  • Minimum heat 22 °C (72.1 °F), September 1 to June 15
  • Heat bylaw Adequate Heat By-law 76-2006, ss. 2(a) and 3, as amended by 98-2019
  • Applies to Dwellings normally heated by or at the expense of the landlord
  • Property standards bylaw By-law 1-2002 — its heating clause s. 7.1.2 reads "Intentionally Deleted"

Oakville

  • Minimum heat 20 °C, September 1 to June 15
  • Measured 1.5 m above floor level and 1 m from exterior walls, in all habitable rooms
  • Property standards bylaw By-law 2023-074, s. 38(3)
  • Tenant-controlled exception s. 38(4) — does not apply where the tenant regulates the heat and 20 °C is achievable

Barrie

  • Minimum heat 20 °C in all habitable rooms, bathrooms and washrooms
  • Standard type Capability — the system must be able to reach the temperature
  • Heat season None — the bylaw sets no dates
  • Measured 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) above floor level and 1 m (3 ft 4 in) from exterior walls

Mississauga

  • Minimum heat 20 °C in all areas of the dwelling unit, with no seasonal dates
  • Maximum cooling 26 °C, but only where the unit is equipped with air conditioning
  • Instrument Adequate Temperature By-law 0110-2018, ss. 2, 4 and 5
  • Measured 1.5 m above floor level and 1 m from exterior walls, in all rooms intended for normal use

Richmond Hill

  • Minimum heat 20 °C (68 °F) in all habitable rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms
  • Standard type Capability — the heating system must be able to reach the temperature
  • Heat season None — By-law 62-24 attaches no dates
  • Measured 1.2 m (4 ft) above floor level

Ottawa

  • Minimum heat 20 °C (68 °F) between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. · 16.67 °C (62 °F) between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
  • Heat season None — s. 3 requires the standard "at all times"
  • Measured In the centre of each reasonably ventilated room
  • Instrument Heat By-law 2010-210, as amended by 2023-518 and 2026-225

Whitby

  • Minimum heat 20 °C in the part of the accommodation normally heated, September 15 to May 31
  • Portable heaters Expressly may not be used to achieve adequate and suitable heat
  • Cooling 26 °C maximum where a Central Air Conditioning System is installed
  • Portable coolers Window shakers and portable units may not be used to establish suitably cooled air

Ajax

  • Minimum heat 20 °C in the part normally heated, September 15 to May 31
  • Instrument Rented Dwelling Temperature By-law 19-2026, which repeals 47-2017
  • Cooling 26 °C maximum where a Central Air Conditioning System is provided by signed lease
  • Excluded equipment Portable heaters, portable air conditioners and window shakers do not satisfy either duty

Pickering

  • Minimum heat 20 °C
  • Standard type Capability, with an express alternative of compliance with the Residential Tenancies Act
  • Heat season None — By-law 7887/21 sets no dates
  • Primary heat source s. 98 — portable heating equipment may not be the primary source in a rental unit

Guelph

  • Minimum heat 21 °C (70 °F) indoor ambient, in all occupied areas
  • Standard type Capability — heating facilities must be able to reach the temperature
  • Scope Every building except an industrial occupancy — not limited to rented units
  • Heat season None — the bylaw sets no dates

Waterloo

  • Minimum heat 21 °C — the minimum temperature of the air in the dwelling unit
  • Heat season None — the bylaw contains no seasonal dates
  • Instrument Adequate Heat Bylaw 2017-001, passed by council 13 March 2017
  • Inspection An officer may enter on land at any reasonable time to check compliance

Brampton

  • Minimum heat 20 °C, September 15 to June 1
  • Measured 1.5 m above floor level and 1 m from exterior walls, in all habitable space
  • Season can be varied The Director of Enforcement may order a different period under s. 15, posted on the City website
  • Instrument Vital Services By-law 68-2018 (office consolidation), ss. 5, 6 and 15

Hamilton

  • Minimum heat 20 °C in all habitable spaces
  • Effective period September 16 to May 14 — s. 4(a) exempts May 15 to September 15, both dates inclusive
  • Appliance requirement A safe, operable and permanent heating appliance capable of maintaining the temperature
  • Second exemption s. 4(b) — a lack of heat arising from the tenant not paying for a service they are obliged to pay for

London

  • Minimum heat 20 °C (68 °F) between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. · 18 °C (65 °F) at all other times
  • Season On and between September 15 and June 15 of the following year
  • Heat is one limb The same definition also covers cooking, dishwashing, toilet operation and washing
  • Instrument Vital Services By-law PH-6, s. 1.1

Windsor

  • Minimum heat 22 ºC — the minimum air temperature available to the tenant or lessee
  • Common areas 18 ºC minimum in common areas and internal entrance ways of a multiple dwelling
  • Measured At any point in the room — no specified height or distance from walls
  • Portable heat s. 5.4.8 — no dwelling unit may be equipped with portable heating equipment as its primary source

A municipality appears here once its bylaws have been read and cited. We would rather publish one city we have verified than twenty we have guessed at — tell us where you rent and we will do yours next.