The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) is strongly supportive of recent efforts by Toronto City Council to move forward with protections for tenants against dangerous extreme heat.
On June 24, 2026, Toronto City Council approved a motion directing the City Manager to develop a maximum indoor temperature by-law by June 2027. CELA supports this action and is calling on Toronto’s City Council and City Manager to deliver a robust maximum heat-bylaw that sets a maximum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius in all rental units. The City must ensure that both the by-law and implementation plan include strong tenant protections.
Extreme heat is a public health emergency. Following an extreme health event in British Columbia in 2021, high indoor temperatures were identified as the primary contributing factor in causing injury and death. More recently, severe heat waves have swept across Europe and throughout the Greater Toronto area, underscoring the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme heat events. As extreme heat becomes more common across Canada, ensuring that a tenant-focused maximum heat by-law is in place is an essential component to protecting tenants in Toronto.
For several years, CELA and its partners have advocated for the adoption of a maximum heat by-law in Toronto. The by-law would establish a maximum indoor temperature of 26°C in all rental units, providing tenants with protection from the serious, and potentially fatal, impacts of extreme heat. While measures such as cooling centers, subsidy programs, and air-conditioned common areas have been implemented, they do not address the dangerously high temperatures that many tenants experience inside their own homes. A maximum heat by-law that centers the needs and concerns of tenants in both its design and implementation is essential to ensure that tenants remain safe and healthy as temperatures continue to rise.
CELA welcomes this development and we look forward to continuing to advocate for a maximum heat that includes strong tenant protections. 2026 should be Toronto’s last summer without protection from extreme heat.
Blog: Toronto City Council Must Deliver on Promise of a Draft Maximum Heat By-Law
by Gachi Issa, Law Student, CELA
The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) is strongly supportive of recent efforts by Toronto City Council to move forward with protections for tenants against dangerous extreme heat.
On June 24, 2026, Toronto City Council approved a motion directing the City Manager to develop a maximum indoor temperature by-law by June 2027. CELA supports this action and is calling on Toronto’s City Council and City Manager to deliver a robust maximum heat-bylaw that sets a maximum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius in all rental units. The City must ensure that both the by-law and implementation plan include strong tenant protections.
Extreme heat is a public health emergency. Following an extreme health event in British Columbia in 2021, high indoor temperatures were identified as the primary contributing factor in causing injury and death. More recently, severe heat waves have swept across Europe and throughout the Greater Toronto area, underscoring the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme heat events. As extreme heat becomes more common across Canada, ensuring that a tenant-focused maximum heat by-law is in place is an essential component to protecting tenants in Toronto.
For several years, CELA and its partners have advocated for the adoption of a maximum heat by-law in Toronto. The by-law would establish a maximum indoor temperature of 26°C in all rental units, providing tenants with protection from the serious, and potentially fatal, impacts of extreme heat. While measures such as cooling centers, subsidy programs, and air-conditioned common areas have been implemented, they do not address the dangerously high temperatures that many tenants experience inside their own homes. A maximum heat by-law that centers the needs and concerns of tenants in both its design and implementation is essential to ensure that tenants remain safe and healthy as temperatures continue to rise.
CELA welcomes this development and we look forward to continuing to advocate for a maximum heat that includes strong tenant protections. 2026 should be Toronto’s last summer without protection from extreme heat.
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