Guides & explainers
Making sense of Toronto’s property records
Plain-English guides to permits, orders, RentSafeTO, development applications, and the rest of what the City keeps on file — so you know what you’re looking at.
A pipe burst in the condo above you. Who pays for the repair?
Water damage is the most common fight in a Toronto condo, and the answer depends on three documents most owners have never read — plus a deductible that can run five figures.
Read the post →Toronto's tree bylaw just got tougher — what it means for your backyard, your addition, and the house next door
As of September 1, 2026, Toronto has a new 'Distinctive Tree' category for trunks over 61 cm, steeper replacement ratios for illegal removals, and a plan to drop the protected size from 30 cm to 20 cm. Here's what changed, what a permit costs you, and why a neighbour's building permit is your cue to look at the trees.
Read the post →Toronto's smallest condos are falling fastest — what to check before you buy one
Studios and units under 500 square feet have lost more value than any other segment. Cheap is not the same as a deal: here's the building-level homework to do before you bite.
Read the post →Elevator down again? How to check a Toronto building's elevator record before winter
Ontario has ~20,000 residential elevators and a public log of every outage over 48 hours. Add RentSafeTO's two elevator lines and the City's orders, and you can see whether a building's lifts are a problem before you're carrying groceries up 22 floors.
Read the post →The status certificate is the condo's side of the story — here's the City's
Every Ontario condo buyer gets a status certificate. It's written by the corporation. Building permits and unsafe orders are written by City inspectors — and they're free, public, and sometimes tell a different story.
Read the post →The storm flooded your rental. Now there's mould. Who fixes it, who pays, and where the record lives
A week after Toronto's September 2 storm, tenants are finding wet drywall, musty smells and black spots behind the baseboards. Here's what Ontario law requires of your landlord, when the City will step in, what a relocation actually costs you, and how to check whether your building has been here before.
Read the post →The GTA average just dipped under $1 million — and your mortgage rate went up anyway
August's TRREB report put the average GTA price at $993,410, down 2.7% year-over-year. The same week, the Bank of Canada held at 2.25% and five-year fixed rates kept climbing. Here's why a cheaper house can still cost more to carry — and what to check on the one you're watching.
Read the post →Fall is rat season in Toronto — here's how to check your building's pest record
As temperatures drop, rats move indoors. Toronto's first Rat Response Plan is rolling out this year, but it won't treat your building. Here's how to read the pest data the City already publishes.
Read the post →Is your unit actually rent-controlled? The November 2018 line, and how to check it yourself
A landlord can raise rent by any amount on a unit first occupied after November 15, 2018 — but the landlord has to prove the date. Here's how the exemption works, and how the building's permit record answers the question before the LTB does.
Read the post →After Toronto's '100-year storm': which repairs need a permit, and which leave no trace
September 2 dropped up to 118 mm of rain and hail on parts of Toronto. Here's which storm repairs need a City permit, which don't, and what that means for the paper trail on any house you own — or are about to buy.
Read the post →Condo fees at $1.50 a square foot: do they ever come down?
Toronto buyers are eyeing discounted condos in buildings with high maintenance fees and shaky finances. Here's why fees almost never go down, how to read a status certificate and reserve fund, and when a 'cheap' unit is actually expensive.
Read the post →Bill 60's seven-day eviction clock starts September 21 — here's what changes
On September 21, 2026, Ontario's grace period for unpaid rent drops from 14 days to 7, and long-notice own-use evictions stop requiring compensation. What renters and small landlords need to know about the second wave of Bill 60.
Read the post →Move-in week: the only deposit that's legal in Ontario
September 1 is the biggest lease-turnover day in Toronto, and it's also peak season for illegal deposits. Here's what a landlord can actually collect, the interest they owe you, and what to do if you already paid something you shouldn't have.
Read the post →Mortgage arrears are rising fastest in Ontario. What that means if you're buying
New TransUnion and bank data show Ontario leading the country in rising mortgage delinquencies, with GTA arrears at CIBC up 50% in a year. The absolute numbers are still small — but they change how you should read listings this fall.
Read the post →Cash for keys: what a buyout offer is actually worth in Toronto
Landlords are offering tenants money to leave voluntarily — sometimes a token amount, sometimes tens of thousands. Here's what the N11 form does, why the offer exists at all, and how to price your tenancy before you sign anything.
Read the post →Can you still negotiate your rent down? In Toronto, the window is closing
Toronto asking rents just posted their biggest monthly gain of any major Canadian market. In Brampton and Markham they're still falling hard. Where you renew decides how much leverage you actually have.
Read the post →Does your old Toronto house have a lead water pipe? 13,664 still do
The City has replaced most of its lead water services, but roughly 13,664 public-side lines are left — and the private side is on you. Here's how to check an address, and why September is the month to start.
Read the post →LTB orders are now a public download — what that changes for renters and landlords
Since July 24, Ontario publishes final Landlord and Tenant Board orders on the open data catalogue. It's a real transparency win, and it comes with a screening problem nobody has solved yet.
Read the post →Is that basement apartment legal? The permit record answers faster than the landlord
September 1 is a week away and the cheapest listings are basement units. A legal second suite leaves a paper trail — here's how to check for it before you hand over first and last.
Read the post →Why your 2026 property tax bill is still based on what your home was worth in 2016
Ontario hasn't reassessed property values in a decade. Here's how the freeze works, who quietly wins and loses from it, and what a reassessment would actually do to your bill.
Read the post →Renewing your mortgage in Toronto? The costs that aren't the rate
A new survey found 45% of Canadians who renewed this year say housing now eats half or more of their household budget. Rate shopping is only part of the fix — the rest of the number is property tax, condo fees and deferred repairs you can look up.
Read the post →Smoke, ragweed, and a September lease: the air-quality check nobody does
Ragweed season starts in mid-August and wildfire smoke can arrive any week. Before you sign for September 1, here's what air quality tells you about an address — and what it doesn't.
Read the post →Got an N12? What an own-use eviction requires — and how to spot bad faith
The N12 'landlord's own use' notice is the eviction tool renters ask about most. Here's what the rules actually require in 2026, what happens to landlords who fake it, and how a building's public record helps you judge the one you got.
Read the post →Your landlord filed for an above-guideline increase — check the building's record first
An AGI has to be built on real, recent, necessary capital work. Toronto's permit history, open orders and RentSafeTO score are public — and they're the fastest way to test whether the claim holds up before the hearing.
Read the post →Two months free: what a rent incentive really costs you in year two
Incentives are on offer at 64% of new GTHA rental projects. But rent-free months don't lower your lawful rent — here's the math before you sign.
Read the post →When the builder goes broke: how to check a project's health before you deposit
A North York townhouse project with 65 unsold units just went under creditor protection. The warning signs were in the public record for months. Here's what to look for before you hand a builder six figures.
Read the post →Ontario's $130,000 HST rebate on new homes — the deadlines nobody reads
The enhanced HST rebate is worth up to $130,000 on a new home, and Ontario's Q2 new-home sales more than doubled. But eligibility hangs on construction dates you don't control. Here's the fine print, and what to verify before you sign.
Read the post →They're tearing your building down: what Toronto's rental replacement rules actually give you
Midtown tenants just learned federal rental money is helping fund the redevelopment of their block. If your building is in a demolition plan, the City's rental replacement rules set out what you're owed — and the public record tells you how close it is.
Read the post →The seller's loss is not your discount: buying in Toronto's loss-sale market
A Yorkville condo just sold about $450,000 below its 2021 price, and loss-sale stories are everywhere. Here's why a seller's red ink tells you almost nothing about a unit's value — and what to check instead.
Read the post →The big white sign down the street: how to read a Toronto development notice
A development proposal sign means a formal application is in motion — and since 2024, the comment window it announces is the only real say neighbours get. Here's how to decode it.
Read the post →What a Toronto seller doesn't have to tell you — and how to find it yourself
Ontario buyers are mostly on their own: caveat emptor still rules, disclosure forms are optional, and suing after closing is slow and expensive. The good news — much of what sellers stay quiet about is sitting in the public record.
Read the post →Prices down, competition up: how to read Toronto's July housing numbers
July's TRREB report says prices fell 4.5% year-over-year — and that the market is tightening. Both are true. Here's how to hold the two ideas at once, and what they mean for one specific address.
Read the post →Toronto will hand you the blueprints: pre-approved garden and laneway suite plans
The City now offers free, pre-reviewed designs for backyard and laneway homes — you reference a plan number instead of paying for custom drawings. Here's how the program works, and what to check before you build (or buy next to one).
Read the post →Rent or buy when condos stop appreciating? The math on a flat decade
Downtown condos going ten years without price growth used to be unthinkable. Now it's common enough to chart. Here's how the rent-vs-buy decision changes when you delete the appreciation assumption — and how to vet the building either way.
Read the post →The 20% Toronto property tax cut you don't apply for
Toronto cuts the commercial tax rate by 20% for eligible small business properties — and applies it automatically from a list of 28,222 addresses. Here's who's on it, what it's worth, and how to check yours.
Read the post →Is $3,125 a month really "affordable" rent? Run the number against your own income
The $2.7 billion rental announcement came with an affordability benchmark pegged to average household income — about $3,125 a month. Here's what that math assumes, and what 30% actually looks like on a Toronto income.
Read the post →Toronto's $2.7 billion rental deal — how to tell if a project is coming near you
The August 5 federal–City deal backs 18 rental projects and 5,600 homes, with construction starting on 4,500+ before year end. Here's what was announced, and how to watch it land on your street.
Read the post →Vacant Home Tax bills start coming due September 15 — here's who actually pays
Toronto mailed 2025 Vacant Home Tax bills in June, and the first of three instalments lands September 15. The tax is 3% of assessed value, it runs with the property — and the renovation exemption lives or dies on the permit record.
Read the post →Renting a room in Toronto? The rooming house rules that protect you
Rooming houses are now legal — and licensed — across all of Toronto, with updated bylaw rules in effect since February. If you're hunting for a September room, here's what to check before you sign.
Read the post →What the census can tell you about a Toronto neighbourhood (before you move there)
Canada just finished collecting the 2026 Census, but those numbers won't land until 2027. Here's how to read the neighbourhood profile that exists right now — and what it can tell you that a listing never will.
Read the post →Ontario's 2027 rent guideline is 1.9% — what it means for you
The province set the 2027 rent-increase guideline at 1.9%. Here's who it covers, the big exemption most renters miss, and how to think about staying versus buying at today's numbers.
Read the post →Toronto nearly doubled its basement flooding subsidy — here's what it covers
As of May 1, 2026, the City pays up to $6,650 per home for backwater valves, sump pumps, and flood-proofing — and it's retroactive to November 2025. Here's how it works, and why the permit matters.
Read the post →How much is property tax in Toronto? 2026 rates, with examples
Toronto's 2026 residential property tax rate is 0.767311% of your MPAC assessed value. Here's the math, worked examples for condos and houses, and why 'average' numbers mislead.
Read the post →Order to Comply: what it means when Toronto issues one
An Order to Comply is the City of Toronto telling a property owner: fix these specific problems by this date. Here's what triggers one, what happens if it's ignored, and how to check any address.
Read the post →When does the heat have to come on? Toronto's heating rules, explained
Toronto landlords must keep rental units at 21°C or warmer from October 1 to May 15 — the dates changed in 2025. Here's what the rules cover, what changes in 2026, and what to do if your unit is cold.
Read the post →What's actually happening to Toronto's boarded-up landmarks?
From the empty Hudson's Bay stores to the boarded-up 'Giraffe' building, the city's most-talked-about vacant buildings leave a public paper trail. Here's how to find out what's really going on.
Read the post →Bylaw investigations: the paper trail before an order
Every 311 complaint about a property can become a bylaw investigation — and the record is public. Here's how investigations work, how they escalate into orders, and what a long complaint history tells you.
Read the post →Why do two near-identical Toronto semis sell for wildly different prices?
Same street, same floor plan, very different sale prices. A lot of the gap isn't in the listing photos — it's in the permit, order, and development records. Here's how to see it.
Read the post →The sixplex next door won't send you a notice — here's how to spot it
Toronto's multiplexes are as-of-right, so they skip rezoning applications, community meetings, and mailed notices entirely. The building permit is the only public trail — here's how to watch it.
Read the post →Before you sign a lease: how to check a landlord's record
A Toronto landlord was recently fined nearly a million dollars for letting a building decay. You don't have to guess whether yours is a problem — the City's enforcement record is public. Here's how to pull it.
Read the post →Condo prices are down — what income do you actually need to buy one now?
With nearly half of Ontario condos reportedly worth under $500K, buying looks closer than it has in years. Here's how to figure out the income and down payment a Toronto condo really takes — and how to vet the specific building.
Read the post →What Toronto's neighbourhood crime data can (and can't) tell you
It's peak lease-signing season for September move-ins. Toronto publishes crime rates by neighbourhood — here's how to read them properly before you let one number decide where you live.
Read the post →Toronto's renovictions bylaw turns one, on July 31: what tenants can actually check
The Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw has been in effect for almost a year. Here's what it requires before a landlord can issue an N13 — and how to tell a genuine renovation from a pretext using public records.
Read the post →Toronto's condo slowdown: how to see what's stalled near you
Headlines about condo bailouts and falling prices are everywhere. Here's how to cut through the noise and check what's actually being built — or stalled — around a specific address.
Read the post →What's the industrial pollution near your home?
Wildfire smoke gets the headlines, but the steady source is closer to home: factories, plants, and yards that report what they release. Here's how to read the NPRI record for any Toronto address.
Read the post →Ontario's new cooling rules: how to check your building's heat history
New rules require landlords to keep rental units from getting dangerously hot. Here's what they cover — and how to check whether your building has a track record of heat and maintenance complaints.
Read the post →What a short-term rental registration tells you
Every legal Airbnb in Toronto needs a City registration number tied to the operator's principal residence. Here's what the rules are — and what a registration on a unit signals if you're buying, renting, or living in the building.
Read the post →RentSafeTO building evaluations, explained
Toronto scores every large apartment building out of 100, and the scores are public. Look up any building free, and see what counts as a red flag.
Read the post →What an open work order means when you're buying
An open order or violation is the City telling an owner to fix something. Unlike a permit, it's a flag — here's what the common ones mean and who inherits them.
Read the post →How to read a Toronto building permit
A permit record tells you what work was approved, when, and whether it's finished. Here's how to make sense of the fields — and what an open permit means if you're buying or renting.
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