How Warm Does Your Landlord Have to Keep Your Home? Heat Rules in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton (2026)

Verified October 21, 2026 · Local Toronto Editorial

Short answer: if your landlord pays for the heat, the unit has to stay at a minimum temperature set by your city. In Toronto that is 21°C from October 1 to May 15. In Brampton it is 20°C from September 15 to June 1. In Mississauga it is 20°C, and the by-law does not limit it to a season. If you pay for your own heat and control the thermostat, these minimums generally do not apply to the landlord, although the heating equipment still has to work.

Minimum heat rules in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton

Each city has its own by-law. Toronto uses Municipal Code Chapter 497, which the City is renaming the Indoor Temperature Standards Bylaw. Mississauga uses the Adequate Temperature By-law 0110-2018. Brampton uses the Vital Services By-law 68-2018. The core idea is the same in all three: a landlord who supplies heat must keep the unit warm enough, and the city can step in if they do not.

Toronto: 21°C from October 1 to May 15

Section 497-1.2 of the Toronto Municipal Code says a landlord must keep a minimum air temperature of 21°C in all areas of a dwelling unit from October 1 each year to May 15 of the next year. The rule applies only to units that are normally heated at the landlord’s expense. By-law 1395-2024, which came into force on April 30, 2025, set the current dates. Older guides that say September 15 to June 1 describe the earlier version.

The City also gives landlords room in the shoulder weeks. Its tenant page says that from September 15 to October 15 and from May 1 to June 1, a landlord can turn the heat down or off if the building stays at 21°C without it. The by-law itself says a landlord does not have to run the heating system when the unit is already at 21°C or warmer. In practice, once the outside temperature drops and the unit falls below 21°C during the heating period, the heat has to come on.

Hot water and cooling in Toronto

The City’s heat page says hot water must be between 45°C and 49°C. On cooling, Toronto does not make landlords install air conditioning. If a landlord does provide it, the City says it must be operated from June 1 to September 30 to keep units at no more than 26°C. From June 1, 2026, RentSafeTO apartment buildings that do not cool every unit but have an indoor amenity space must keep that space at or below 26°C during the same months. In June 2026, City Council also asked staff to report back by June 2027 on a broader maximum indoor temperature by-law, so more changes may come.

Fines in Toronto

The City says fines for landlords or property managers start at $500 for failing to keep a rented unit at 21°C. Chapter 497 allows a fine of up to $100,000 on conviction, a special fine equal to any economic advantage gained, and up to $10,000 for each day a continuing offence goes on.

Mississauga: 20°C, with no season written into the by-law

Mississauga’s Adequate Temperature By-law 0110-2018 was approved by Council on June 6, 2018, and replaced the older Adequate Heat By-law 0365-95. It defines adequate and suitable heat as an air temperature of at least 20°C in the dwelling unit. Unlike Toronto and Brampton, the by-law does not name a start or end date, so the 20°C minimum is not tied to a heating season.

The heat rule does not apply if the landlord and tenant have expressly agreed that the landlord will not heat the unit or pay for its heat, or if the tenant can directly regulate the temperature. Temperature is measured 1.5 metres above the floor and 1 metre from exterior walls, in every room meant for normal use by tenants.

The same by-law sets a cooling standard. If the unit has an air conditioning system that the landlord supplies, the temperature must not go above 26°C. That rule does not apply to units without air conditioning, where the parties agreed the landlord would not provide it, or where the tenant controls the temperature.

A conviction can bring a fine of up to $100,000, a special fine equal to the economic advantage gained, and up to $10,000 a day for a continuing offence. Directors and officers of a corporate landlord can also be fined.

Brampton: 20°C from September 15 to June 1

Brampton’s Vital Services By-law 68-2018, passed on May 2, 2018, covers heat, hot or cold water, fuel, electricity and gas in rental units. It requires a minimum of 20°C at 1.5 metres above the floor from September 15 each year to June 1 of the following year. The City’s page says the heat must be provided in all occupied rooms and adds that the dates are subject to change.

The by-law goes further than heat:

• Hot water. At least 49°C, in a quantity of at least 165 litres.
• No cutting off services. A landlord cannot cause or allow a vital service to be discontinued, except when needed for repairs, and then only for the shortest time necessary.
• No space heaters as the main heat. The City’s page says a rental cannot rely on auxiliary heating such as space heaters as the primary source of heat.

Each day a contravention continues counts as a separate offence. Fines follow the Provincial Offences Act, and Brampton’s administrative penalty amounts are set in a separate by-law, 218-2019. The City’s vital services page does not list the amounts, so we have not stated them here.

Brampton landlords should also know that the City runs a rental licensing program. Our guide to the Brampton rental licence explains who needs one.

When the rules apply, and when they do not

Who pays for heat matters most

All three by-laws are written around landlord-supplied heat. Toronto’s minimum applies to units normally heated at the landlord’s expense. Mississauga exempts units where the tenant agreed to pay for heat or can control the temperature directly. If your lease says you pay the gas bill and you have your own thermostat, the city minimum is generally not the landlord’s responsibility, but the furnace or heating system still has to be kept in working order.

Basement apartments with a shared furnace

This is common in GTA houses. If one furnace heats both floors and the thermostat is upstairs, a basement tenant cannot directly regulate the temperature. Where the landlord supplies that heat, the city minimum is the standard to meet in the lower unit too. Landlords setting up a second unit may want separate controls. Our guides to registering a basement apartment in Brampton and a second unit in Mississauga cover the wider requirements.

Rented condos

Toronto’s page says tenants in rented condo units should go to their landlord first, then call 311 if the problem is not fixed. The landlord, not the condo corporation, is the tenant’s point of contact.

The provincial floor

Ontario’s Maintenance Standards regulation under the Residential Tenancies Act (O. Reg. 517/06) also sets a minimum of 20°C in habitable space, measured 1.5 metres above the floor and 1 metre from exterior walls. City by-law officers in Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton enforce their own city’s by-law.

What to do if your unit is too cold

1. Tell your landlord or property manager. Put it in writing (email or text) so there is a record. Toronto’s tenant page says landlords should respond to urgent vital services requests, such as no heat, within 24 hours.
2. Measure the temperature. Use a thermometer about 1.5 metres off the floor and 1 metre from an outside wall. Write down the date, time and reading over several days.
3. Call 311 if it is not fixed. In Toronto, the City says to contact 311 if the problem is not resolved within 24 hours. Mississauga and Brampton also take complaints through 311. A by-law officer can investigate and order the landlord to comply.
4. Know the Landlord and Tenant Board route. A tenant can file a T6 application (Tenant Application about Maintenance) with the Landlord and Tenant Board. Tenant advocates note that remedies can include a rent abatement. This takes longer than a by-law complaint, so it suits ongoing problems more than a single cold night.

Be careful with space heaters. They can be a fire hazard, so read the manual, keep them clear of bedding and curtains, and plug them straight into the wall. If you need one because the heating is not working, keep receipts.

If you are the landlord

Many GTA homeowners rent out a basement or a whole house. A few practical steps keep you within the rules:

• Make the lease clear. State who pays for heat and who controls the thermostat. Mississauga’s exemption depends on an express agreement or direct tenant control.
• Service the furnace before October. Toronto’s heating period starts October 1 and Brampton’s on September 15. A breakdown in January is a 24-hour problem.
• Check the coldest room. The minimums apply to all areas or all occupied rooms, not just near the thermostat. Basement bedrooms are often the coldest.
• Do not use space heaters as the main heat. Brampton says so directly.
• If you have central air, know the cooling rules. In Toronto and Mississauga, landlord-supplied air conditioning has to keep units at or below 26°C.

Heating costs are part of what a rental really costs to run. Our guide to home heating systems in Ontario compares furnaces, heat pumps and rebates, and our story on the Ontario Electricity Rebate cut on November 1 covers this winter’s hydro prices.

Questions people ask

Sources

• City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 497, Heating: 21°C, October 1 to May 15, landlord-heated units, penalties, By-law 1395-2024 in force April 30, 2025.
• City of Toronto, Indoor temperatures in apartment units (last modified September 1, 2026): shoulder weeks, cooling rules, amenity spaces from June 1, 2026, tenant steps.
• City of Toronto, Not enough heat or other vital services (last modified May 21, 2026): 311 after 24 hours, fines from $500, hot water 45°C to 49°C.
• blogTO, June 2026: Council asks for a maximum indoor temperature by-law report by June 2027.
• City of Mississauga, Adequate Temperature By-law page (last modified September 8, 2026) and By-law 0110-2018 PDF: 20°C, 26°C cooling, exemptions, measurement, fines.
• City of Brampton, Vital Services: Adequate Heat: 20°C, September 15 to June 1, space heaters, contacts.
• City of Brampton, Vital Services By-law 68-2018, as amended by 219-2019: hot water, no discontinuance, offences.
• Ontario Regulation 517/06, Maintenance Standards, section 15: provincial 20°C minimum.
• Landlord and Tenant Board, T6 instructions, and Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, 6 questions renters ask about heat: tenant remedies and space heater safety.

Image: Local Toronto media library. General photo of a portable heater; not a specific rental unit.

This is general information, not legal advice. By-laws change, so confirm with your city or a legal clinic before acting on a dispute.

Local Toronto, HomeLife Landmark Realty Inc., Brokerage.