Toronto mayoral candidate Olivia Chow is promising to create a dedicated “bad landlords task force” if re-elected, saying the city needs to be more “proactive” in going after landlords who fail to maintain their properties.
Chow made the announcement during a media event outside 500 Dawes Rd. in East York, a building that has previously faced more than $300,000 in fines for not complying with fire safety requirements.
“This fight was never about one single building,” Chow said. “It was about changing a system that was failing Torontonians.”
‘Go after slumlords’
Chow said the proposed task force would be made up of dedicated enforcement officers and lawyers focused on what she called “the worst landlords in our city.”
She said the city has doubled the number of RentSafeTO officers since 2023 to 73, giving the program “real power to make landlords fix the problem.”
The new task force would take a proactive approach, Chow said, including inspecting properties owned by landlords who have a history of run ins with the law.
“If you own one serious problem building, we will inspect every building you own,” she said.
Chow also said the city should step in and arrange repairs when landlords repeatedly refuse to act, then bill the cost directly to the property owner.
“If a landlord won’t make repairs, the city will hire a contractor to do the work and bill the owner directly,” she said. “(It’s) about time.”
Chow went on to describe conditions renters have faced in some buildings, including water being shut off, a lack of heat during winter and broken elevators, appliances and doors.
“While these landlords failed their tenants, they charged them more every year,” Chow said. “Well, no more.”
Earlier this year, the company that owns 500 Dawes Rd. was fined following a conviction under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act.
The building’s landlord, Carolyn Krebs, one of its directors, was also sentenced on May 26 to 15 days in jail and ordered to pay a $120,000 fine, plus a mandatory 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, after failing to comply with fire safety requirements at another residential property at 608 Dawes Rd. in East York.
Chow said her government’s approach at 500 Dawes showed what can happen when different city divisions work together.
“The reason why Dawes Road was successful (is) because, as the mayor of Toronto, I brought together each of the divisions,” she said. “I said … I need action now.”
Bradford challenges timing
Meanwhile, fellow mayoral candidate Brad Bradford is challenging Chow’s characterization of her record.
His campaign says the city had already used remedial action at 500 Dawes Road in 2020, three years before Chow became mayor, including cleaning the property and adding roughly $30,000 to the landlord’s tax bill.
Bradford argues Chow had access to the same tool for much of her time as mayor but did not use it again at 500 Dawes until this year.
“Every tool the Mayor used at 500 Dawes this spring was on the shelf the day she was sworn in,” Bradford said.
His campaign also points to his work on the building dating back to 2019, including efforts to explore a long-term lease, acquisition or expropriation, as well as escalating tenant and neighbour complaints to city departments.
Bradford voted for Chow’s March 2026 motion on cracking down on bad landlords, which passed unanimously, according to his campaign.
Chow says the larger issue goes beyond 500 Dawes.
“Half of all Torontonians rent,” she said. “Every single one of them deserves a home that is safe, clean, and in good repair. It’s the law.”
“We will go after slumlords and take them to court, do the repair ourselves, and charge them,” Chow said. “It needs to be done.”
Chow’s campaign says the plan will cost $2.15 million annually and will be funded by fines paid by landlords.
