Tenants complain landlords are forcing them to remove window air conditioners
Some landlords are banning the use of window air conditioners following the death of a toddler in Toronto a year and a half ago.
But some tenants say without window air conditioning their apartments can be unbearably hot in the summer and they feel they should have the right to use one.
“Right now I am so very hot. I'm inside all day during the pandemic and I have had a stroke and I use a walker and I cannot go out," said Maria De Lourdes Morales, a tenant in an Etobicoke apartment building.
Morales said she can usually keep cool with a window air conditioner, but this year her landlord told her she was no longer allowed to use one.
Morales said she has health issues and fans won't keep her cool.
“It’s been so hot I don’t know how I will survive,” said Morales.
Her building is a Minto Apartment property.
When CTV News Toronto reached out to the company George Van Noten, Chief Operating Officer of Minto Properties issued this statement.
“Minto informed tenants late last year that only AC units placed within suite designed sleeves or floor units, vented to exterior would be permitted,” a statement said.
“This followed a tragic accident involving a window AC unit at a City of Toronto housing complex and subsequent changes to Toronto’s municipal code. Tenants are permitted to install window AC units in their apartments, and the building in question has sleeves installed safely so residents can do so.”
An air conditioner toppled out of a window in a Scarborough apartment building killing two-year-old Crystal Mirgho in November 2019.
Minto said in a letter to tenants that no window units are allowed unless they're over a balcony. They recommend tenants buy floor standing air conditioning units that retail for about $400 each.
Geordie Dent, the Executive Director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations, said his group is getting many complaints from tenants who are being told they can’t use window air conditioners.
“Landlords are sending out thousands of notices to tenants telling them they can't have air conditioning units or window air conditioning units and that's not true," said Dent.
Dent said there is no Toronto by-law that says tenants cannot use window air conditioners and he says as long as they are safely installed and maintained tenants should be allowed to use them.
“It's incredibly dangerous right now, you've got millions of people sitting at home and it's brutally hot and if you tell people they can't have air conditioning people are going to die," said Dent.
Van Noten also told CTV News Toronto “Our tenant does have AC in her living room, however we understand her concerns and have one spare floor mount unit available. We are currently working with her to install it in her bedroom as a courtesy. As always, the health and safety of our tenants is top priority.”
Morales said she won’t be able to get through the summer without some type of air conditioning.
"i need somebody's help to do the air conditioning, to do something. It's so hot now and we are not allowed to go anywhere" said Morales.
CTV News also contacted Toronto 311 which provides information to Toronto residents and we were told you are allowed to have a window air conditioner as long as it's installed in a safe and secure manner.
Anyone who is told they cannot have a window unit is advised to check the details of their lease.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Rainfall warnings of up to 80 mm among weather alerts in effect for 6 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres and other alerts have been issued for six Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. An 8-year-old child is only survivor
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Calgary police shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers dealt with a distraught individual. The incident lasted almost 20 hours.