A rental apartment should feel like home, but unresolved maintenance issues can be stressful and unpleasant for tenants. That’s why the City of Mississauga is working to ensure that tenants can feel comfortable and safe in their own space.
The Mississauga Apartment Rental Compliance (MARC) pilot program is an apartment building standards and maintenance program, similar to the Rentsafe program in Toronto, which aims to ensure apartment property standards are maintained across the city.
If a tenant has identified an issue with their landlord and the issue hasn’t been resolved, the tenant can submit a complaint about their building or unit maintenance and the City of Mississauga will work with building owners and landlords to get it fixed.
The goal of the five-year pilot program is to ensure that the needs of tenants are being addressed and that rental apartment building owners and landlords comply with maintenance standards.
The MARC pilot program features:
- a requirement for building owners and landlords to register each year of the program
- proactive apartment building inspections conducted by a dedicated team of Enforcement staff
- a streamlined complaints process for tenants, including the ability to submit complaints anonymously
- potential fines for owners and landlords who fail to comply
Residents who have reported a repair or maintenance issue to their landlord with no response or action taken are encouraged to submit a request here or call 311.
To learn more, visit Mississauga.ca/MARC
SOURCE City of Mississauga
So, if I am happy in my apartment and the city comes into the building and demands the owner make changes based on their sole discretion, the owner can then go to the province and apply for rent increases above the guidelines to pay for these expenses! So, thanks to this MARC program does that mean my rent is going to go up? I don’t want my rent to go up just because the city wants to make money off of landlords or because there is something wrong with someone else’s unit! It should be left as a complaint based system. Tenants should be asking these questions!