Safe Apartments - How We Assess Building Conditions

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The City of Hamilton has introduced the Safe Apartment Buildings By-law No. 24-054, approved by Council in 2023 and coming into effect on January 1, 2026.

This by-law aims to improve apartment building conditions by:

  • Requiring annual registration for all rental apartment buildings with two or more storeys and six or more units.
  • Conducting building evaluations to assign a public score based on maintenance practices and standards.
  • Requiring Tenant Service Request (TSR) processes to ensure issues inside rental units are addressed within a reasonable timeframe.

City staff will evaluate conditions in shared areas such as:

  • Outdoor property areas
  • Lobbies and hallways
  • Parking areas
  • Elevators and stairs
  • Garbage storage areas
  • Exercise rooms

Purpose of the By-law
The Safe Apartment Buildings By-law is intended to:

  • Improve safety, cleanliness, and maintenance in shared areas of apartment buildings.
  • Create tools for landlords, tenants, and the City to more effectively identify and resolve maintenance issues.
  • Increase transparency by making building condition scores publicly available.
  • Strengthen accountability through required service request processes and timelines for repairs.

Note this By-law does not apply to:

  • Condominiums
  • Long-term care homes
  • Licensed residential care or retirement homes
  • Lodging homes
  • Housing co-operatives

What Are We Looking to Learn?
We are engaging with tenants, landlords, property managers, and housing providers to better understand experiences with apartment building conditions.

Through this engagement, we aim to:

  • Identify meaningful evaluation criteria that reflect real concerns and lived experiences of residents and property owners.
  • Define scoring levels by understanding what people consider "good", "acceptable", or "poor" conditions.
  • Ensure the scoring system is fair, relevant, and easy to understand.

This feedback will directly shape how the City evaluates apartment buildings and communicates their condition to the community.

Pop-Up Engage Dates:

EventDate and TimeLocation

Pop-up at Dundas Branch | HPL

Tuesday, Aug. 19, 10am-2pm

18 Ogilvie St


Pop-up at Red Hill Branch | HPL

Tuesday Aug. 26, 10am-2pm

695 Queenston Road

Pop-up at Sherwood Branch | HPL

Thursday Aug. 28, 10am-2pm

467 Upper Ottawa Street

Pop-up at King William pedestrian hub

Thursday Sept. 4, 2pm – 6pm

King William Street between James St N and Hughson St N

Pop-up at Terryberry Branch | HPL

Thursday Sept. 11, 10am-2pm

100 Mohawk Road West

HIPC’s Hamilton Welcome Event for Welcoming Week

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2pm-5pm

55 York Boulevard, 4th floor

Concession Street BIA Sidewalk Sounds & Night Market

Friday, Sept. 19, 6pm -9pm

555 Concession St (Cancer Assistance Program parking lot)

Open Streets Hamilton


Sunday, Sept. 28, 10am-1pm
Bernie Morelli Hub

The City of Hamilton has introduced the Safe Apartment Buildings By-law No. 24-054, approved by Council in 2023 and coming into effect on January 1, 2026.

This by-law aims to improve apartment building conditions by:

  • Requiring annual registration for all rental apartment buildings with two or more storeys and six or more units.
  • Conducting building evaluations to assign a public score based on maintenance practices and standards.
  • Requiring Tenant Service Request (TSR) processes to ensure issues inside rental units are addressed within a reasonable timeframe.

City staff will evaluate conditions in shared areas such as:

  • Outdoor property areas
  • Lobbies and hallways
  • Parking areas
  • Elevators and stairs
  • Garbage storage areas
  • Exercise rooms

Purpose of the By-law
The Safe Apartment Buildings By-law is intended to:

  • Improve safety, cleanliness, and maintenance in shared areas of apartment buildings.
  • Create tools for landlords, tenants, and the City to more effectively identify and resolve maintenance issues.
  • Increase transparency by making building condition scores publicly available.
  • Strengthen accountability through required service request processes and timelines for repairs.

Note this By-law does not apply to:

  • Condominiums
  • Long-term care homes
  • Licensed residential care or retirement homes
  • Lodging homes
  • Housing co-operatives

What Are We Looking to Learn?
We are engaging with tenants, landlords, property managers, and housing providers to better understand experiences with apartment building conditions.

Through this engagement, we aim to:

  • Identify meaningful evaluation criteria that reflect real concerns and lived experiences of residents and property owners.
  • Define scoring levels by understanding what people consider "good", "acceptable", or "poor" conditions.
  • Ensure the scoring system is fair, relevant, and easy to understand.

This feedback will directly shape how the City evaluates apartment buildings and communicates their condition to the community.

Pop-Up Engage Dates:

EventDate and TimeLocation

Pop-up at Dundas Branch | HPL

Tuesday, Aug. 19, 10am-2pm

18 Ogilvie St


Pop-up at Red Hill Branch | HPL

Tuesday Aug. 26, 10am-2pm

695 Queenston Road

Pop-up at Sherwood Branch | HPL

Thursday Aug. 28, 10am-2pm

467 Upper Ottawa Street

Pop-up at King William pedestrian hub

Thursday Sept. 4, 2pm – 6pm

King William Street between James St N and Hughson St N

Pop-up at Terryberry Branch | HPL

Thursday Sept. 11, 10am-2pm

100 Mohawk Road West

HIPC’s Hamilton Welcome Event for Welcoming Week

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2pm-5pm

55 York Boulevard, 4th floor

Concession Street BIA Sidewalk Sounds & Night Market

Friday, Sept. 19, 6pm -9pm

555 Concession St (Cancer Assistance Program parking lot)

Open Streets Hamilton


Sunday, Sept. 28, 10am-1pm
Bernie Morelli Hub

  • Complete the Safe Apartments Survey

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    CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

    Provide input on your experience with building conditions, to help inform the building evaluations process. Survey is open July 14 to September 30, 2025.

    Complete the Building Condition Survey

    Notice of Collection
    The City of Hamilton collects information under authority of Section 227 of the Municipal Act, 2001 and Safe Apartment Buildings By-law No. 24-054. Any personal information collected is being gathered for the purpose of supporting the Safe Apartments-Building Evaluation Criteria and Weighting Program. Feedback will be used for the purpose of identifying the apartment building features and conditions deemed most important by residents, to inform the development of evaluation and prioritization criteria within the program. By providing your email address, you are consenting to receiving emails from the City of Hamilton and/or their agents/contractors for purposes related to this program and/or survey. Information collected for this initiative may be stored on servers located in Canada and the United States and may be subject to Canadian and/or American laws. Questions about the collection of this personal information can be directed to the Senior Project Manager - Licensing & By-law Services, Licensing & By-law Services Division, Planning & Economic Development Department, 330 Wentworth St N, Hamilton, ON, 905-546-2424 ext. 4517, diedre.rozema@hamilton.ca

Page last updated: 30 Sep 2025, 11:00 PM