RentSafeWebinar Recording: Addressing unhealthy conditions in rental housing: the case of mould
RentSafe is pleased to partner with CLEO on this interactive learning session to gain practical tips and resources to prevent and address mould and improve conditions in rental housing.
This webinar offers tenants, landlords, public health, health care and social service providers information to increase their understanding of mould and its health effects and offer legal considerations including landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities.
Speakers:
- Dr. Donald Cole, MD FCFP(C), Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Environmental, Occupational and Public Health Medicine Consultant
- James Kemp, Accessibility Committee for Person with Disabilities for the City of Hamilton, Chair
- Chad Bonnetrouge, Indigenous Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency Program Coordinator
- Katherine Wauthier, Landlord Self-Help Centre, Paralegal/Community Legal Worker
- Seana Moorhead, Grey-Bruce Community Legal Clinic, Lawyer/Executive Director
- Alexander Wray, Ontario Association of Property Standards Officers, President
- Michael Foster, Ontario Association of Property Standards Officers, Board member
- Helen Doyle, Ontario Public Health Association, Chair of Environmental Health Work Group
- Marivi Barrios. RentSafe, Environmental Health Specialist
- Burgess Hawkins, Public Health Sudbury and Districts, Manager, Environmental Health
- Darryl Wolk, Ontario Municipal Social Services Association, Manager, Policy Development & Public Affairs
- Scott McKay, CMHA Grey Bruce Mental Health and Addictions Services, Director of Client Services
- Rebecca Carr, CMHA Grey Bruce Mental Health and Addictions Services, Manager of Housing
- Erica Phipps, Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment, Executive Director
Public Health Action on Rental Housing and Health Equity in Ontario: Results of the RentSafe-OPHA Public Health Survey
Authors: RentSafe & Ontario Public Health Association
Published: November 2025
In the winter of 2023–2024, RentSafe and the Ontario Public Health Association conducted a survey of public health units in Ontario to assess the role of public health in addressing unhealthy housing. This report provides a detailed summary of the data collected through the survey. Survey responses are aggregated by question, including significant respondent quotations and paraphrased responses where relevant.
View the report here: Public Health Action on Rental Housing and Health Equity in Ontario
Interested in a snapshot of the survey findings and recommendations? Read our report Toward a safe and healthy place to call home produced in collaboration with the National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health and Ontario Public Health Association.
Model mould by-law
The mould model by-law, found below, was informed by a comprehensive scan of existing by-laws across Ontario and co-created with the expertise of both public health inspectors and municipal property/by-law officers. It is now available through the Ontario Association of Property Standards Officers (OAPSO) Model Property Standards By-Law (see by-law 4.16), and is copied here, with permission.
OAPSO’s updated model by-law on mould in housing can be adopted by municipalities across Ontario to include more robust mould remediation language. It was developed through active collaboration among provincial professional associations from public health and municipal services, with representatives from the Ontario Association of Property Standards Officers (OAPSO), The Municipal Law Enforcement Officers Association of Ontario (MLEOA), the Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA), the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors – Ontario Branch (CIPHI-ON), the Association of Supervisors of Public Health Inspectors of Ontario (ASPHIO) and RentSafe.
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