But what can I do if my landlord doesn't fix the heat after I've already complained a few times?
I have found in the past that my landlord responds faster to complaints about the heat if I indicate to them that I know about the City of Toronto Heat Bylaw and imply that I am willing to file a complaint with the city (by calling “311”) if they don’t do something about it.
The City of Toronto Municipal Code 497-1.2 (
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/1184_497.pdf) requires our landlord to provide a minimum temperature of 21° Celsius in all areas of our apartments (including every room, hallway, closet, bathroom, etc.) between September 15 and June 1.
The City of Toronto takes heat complaints seriously; they will have a bylaw officer investigate promptly, and they can fine the landlord or otherwise compel them to resolve heating problems. Usually making that threat is all it takes to get a heating problem resolved (although there have been exceptions).