Served Whitby
Also covered: Brooklin
Property maintenance in Whitby, registered ADUs and heritage streets
Whitby asks one thing of a rented basement unit before anything else: that it be registered. Without registration the unit cannot be legally rented, whatever state it is in.
Checked 2026-10-03
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Coverage
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The registration file is the starting point
Registration confirms the unit meets the Building Code and that its permits were signed off. A repair that opens a fire separation, moves a smoke alarm or changes an egress window in a registered unit should put it back the way it was inspected, with photos of the closed up work. The same goes for the electrical panel. See basement and secondary suites. Owners building new units under the Town's incentive program have until March 31, 2027 to register them, and builders can hand the finish and deficiency work to us.
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Heat from September 15, cooling from June 1
Since September 2, 2025, the Rental Unit Vital Services By-law sets 20 C heat from September 15 to May 31 where the landlord pays for heat, and 26 C or less from June 1 to September 14 in a unit with central air. A portable heater or a window unit meets neither rule. A cold unit in late September and a hot one in July are both by-law calls, and we book them that way.
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Two heritage districts
Brooklin's historic core and the Werden's Plan streets downtown are heritage conservation districts. Porches, windows and cladding on a rental there are checked against the district plan before a quote goes out.
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Water and complaints
The Region of Durham owns the water and sewers; call 311 in the region or 905-668-7711. Property standards complaints go to the Town's Enforcement Services.
Plumbing is done by licensed plumbers and drain work by licensed drain contractors. Gas work is done by TSSA registered contractors. We only use ECRA/ESA-Licensed Electrical Contractors. Pest control is done by licensed exterminators.
To send a Whitby job, request work.
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Whitby's rules for rentals
An additional dwelling unit, a basement apartment included, must be registered with the Town's By-law Services under By-law 8156-25 before it can be legally rented. Registration confirms Ontario Building Code compliance and permit sign off. Units in the Town's Housing Accelerator Fund incentive program must be registered by March 31, 2027.
Where the landlord pays for heat, a rental unit is kept at 20 C or more from September 15 to May 31, and portable heaters do not count (sections 1.3 and 2.6 of the Rental Unit Vital Services By-law 8187-25, in force September 2, 2025). It repealed the old October 1 rule, section 9.5.1 of the Property Standards By-law 6874-14, on September 1, 2025.
Source: Town of Whitby, Rental Unit Vital Services By-law 8187-25
A rental unit with a central air conditioning system is kept at 26 C or less from June 1 to September 14 (sections 1.2 and 2.7). Where the main dwelling has central air at the start of a tenancy, its additional dwelling units get the same cooling (section 2.8). Portable and window units do not count toward the rule.
Source: Town of Whitby, Rental Unit Vital Services By-law 8187-25
In February 2026 Council directed staff to prepare a by-law requiring air conditioned common space, at 26 C or less from June 1 to September 14, in multi-residential rentals without in suite air conditioning. When we checked on September 27, 2026 it was not listed as an enacted by-law, so it is a direction, not a rule in force.
Whitby has two heritage conservation districts under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act, Brooklin and the Werden's Plan Neighbourhood in Downtown Whitby, which holds 250 individually evaluated heritage properties. The Brooklin plan was updated by By-law 8279-26 in 2026.
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Common services in Whitby
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Questions
Can I rent out a basement apartment in Whitby before it is registered?
No. Under By-law 8156-25 an additional dwelling unit has to be registered with By-law Services, with its Building Code compliance and permit sign off confirmed, before it can be legally rented.
When does Whitby's heating season run?
September 15 to May 31, at 20 C, where the landlord pays for heat, under section 2.6 of the Rental Unit Vital Services By-law 8187-25. It replaced the old October 1 start in September 2025.
Does Whitby require air conditioning in rental buildings?
Not to install it. Where a rental unit has central air, the landlord keeps it at 26 C or less from June 1 to September 14 under By-law 8187-25. Council also directed staff in February 2026 to draft a common space cooling by-law, which was not listed as enacted when we checked in September 2026.
Who takes property standards complaints in Whitby?
The Town's Enforcement Services, at 905-430-4345 or bylaw@whitby.ca.
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