Section 15.2(4) of the Building Code Act, 1992 allows a property standards order to be registered on title, and provides that “any person acquiring any interest in the land subsequent to the registration of the order shall be deemed to have been served with the order” — so a buyer inherits it. The appeal deadline is 14 days by registered mail to the Property Standards Committee, and section 15.3(2) provides that an order not appealed in time “shall be deemed to be confirmed”. A further appeal to the Superior Court is another 14 days. If work is not done the municipality may do it, enter without a warrant, is not liable to compensate the owner, and takes a lien with priority lien status. Penalties run to $100,000 for an individual and $1,500,000 for a corporation. Toronto has no online order lookup — the route is a Compliance Certificate from the district office.
A property standards order is the municipal instrument most likely to follow a house to a new owner, and the one buyers least often check. Two provisions explain why.
Section 15.2(4) of the Building Code Act, 1992: an order may be registered in the land registry office, and on registration “any person acquiring any interest in the land subsequent to the registration of the order shall be deemed to have been served with the order” on the day the previous owner was served.
Section 15.3(1) and (2): an appeal must be sent by registered mail to the committee within 14 days, and “an order that is not appealed within the time referred to… shall be deemed to be confirmed.”
Put those together: you can inherit a confirmed, final order you never saw, with the appeal window long closed.
The two 14-day clocks
| Step | Deadline | Consequence of missing it |
|---|---|---|
| Appeal to the Property Standards Committee | 14 days after being served, by registered mail to the secretary | The order is deemed to be confirmed (s.15.3(2)) |
| Appeal the committee’s decision to the Superior Court of Justice | 14 days after a copy of the decision is sent | The decision stands |
On an appeal the committee “has all the powers and functions of the officer who made the order”, and may confirm, modify or rescind it, or extend the time for compliance. Once confirmed or modified, section 15.3(7) makes the order “final and binding upon the owner and occupant”.
What happens if the work is not done
Section 15.4 lets the municipality do the work itself. Employees or agents “may enter the property at any reasonable time without a warrant”, and the municipality “is not liable to compensate the owner” for anything done in the reasonable exercise of that power.
Then section 15.4(4): the municipality has a lien on the land for what it spent, and that amount has priority lien status under the Municipal Act, 2001 or the City of Toronto Act, 2006. Priority lien status means it ranks ahead of most other claims. This is not an ordinary debt.
There is also an administrative penalty power at section 15.4.1, in force since 14 December 2017, which is easy to miss because it sits between the better-known provisions.
The penalties
| Who | First offence | Subsequent offence |
|---|---|---|
| An individual | Up to $50,000 | Up to $100,000 |
| A corporation | Up to $500,000 | Up to $1,500,000 |
| Continuing failure to comply with certain orders | Up to $10,000 per day | — |
Under section 36(2) a director or officer of a corporation who knowingly concurs is personally guilty of an offence. Fines are paid to the treasurer of the municipality.
One limit worth knowing: section 36(8) provides that no proceeding may be commenced more than one year after the facts first came to the knowledge of the officer, where the proceeding concerns enforcement of a property standards by-law.
Toronto: how to actually find out
There is no public, self-serve online registry of outstanding property standards orders in Toronto. That is the practical problem.
What exists is a Compliance Certificate from the district office, which the City says shows “the current status of any property standards orders issued for the property”. The City states a fee may apply and that at this time fees are only charged in the Etobicoke York district. The fee amount is not published.
Toronto’s own Chapter 629 mirrors the statute: appeal by registered mail with the applicable fee within 14 days, failing which the order is deemed confirmed; and the same penalty ladder of $50,000 / $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 / $1,500,000 for a corporation.
So the reliable pre-closing check is two things done together: a Compliance Certificate from the district office, and a title subsearch for registered orders. Neither on its own is complete, and neither happens automatically. If your lawyer is not specifically instructed to look for orders registered under the Building Code Act, they may not.
What to do
- Instruct your lawyer specifically to search for registered orders under the Building Code Act, not just liens and encumbrances generally.
- Request a Compliance Certificate from the district office for the property.
- If you are served with an order, diary 14 days immediately — and appeal by registered mail, which is what the statute requires.
- Do not assume an old order lapsed. Only a clerk’s certificate registered on title discharges it.
- Treat a municipal lien as senior debt, because priority lien status makes it so.
Buying a property where you suspect there may be an outstanding order?
This is one of the few checks that genuinely will not happen unless someone asks for it. A standard title search will not necessarily surface a registered Building Code Act order unless your lawyer is looking for one, and Toronto has no self-serve database. Tell me the property and I will make sure both the Compliance Certificate request and the title instruction go in early enough to matter. The searches themselves are your lawyer’s work, not mine.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
Confidential. Read personally and answered within 24 hours. I never share, sell or distribute your information.
Free tool — AI home value estimator
Instant Home Valuation
What’s your home
worth today?
Answer six quick questions and get an instant value range built from current Toronto & GTA sale data — property type, size, condition, lot and location all weighted the way a real pricing conversation weighs them. Takes about ninety seconds.
Reading recent GTA sale data…
Building your estimate
Estimated market value
—
$0–$0
Most likely value $0 · roughly $0 per square foot
What moved the number
Starting from the area baseline for your property type, here’s what each answer added or subtracted.
Market context
Recent local averages for comparison.
—
A range is a starting point.
A strategy is what sells.
This model doesn’t know that your neighbour’s identical semi went $80,000 over asking last month, or which two upgrades actually pay back in your area. That conversation is free and takes twenty minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Does a property standards order pass to a new owner?
If it has been registered on title, yes, and the language is strong. Section 15.2(4) of the Building Code Act, 1992 provides that the order may be registered in the proper land registry office and that upon registration any person acquiring any interest in the land subsequent to the registration shall be deemed to have been served with the order on the day it was originally served. When the requirements are satisfied, the municipal clerk registers a certificate to that effect which operates as a discharge. Until that happens, the order stands.
How long do I have to appeal a property standards order?
Fourteen days. Section 15.3(1) requires an owner or occupant who is not satisfied with the terms of an order to appeal to the committee by sending a notice of appeal by registered mail to the secretary within 14 days after being served. Section 15.3(2) provides that an order not appealed within that time shall be deemed to be confirmed. A further appeal from the committee’s decision lies to the Superior Court of Justice, again within 14 days after a copy of the decision is sent.
What happens if I do not comply with a property standards order?
Section 15.4 allows the municipality to cause the property to be repaired or demolished. Its employees or agents may enter the property at any reasonable time without a warrant to do so, and the municipality is not liable to compensate the owner or any other person for anything done in the reasonable exercise of that power. Under section 15.4(4) the municipality has a lien on the land for the amount spent, with priority lien status as described in the Municipal Act, 2001 or the City of Toronto Act, 2006. There is also an administrative penalty power in section 15.4.1, in force since 14 December 2017.
What are the penalties under the Building Code Act?
Section 36(3) provides for a fine of not more than $50,000 for a first offence and not more than $100,000 for a subsequent offence. Section 36(4) sets the maximum for a corporation at $500,000 for a first offence and $1,500,000 for a subsequent offence. Section 36(6) provides for a continuing offence fine of not more than $10,000 per day for failing to comply with certain orders. Under section 36(2) a director or officer of a corporation who knowingly concurs is guilty of an offence. Section 36(8) limits proceedings to one year after the facts first came to the knowledge of the officer where the proceeding concerns enforcement of a property standards by-law.
How do I check for outstanding orders on a Toronto property?
There is no public self-serve online registry. The City states that property owners can obtain a Compliance Certificate from their district office showing the current status of any property standards orders issued for the property, that a fee may apply, and that at this time fees are only charged in the Etobicoke York district. The fee amount is not published. Because section 15.2(4) of the Building Code Act deems a later purchaser served with a registered order, the reliable pre-closing check is a Compliance Certificate together with a title subsearch specifically for registered orders under that Act.
Related reading
- Toronto multi-tenant house licensing: the register a buyer can search
- Short-term rental rules compared across the GTA
- The Toronto tree by-law: $100,000 per tree
- Lead pipes: Ontario’s legal standard is twice the federal guideline
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these, and each was read on 1 September 2026. Primary sources only — statute, regulation, and the government or agency that administers the rule. Where I could not verify something from a primary source, the page says so instead of guessing.
- Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 23. Government of Ontario e-Laws, read 2 September 2026. Section 15.2(4) permits an order to be registered against the title to a property, and a subsequent purchaser is deemed to have been served with it. This is the mechanism that makes an outstanding order discoverable on a title search. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 629, Property Standards (PDF) — City of Toronto. City of Toronto, consolidated PDF stamped 30 April 2025. Section 629-49.2 requires an appeal to the Property Standards Committee to be sent by registered mail with the applicable fee within 14 days after being served, and provides that an order not appealed within that time is deemed to be confirmed. Penalties are a fine of not more than $50,000 for a first offence and $100,000 for a subsequent offence, and for a corporation $500,000 and $1,500,000 respectively. Accessed 1 September 2026.
- Property standards — City of Toronto. City of Toronto, date modified 17 July 2026. States that property owners can obtain a Compliance Certificate from their district office showing the current status of any property standards orders issued for the property, and that a fee may apply, currently only in the Etobicoke York district. There is no public self-serve online registry of outstanding property standards orders. Accessed 1 September 2026.
About the author — Jatin Dua, Broker of Record
I’m the Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke, and I work with buyers and sellers across the west GTA. Municipal by-laws are where a lot of real estate goes wrong — the rules differ from one side of a boundary road to the other, the fees change on dates nobody announces, and the consolidated PDF on a city website is often months behind what council actually passed.
Everything below is quoted from the municipality’s own by-law or page, with the date that source carries, so you can check it against the current version rather than take my word for it. Where a published document is out of date, or where a figure simply is not published anywhere, the page says so. connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.