A new report from tenant advocacy group ACORN paints a troubling picture of life for many renters in Peel Region, revealing that one in three tenants is living with cockroaches or other insect infestations. The survey of 257 tenants, conducted between May and June 2025, focused on low- and moderate-income households in Mississauga and Brampton and found a pattern of worsening conditions, neglected repairs, and unaffordable rents. Respondents reported not only pest problems but also mouldy walls, broken elevators, peeling paint, sweltering indoor heat, and malfunctioning appliances.
Affordability remains a major concern, with 65 per cent of respondents paying between $1,501 and $2,500 per month and 12 per cent paying more than $2,500. Over one-third had experienced Above Guideline Rent Increases, which landlords can apply to cover major repairs or upgrades. ACORN’s report argues these increases are often used by corporate landlords to pass on the cost of long-overdue maintenance to tenants without delivering promised improvements. Tenants described examples such as unrenovated amenities left in disrepair for years despite repeated assurances.
The survey found that 80 per cent of tenants said their units needed repairs and 88 per cent said their buildings required maintenance. Common in-unit issues included mould, extreme summer heat, peeling paint, and broken appliances, while common areas suffered from elevator breakdowns, insect infestations, unclean carpets, peeling walls, and foul-smelling garbage chutes. Long-term tenants were more likely to face severe disrepair, but newer tenants also reported problems in shared areas. ACORN says this reflects a pattern where landlords invest in common spaces to attract new renters while neglecting repairs for long-standing tenants.
The report also points to systemic barriers in addressing complaints. Over a third of tenants didn’t know what 311 was, while another third felt there was no point in calling. Among those who did, nearly half waited more than a month for resolution or saw no resolution at all. Lower-income tenants faced the longest waits, with only nine per cent of those earning under $40,000 seeing repairs completed within 24 hours, compared to 31 per cent for higher-income renters. Some 16 per cent of tenants reported feeling threatened by their landlords after making complaints, a form of intimidation ACORN says is used to deter tenants from asserting their rights.
In response, ACORN is calling for Mississauga and Brampton to implement a landlord licensing or registration program with proactive inspections and public posting of inspection scores, similar to Toronto’s RentSafe program. The group is also pushing for anti-renoviction bylaws to curb evictions for minor renovations used to justify rent hikes, and for a rental replacement bylaw in Brampton to ensure affordable units are replaced if buildings are demolished, with tenants guaranteed the right to return at their previous rent. ACORN argues these measures would remove the incentive for landlords to profit from displacement and help protect both affordability and living standards for tenants across Peel.