How to pass a Toronto STR fire inspection (without redoing your kitchen)

Toronto requires short-term rental operators to register annually and meet Ontario Fire Code requirements. The inspection itself rarely fails on big-ticket items — it fails on small, fixable misses. This is what an actual visit looks like.

What the inspector physically checks

• One smoke alarm in every sleeping room, one on every storey, one outside each sleeping area. Hard-wired with battery backup if your home was built or substantially renovated after 1990.
• One carbon monoxide alarm within 5 metres of each sleeping area, on every storey with a fuel-burning appliance or attached garage.
• One ABC-rated portable fire extinguisher per storey, mounted between 1.0 and 1.5 metres from the floor, easily visible, with a current annual service tag.
• Two means of egress from every sleeping area. A bedroom window can count if it opens to at least 0.35 m² and the sill is no more than 1 m above the floor.
• Posted floor plan with the two escape routes marked, visible inside the suite (kitchen or back of bedroom door is standard).

What trips most hosts

• Expired extinguisher service tag. Pay the $25 annual recharge — they will fail you on this alone.
• Battery-only alarm in a post-1990 reno. Replace with hard-wired interconnected units before the visit.
• Basement bedroom with an undersized window. If the egress window is below code you either remove the room from sleeping use or enlarge the opening — there is no inspector workaround.
• Locked deadbolts requiring a key from the inside. All egress doors must open with a single motion from inside without a key.

What to have on the kitchen counter

• Your STR registration number.
• Annual extinguisher service receipt.
• Last alarm-test date (write it on a sticker on the unit itself).
• A printed floor plan with escape routes.

After the visit

If you pass, you get a stamped report — keep the PDF with your registration renewal documents. If you fail on a fixable item, you have a re-inspection window (usually 30 days). Fix the item, email the photo proof, and ask for a desk review instead of a second site visit — they will often grant it for alarm-battery or extinguisher-tag failures.