Cockroaches and mould among top 5 issues for renters in Mississauga and Brampton: report

Renters dealing with unaffordable rents, cockroaches, mould and other property issues are getting less than their money’s worth in Mississauga and Brampton, according to a new report.

The data comes from the affordable housing advocate group ACORN, which surveyed over 250 renters at properties in Mississauga and Brampton and found that tenants are facing “a crisis of neglect in the places they call home.”

From broken elevators and cracked ceilings to cockroaches and mould, some 80 per cent of tenants said their units needed repairs, while 88 per cent of tenants said their building required service.

The report found the top-five issues in rental units were living with mould, peeling paint on walls or ceilings, heat in the summer, cockroaches, and old or broken appliances.

More than 35 per cent of respondents said they were dealing with mould in their unit, while nearly 30 per cent reported cockroaches.

“This report makes it clear that tenants in Peel are dealing with poor housing conditions, unaffordable rents, and systems that fail to protect them,” ACORN says, adding that many tenants will wait weeks or months for basic repairs, live with pests or mould, and don’t know where to turn for help.

“They are paying more, but getting less,” ACORN says.

Photo: ACORN state of renting in Peel Region report 2025

Photo: ACORN state of renting in Peel Region report 2025

Photo: ACORN state of renting in Peel Region report 2025

Of the renters surveyed, 68 per cent were from Mississauga and 32 per cent were from Brampton, with a median annual income between $40,000 to $50,000.

Around 65 per cent of tenants said they pay between $1,501 and $2,500 in monthly rent. Twenty-three per cent said they pay less than $1,500 per month and 12 per cent said they pay more than $2,500.

The number of tenants paying more than $2,000 a month has spiked from 13.6 per cent in 2023 to 38.1 per cent in 2025, the report says.

A testimonial from one of the surveyed renters says the tenants moved in two years ago with the promise of a pool and balcony renovations, which still haven’t begun.

“We were also told that the balconies and the building from outside will be renovated also, yet nothing has been done. The ceiling where the main entrance is always leaking and the smell of garbage at the entrance even on the floors is very bad,” the testimonial reads.

Lower-income tenants making less than $40,000 annually are more likely to have lived in their apartment for between six and 20 years when compared to higher-income tenants earning at least $80,000.

And more than a third (36.6 per cent) said they had received rent increases higher than the provincial maximum of 2.1 per cent. Some 84 per cent of respondents said they rent from a private company.

RELATED: Tenant advocates say Toronto’s new renoviction bylaw already making ‘positive impact’

“Many report feeling stuck in their housing because they cannot afford to move elsewhere,” ACORN says, adding that the data shows lower-income renters have less mobility.

And while ACORN applauded steps the cities have taken to address rental issues, like Brampton’s landlord licensing pilot program and updates to Mississauga’s MARC program, the report’s findings have led ACORN to call on both Mississauga and Brampton city councils “to implement a citywide landlord licensing or registration program that includes apartment buildings.”

The group is also demanding that Brampton and Mississauga pass strong “anti-renoviction by-laws,” similar to regulations in Hamilton and Toronto, that would require landlords to allow tenants to return to their units “at the same rate they were paying before the work was done.”

Renovictions have been on the rise in Toronto and the province for the past decade, with a nearly 50 per cent increase in the number of N13 notices filed in Toronto, according to a 2024 renoviction report by ACORN.

“The problems are clear and so are the solutions. Now it’s time for Mississauga and Brampton to listen and act,” ACORN says of the new report. “Tenants are organized, and we’re ready to win.”