Toronto’s Heritage Register is the City’s public list of properties believed to have cultural heritage value, kept under section 27 of the Ontario Heritage Act. It holds two kinds of entry. Designated properties are protected by a by-law registered on title, while listed properties are only flagged, and their owners must give City Council at least 60 days’ notice before demolishing or removing a building. For listed properties already on the register before 2023, the City says removal is due on January 1, 2027 unless they are designated first.
What the register contains
The City of Toronto describes the register as a publicly accessible record that lists every designated property, including properties inside heritage conservation districts, and may also include properties that are not designated but are believed to have heritage value. Searchers who ask for a “Toronto heritage building registry” or a list of “city of toronto heritage buildings” are asking for this document. The City offers a Heritage Register map and a Heritage Property Search tool for checking a single address, and those tools are the way to confirm what applies to a given house or block.
The register is not a list of famous landmarks only. It records ordinary houses, shopfronts, churches, and industrial buildings alongside well-known ones. The stories behind some of those buildings, such as Casa Loma and Fort York, are told in the pages linked at the end of this article.
Listed, designated, and district: the three levels
| Level | Legal basis | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Listed | Section 27 of the Ontario Heritage Act | Believed to have heritage value. No by-law on title. Owners must give Council at least 60 days’ notice before demolition or removal. |
| Designated, individual property | Part IV of the Act | A by-law registered on title describes the property, the reasons for designation, and often the heritage attributes that must be conserved. |
| Designated, district | Part V of the Act | An area is designated as a heritage conservation district, with a plan of policies and guidelines for managing change. |
The table follows the City of Toronto’s Heritage Register page and City staff reports on designation. A property can belong to more than one level. City reports on the King-Spadina district, adopted in October 2017, treat properties there as contributing to the district, and individual designations can sit inside a district.
How a property becomes designated
Individual designation under Part IV rests on Ontario Regulation 9/06, which sets the criteria for municipal designation. According to the City, a property must meet two or more of those criteria. When Council designates, the result is a by-law registered on the property’s title, so the heritage status follows the building through any sale.
District designation works differently. Council first completes a heritage conservation district study to decide whether an area merits designation. If it does, a district plan sets the policies and guidelines that govern changes to buildings in the area. Because the plan applies to a whole neighborhood, it can protect streetscapes that no single building could carry alone.
What protection means in practice
For a designated property, City staff reports describe the main tools: Council can review proposed alterations, enforce maintenance standards, and refuse demolition. The City also requires a Heritage Impact Assessment for development, demolition, and alteration applications that might adversely affect a cultural heritage property. Heritage permits are among the steps that may be required before altering a heritage property.
Listing gives much less. The City states that listing does not add maintenance requirements beyond existing property standards, does not let the City withhold a building permit for work that does not involve demolition, and does not prevent renovation or development. The 60-day notice period exists so that Council has time to consider designating a building before it is lost.
Bill 23, Bill 200, and the 2027 deadline
Provincial amendments changed how long a property can stay listed. The City’s Heritage Register Review page cites the Ontario Heritage Act as amended by Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022, and by Bill 200, the Homeowner Protection Act, 2024. The rules it reports are these:
- A property listed after January 1, 2023 must have a notice of intention to designate issued within two years of listing, or it comes off the register.
- A property removed from the register cannot be listed again for five years from the removal date.
- Bill 200 extended the deadline for properties already listed on or before January 1, 2023 to January 1, 2027. Its amendments took effect on June 6, 2024.
- The City reports approximately 4,000 listed properties, and only part of that number can be researched and designated before the deadline.
Heritage groups objected to the removal rule during provincial consultation, and the law has been amended more than once in a short time. Readers should check the consolidated Act on Ontario e-Laws and the City’s Heritage Register Review page for the current position, because these dates may move again.
Federal and provincial recognition are separate
Municipal designation is only one route. Parks Canada’s Directory of Federal Heritage Designations records places recognized by the Government of Canada. Fort York, for example, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on May 25, 1923, a federal commemoration that is separate from any municipal by-law. A building can therefore carry several kinds of recognition, each with its own rules, and only the City’s register shows the municipal status.
Where to look for the history of a building
Register entries and designation reports usually summarize a property’s history. For deeper research, the City of Toronto Archives and Toronto Public Library hold plans, photographs, directories, and newspapers. Heritage Preservation Services at the City handles the files on designated and listed properties, and the Toronto Preservation Board advises Council on heritage matters.
Frequently asked questions
How can an owner find out whether a Toronto house is on the Heritage Register?
The City of Toronto provides a Heritage Register map and a Heritage Property Search tool. Entering an address shows whether the property is listed, designated, or inside a heritage conservation district.
What is the difference between a listed and a designated property?
A listed property is believed to have heritage value but has no by-law on title and only a 60-day demolition notice requirement. A designated property has a by-law registered on title, and Council can review alterations and refuse demolition.
What happens to listed properties on January 1, 2027?
According to the City, listed properties that were on the register on or before January 1, 2023 are to be removed on that date unless they have been designated first, and a removed property cannot be relisted for five years. The City’s Heritage Register Review page shows any later change.
Does a National Historic Site designation protect a building under Ontario law?
No. A federal designation by Parks Canada is a separate recognition from municipal designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. Whether a building also holds a municipal by-law has to be checked on the City’s register.
Related reading
- Historic Buildings of Toronto, the hub for building histories on this site
- The castle on the Davenport escarpment
- A federally commemorated fort on the waterfront
- Historic churches of Toronto
- The wider story of the city’s growth
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- City of Toronto, Heritage Register page and Heritage Register Review page
- City of Toronto, Heritage Preservation overview
- City of Toronto staff reports on heritage conservation districts and designation (2016 to 2021)
- Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.18, Ontario e-Laws
- Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations: Fort York National Historic Site of Canada
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Toronto’s Heritage Register and Heritage Designation. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-historic-registry-preserving-the-citys-rich-heritage-for-future-generations
MLA: “Toronto’s Heritage Register and Heritage Designation.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-historic-registry-preserving-the-citys-rich-heritage-for-future-generations. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Toronto’s Heritage Register and Heritage Designation.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-historic-registry-preserving-the-citys-rich-heritage-for-future-generations.
The pages have no named author, so the site is given as the author. Add the date you read the page if your style asks for it.