On a stretch of Dupont Street between Spadina Road and Ossington Avenue in the Annex neighbourhood, several home and business owners say their properties continue to be tagged.
“Many times you get it cleaned up and it happens all over again,” a property owner, whose residence has been hit several times in the past two years, told CityNews.
“I’m not talking about artwork. I’m talking about senseless destruction of private property,” said the man, who asked not to be identified, worried he’ll become even more of a target.
The man moved to the neighbourhood eight years ago but said he noticed a drastic change in that in the last few years. The sides of homes, garages in alleyways and several store fronts throughout the Annex spraypainted with various unreadable graffiti.
Other neighbourhoods across the city aren’t immune said Ronnie Lebow, who owns Graffiti Blasters, a company called by various business and homeowners, across the GTA, on the receiving end of the graffiti. We met him on Danforth Avenue near Pape Avenue, where he was asked to give a quote to clean up several businesses recently targeted in that area.
“Toronto as a whole has been hit hard ever since COVID. We’ve been very busy,” Lebow said.
Removing graffiti, which is often the responsibility of the property owner, can be costly.
“Pricing changes depending on if you need painting or if you need chemical removal,” he said.
Under the City of Toronto bylaw, a property owner — whether responsible or not — has 72 hours to clean up illegal graffiti or they could face a citation. Hate or gang-related graffiti must be removed in 24 hours.
In 2024, 620 notices to comply were issued, and in 2025, 634 notices have been issued so far.
But many argue the city’s Graffiti Management Plan doesn’t do enough to prevent the problem from reoccurring.
“Maybe police need to look at stepping up surveillance,” the man who spoke to CityNews said.
CityNews contacted Toronto police, asking how many tagging arrests have been made this year but they did not provide those numbers.
“We’re aware of concerns about graffiti. While it’s not currently a policing priority, members of the public can report it online to us or the City,” a police spokesperson told CityNews.
Residents say they’ve reported it, multiple times.
“Part of it is surveillance. I mean, there are cameras everywhere. We have cameras on the building. I’ve asked if they’ve reviewed cameras, and you don’t get much of a response,” the man who spoke to CityNews said.
Cameras will do little to catch the culprits, Lebow said, as most of the taggers wear masks.
“These are mostly young people who know how to cover their tracks, catching them would be very difficult,” he said.
Many property owners are taking their own measures of protection by covering walls with special material.
“There are deterrents as far as chemicals that you could put on the wall,” Lebow said. “It makes it slide off easier. But there is nothing that you can do as far that will actually eliminate it from being put on the wall.”
City staff say residents and businesses can also help prevent graffiti by improving lighting, restricting access to blank walls, using anti-graffiti coatings or planting vegetation. Commissioning a legal mural is another effective way to deter tagging while enhancing the community visually.
But even with those deterrents in place, Lebow said nobody is off-limits these days.
“The problem is not going away, maybe if they increased the punishment for those caught that could work, but based on how busy I am, this is a city-wide issue.”
“I don’t know what the answer is but something has to be done,” the man who reached out to CityNews added. “Maybe it’s people like me talking out that gets that pressure on them to come out. And I hope that’s the case here.”
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