David ​Sterns still remembers the night his wife heard someone shouting about being sexually assaulted, right outside their Toronto home.

Was it someone truly in danger, or a tasteless prank? Roughly seven years later, the Annex resident still isn't sure. What is certain, he says, is that the incident happened during a rowdy frat house party nearby.

"There have been fires, there have been stabbings, there have been multiple sexual assaults," he said.

Sterns is among many concerned residents in the neighbourhood north of the University of Toronto who are pushing the city to regulate the many fraternity and sorority houses there. They currently operate like any other house in the city, exempt from rooming house licensing tied to fire safety, property management, and other issues.

A new city report, heading to the licensing and standards committee for consideration on Friday, recommends changing that.

From poorly-maintained properties to potentially-dangerous house parties, Annex residents have a litany of concerns about the frat houses in their neighbourhood. (CBC News)

Report calls for annual registration

The report from the city's licensing department calls for fraternities and sororities to register annually with the city, confirming their active membership in an international or national fraternity or sorority organization, among other criteria.

It also recommends the city continue exploring how to license fraternities and sororities through research and public consultation and report back in 2019.

Sterns, who has lived in the neighbourhood for more than a decade, was hoping for more immediate action.

Sororities and fraternities exist "in a regulatory vacuum," Sterns said, adding issues ranging from noise and property damage to potentially-dangerous house parties often prompt him and others to call police.

Toronto police data shows nearly 80 occurrences where police responded to incidents near or at fraternities and sororities over the last five years, tied to issues like theft and sexual assault.

From 2013 until March this year, the city also received more than 160 complaints related to 15 of the 19 fraternity and sorority houses in Ward 20, the report notes.

A new report from the city's licensing department calls for fraternities and sororities to register annually with the city. (CBC News)

Frat houses operate in a 'grey zone'

David Harrison, chair of the Annex Residents' Association, stressed that not all fraternities are causing problems, and that typically, sororities aren't a concern at all.

But when trouble arises, he said finding authority figures to speak to in connection with any of the student houses is "generally impossible."

CBC Toronto reached out to two student groups representing the University of Toronto's fraternities and sororities, which are not affiliated with the school. The U of T Sororities Panhellenic Council did not respond, while a representative for the Inter-Fraternity Council declined to comment.

Adam Carson — a local spokesperson for Toronto fraternities and sororities — did provide a statement, saying the recommendations in the city's latest report are "unnecessary and ill-conceived."

Registering fraternities and sororities, and providing the names of individual members for validation, is concerning and "sets a dangerous precedent," he added.

Carson also noted the city's data showed a drop in complaints in recent years, and said the student houses should be treated just like any other residential home.

But Coun. Joe Cressy, a supporter of regulations for frat houses, welcomes the city's recommendations as a "step in the right direction" towards ensuring students' safety.

Licensing has to be the next piece, he said, to make sure fraternities and sororities no longer operate in a "grey zone."