Taking Action as a Tenant - Heating

Assert Your Rights and Take Action Against Negligent Landlands

Mar 4, 2009

Unfortunately there are many people rent apartments that violate city bylaws but just do not know how to take action. A minimum standard of heating is required by law.

Far too many people, especially low-income individuals and families in large cities, are paying to live in conditions that fail to meet municipal bylaws. It is only through tenants joining together and taking action against negligent landlords that these conditions can improve.

In the cold winter months, a lack of adequate heating supply is a common problem for apartment renters. However few people know what the laws are and where to take their complaints. The most important thing to know about heating in rented accommodations is that it is required by law in Canada, and many other countries as well, that a minimum temperature be maintained, usually between the months of September to May.

The Facts

The minimum temperature and exact dates this must be maintained are set in municipal by-laws. On average the minimum temperature that must be maintained is 20 to 21 degrees in Ontario. You can find out what the exact municipal standards are where you live by going to the web site for your municipality and looking into the bylaws or by contacting your municipality and having someone direct you to the bylaws and appropriate adjudication body. As long as you have not been the cause of the cold temperatures in your apartment (such as leaving windows open or leaving the thermostat low), the landlord has a responsibility to ensure adequate heating is provided.

Take Action to Ensure You Receive Adequate Heating

If you are not having your right to adequate heating met by your landlord, you can take several actions. First, notify your landlord in writing about the situation in your apartment and that adequate heating is not being provided. If there is nothing done to rectify the situation, begin documenting your interactions with the landlord so that you have a strong case in the future. Record when you sent the written notification, any verbal notifications you provided and what, if any, response you were given. Once you have taken these basic steps, you will then be ready to launch a complaint with your city building and inspections agency or even take your case to your city councillor for their advice on how to proceed.

Again, the information on the appropriate adjudicating body to take your complaint to can be found on your municipal web site or by calling and having someone direct you to the appropriate office. Once you have contacted your city building and inspections agency, a formal complaint process can be launched. Having documentation of prior notifications you sent to the landlord will make for a strong case of negligence on his or her behalf in failing to provide a tenant with a service required by law.

As an added element to your case, one idea is to purchase a cheap thermometer that clearly shows the temperature and pose with it in a photograph. This is a documentation of a specific temperature in your apartment and you should put the date and time on the back of the photo for clarity. Continue to document the temperature every day—as each day you are without sufficient heat is one too many!

Be Prepared for Landlord Excuses

Keep in mind that the fact it is an "extra cold winter" or that you live in a "very old building" are far from sufficient excuses for a landlord to provide. You have a right to sufficient heat in all rooms, including your kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, and so on.

Facing the cold in your own apartment is not a pleasant situation. Unfortunately this is the reality for far too many people. Don't be afraid to talk to other tenants in the building when you see them and ask if they are having similar problems. However if you can't get other tenants to join you in launching a complaint, don't be discouraged. Negligent landlords thrive in situation where tenants remain quiet about the lack of adequate heat or other services and it only takes one person to make a difference. You can have your landlord face their responsibility—and the by-laws of your municipality are there to back you up.

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The copyright of the article Taking Action as a Tenant - Heating in Social Activism is owned by Gemma Richardson. Permission to republish Taking Action as a Tenant - Heating in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.