Maintenance & Repairs

Heating Equipment and Fireplaces

s. 11, 59(1), 72(1), The Residential Tenancies Act
s.7.3, The City of Winnipeg Maintenance and Occupancy Bylaw
s. 17(1), The Public Health Act Regulations
 

Heating equipment: for the purpose of this subsection, heating equipment includes furnaces, boilers, radiators, baseboard heaters.
 

A landlord is responsible to:
 

• clean and maintain the fireplace chimney; and
   

• service and repair heating equipment.

A landlord is not responsible to clean ducts or ceiling vents unless there is a blockage which prevents heat or air from going into a room or unless the health authority says they must.

A landlord usually doesn’t have to make special arrangements to clean ducts for tenants with allergies or breathing problems. A landlord may have to clean the ducts if the landlord’s assurances about the ducts are later shown to be incorrect. For example: Before agreeing to rent a unit, a tenant tells a landlord that they are allergic to cat hair. The landlord assures the tenant that there has never been a cat in the unit. After moving in, the tenant discovers cat hair in the ducts.

A landlord must always make sure that the temperature in the rental unit meets the minimum requirements. There isn’t a set date when a landlord is required to turn on the heat. From 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., the temperature must be at least 21ºC (70ºF). From 11:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m., the temperature can’t be lower than 18.3ºC (65ºF). If a tenant believes that the landlord is not meeting the requirement, they should contact their local Environmental Health Office.

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A tenant is responsible to:
 

• clean their fireplace;


 

• clean floor and wall vents; and
   

• replace furnace filters if the landlord asks them to; the landlord should tell the tenant how often this should be done and what kind of filters to use.

Overview

This policy is included as information for tenants, landlords and officers. If a tenant and landlord aren’t able to solve a problem with heating equipment or fireplaces on their own, they can ask the Branch for help.
 

Steps

1. The officer encourages the landlord and tenant to share information, and to discuss the problem, to try to come to an agreement.
    

2. If the landlord and tenant can’t agree on a request involving heating equipment or a fireplace, the officer determines if the request is reasonable. If the officer decides the request is not reasonable, the officer issues a decision denying the request.
    

3. If the officer decides the request is reasonable, the officer follows the procedures under Landlord’s Responsibility for Repairs.

For information on mediation, see Section 1.
For details on a landlord’s responsibility for repairs, see this section.
 

September, 1992

March, 2004
 

None

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