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Q: I live in a high rise apartment in Ottawa. For the last month, the landlord has been repairing the underground garage. The noise is so loud that I can’ t hear myself think. Before the work started, the landlord wrote to say that the work was expected to take eight to 12 weeks to complete and that the noise would happen during normal work hours. That may be fine for most of the tenants, but I don’t work and am home while the noise is going on. Am I entitled to a reduction of my rent for the pain and suffering I’ve lived through?
A: Repairs to underground garages typically involve concrete and structural steel removal and replacement. This work is extremely noisy, dusty and will often create vibration through the building. But unless a tenant can prove that the carrying out of the garage work was unreasonable in the circumstances, they are not entitled to rent reductions.
More than a decade ago, tenants would sometimes claim rent abatements (reductions) when they were negatively affected by this sort of disturbing work. However, landlords argued that awarding rent abatements discouraged them from doing necessary repairs. They pointed out that condo owners and homeowners had to put up with the disruption of major repairs, and no one gave them a break from paying their mortgages or taxes or heating bills while such work is being done. Repairs are already costly without losing any rent, and the repairs need to be done to keep tenants safe and buildings sound.
In 2001, the provincial cabinet enacted a regulation that sets out a process that landlords are to follow to warn tenants of upcoming disturbing work and to mitigate the disruption. If a landlord follows the rules for notice and mitigation, tenants are not entitled to any rent reduction.
To meet the rules in full, landlords need to give 60 days’ written notice of the work (apart from emergencies, when the notice can be shorter). The notice needs to describe the work and its impact on the tenants. If the work schedule changes significantly (for instance, if the work is going to take four months instead of the eight to 12 weeks that was initially expected), the landlord is to notify the tenants of the change in a timely manner.
As well, the work needs to be carried out at reasonable times, or if a municipal noise bylaw is in effect, then within the times permitted by the bylaw. If possible, the landlord must try to minimize the impact of the noise on the tenants. For example, landlords should try to limit the very noisy work to normal working hours on weekdays, when most tenants are out of the building at work or are able to spend their time in facilities like public libraries. Finally, the work must be necessary.
Even if those tests are not met, tenants are only entitled to a rent abatement if the carrying out of the work constitutes an interference that was unreasonable in the circumstances. If necessary repair work could not have been done in a way that was less disturbing to the average tenant, then the tenants are not entitled to reductions in their rent. In practice, the ability to obtain an abatement applies when the landlord has either failed to do something that they ought to have done, or where the work was only required because the landlord had failed to properly maintain the building.
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