Landlord not obligated to provide air conditioning

QUESTION:

We moved into our current highrise apartment building because it has central air conditioning. Our problem is that in early September the air conditioning was turned off. Wednesday, Sept. 11 was really hot. My wife and I remember that for the past few years, the weather has sometimes been hot even in October, and we were uncomfortable in our previous apartment. When we asked the building manager about why the air conditioning is turned off, she told us that under the City’s Heating Bylaw, the heat must be turned on in September. Is this so? (In our previous apartment — which also faced south — it was so warm, all year around, that we did not turn our heat on all winter. In fact, we left the balcony door open all winter.)

ANSWER:

The City of Ottawa`s Property Standards Bylaw states the requirements for heating in a residential building. The bylaw does not state a specific date for the heat to be turned on in the fall or turned off in the spring. However, it requires that a rental unit has a heating system that is capable of heating it to 20 degrees Celsius at the centre of all habitable rooms, and that this system is in good working order. The bylaw does not require air conditioning.

In many buildings, the heating and cooling systems are interconnected in such a way that it is impossible for the building to have both heating and cooling available at the same time.

Some landlords set a specific date in the fall when the air conditioning is turned off and the heat is turned on. Landlords cannot wait too long into the fall before the system is turned over to heating. If there is a cold spell in early September and the building’s heating is not yet turned on, tenants can rightfully complain that the landlord is not providing the heating system for their apartments as required by the City bylaw.

As to the government requirement, your building manager may have been thinking of the Residential Tenancies Act (the “RTA”). The regulations under the RTA state that heat is a vital service that must be provided from Sept. 1 to June 15.

Furthermore, problems with a building’s central heating system may only become apparent after it is turned on. A landlord would much rather find out that there is a problem with the heat in the early fall so they can rectify the situation before the very cold weather begins.

In large apartment buildings, the heat is usually provided through a central heating system and there are thermostats that allow tenants to adjust the heat within their apartments. If you are unable to reduce the temperature using the thermostat, you should inform your landlord in writing.

If there is excessive heat during the fall and winter, your landlord can take steps to address the problem. For example your landlord can check the thermostat, radiator and valves to ensure that they are working correctly. If your landlord takes these steps and your apartment is still too hot, your landlord might consider allowing you to move to another apartment in the same building. Your landlord will not want the apartment to be too hot since that makes the heating bill higher than necessary.

You indicate that you kept your balcony door open all winter. As well as being a waste of energy, this is problematic because, despite the excess heat you are experiencing, leaving the door open creates a risk of freezing the heating pipes or other water pipes in the apartment. That can occur quite quickly if there is a sudden decrease in the outside temperature.