Who’s responsible for that?
Who’s responsible for that?
We are often asked by our clients who is responsible for the repair of specific items in the property. Generally speaking the landlord is responsible for most repairs of the property. If you are unsure a good place to look is the RTB website and review the policy guidelines. Policy Guideline GL1-1 outlines tenant and landlord responsibilities for repairs.
One of the more common questions we are asked by clients is what about furnace filters?.
The policy guideline is clear that the repair and maintenance of the heating system for the home is the responsibility of the landlord. Landlords are expected to have the furnace serviced and cleaned including cleaning of the ducts on a regular basis in accordance with manufactures specifications, or annually where there are no specifications.
A furnace filter is part of the heating system. This is often missunderstood by many landlords and shockingly property managers. We see on some property management websites that state it is the tenants responsibility to replace furnace filters. This is incorrect. A comparable we use to explain this is the light bulb. If the tenant never turns the light on, a light bulb will never burn out. Although the light fixture is required to be working at the start of the tenancy there is no requirement for a room to have a light fixture. In fact many new condos have no overhead lights. If the light fixture is never turned on the light bulb will not burn out, a tenants choice. Tenants can plug a lamp in the outlet to have light in any room.
If the heating system was never turned on then it is concievealbe the furnace filter would never become dirty or need changing. Unlike a room with no overhead light there is a requirement for landlords to provide heat in all rooms of the rental property.
Heating is different as it is a requirement landlords must provide heat to tenants as part of a tenancy, which means tenants don’t have a choice to not turn on the heating system. If they require heat they must use the system. Policy guigeline GL1-1 as outlined below states it is the landlords responsiblity to replace furnace filters in the rental property. We often do this by providing filters for tenants during our inspections or having them acquire them and reimburse them for the filters when they have purchased them. It is often small issues like forcing tenants to buy furnace filters that turn a tenancy from a positive to negative. It is easy for a tenant to look this information up on the RTB website and see who is responsible for it and when a landlord is adamant they are not paying for it it could lead to the tenant filing a monetary claim with the RTB and or worse causing damage to the property due to the dissatisfaction with the landlord failing to fullfill their responsibilites.
Understanding your responsibilities as a landlord is important. If you are unsure you should hire a professional, one who understands yours and the tenants responsibilities.
Policy Guigdleine GL1-1 Furnaces
N. Furnaces 1. The landlord is responsible for inspecting and servicing the furnace in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications, or annually where there are no manufacturer’s specifications, and is responsible for replacing furnace filters, cleaning heating ducts and ceiling vents as necessary. 2. The tenant is responsible for cleaning floor and wall vents as necessary.
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