If you’re looking to cool off during the heat wave hitting large swathes of Canada and you rent your home, you may be able to look to your landlord for help — but what they owe tenants in terms of help keeping cool can be complicated.
Environment Canada has issued heat alerts for parts of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories.
A special weather statement for southwestern Quebec and eastern Ontario, spanning a region from Ottawa to Montreal, says daytime temperatures could soar as high as 33 C while parts of southwestern Ontario could touch temperatures as high as 36 C and humidex values of 45.
“In Canada, which is a notoriously cold place in the winter, there are rules about heat. A landlord can’t just turn off a tenant’s heat,” said Austen Metcalfe, a partner at Collins and Metcalf LLP who practices tenant and landlord law in Toronto.
However, both law and advocacy are catching up as Canada warms up in the era of climate change and heat waves get worse, he said.
Rules differ provincially and even more so depending on which city you live in.
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In B.C., the Residential Tenancy Act does not specially require landlords to provide or maintain air conditioning, even during a heat wave.
However, it does require them to maintain “health, safety and housing standards.”
While Quebec does not have a set temperature limit, landlords are required to maintain habitable temperature year-round.
Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act does not say landlords are obligated to provide air conditioning but says a rental unit must be “in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and for complying with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards.”
But an update to the law, which goes into effect on Canada Day this year, has factored in air conditioning, Metcalfe said.
“Tenants (in Ontario) are getting a right in the Residential Tenancies Act to install air conditioning (in a rental unit),” he added.
As of July 1, a tenant in Ontario “may install and use a window or portable air conditioner in a rental unit for which the landlord does not supply air conditioning,” the law says.
However, the landlord may still have the right to prohibit the installation if conditions outlined in the new law aren’t met. For example, the tenant must notify the landlord about the installation in writing ahead of time and inform them about the energy efficiency of the air conditioner.
The tenant must also ensure that the air conditioner is safely installed and does not damage the rental property, the law says. If those conditions aren’t met, the landlord can refuse the installation.
The law also notes that if the air conditioner is installed in a unit where the landlord pays for electricity, rent can be raised if the air conditioner was installed by the tenant July 1, 2026, or after.
The update to the law is a step forward for tenant rights in Canada, Metcalfe said.
“There is now at least a codified rule that says tenants can install air conditioning if they want to, if the landlord hasn’t,” he said.
However, he said the rules can vary depending on your local bylaws.
In Toronto, for example, if a landlord provides air conditioning it must start cooling on June 1 and maintain operation until Sept. 30. During this period, landlords must maintain a temperature of no more than 26 degrees Celsius.
In adverse conditions, renters can also look at their provincial human rights codes, Metcalfe said.
While there is no overarching right to air conditioning, renters in Canada do have a right to safe housing.
If renters feel that right is violated by excessive heat, they can avail themselves of the landlord and tenant board process in their jurisdiction, Metcalfe said.
Global News has reached out to authorities in each of Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories for a response.
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