All the owners of rental dwellings on the territory of the Island of Montreal must, since June of 2003, respect municipal regulations that provide a framework to deal with several facets going from healthiness, to life and maintenance in an apartment.
Indeed, the Regulations on healthiness and the maintenance of apartments adopted in 2003 by the City of Montreal intend to impose minimal parameters on the landlords concerning the healthiness of an apartment and its maintenance. An infraction of these regulations can even lead to fines of potentially up to twenty-thousand dollars (20 000 $).
It is also these Regulations that allow tenants to file a complaint at the City for specific problems of healthiness or maintenance of the apartment. It is for this reason that a few landlords receive, since 2003, notices of neglect from the City of Montreal, visits from inspectors and fines.
Without willing to analyze these regulations in their totality or to produce a complete list of them, it seems important to us to treat certain more sensitive topics justifying thereby this series of texts.
Heating
Many landlords do not know when to start their central heating system. In Montreal, there is no determined period but there is a minimal temperature to maintain. Indeed, article 37 of these regulations forces the landlord to maintain a minimal temperature of 21 degrees Celsius. Using your common sense, your own home or the call of a tenant, you will be able to determine the time to start the system and to conform to this rule of 21° C. According to these rules, this temperature must be maintained until outside temperature reaches minus twenty-three degrees Celsius (-23° C). At this temperature and lower, there is no minimum to maintain anymore. Postponing for too long the start of the system may cost you a fine or a complaint at the Rental Board from the tenant as well as the savings you hoped to make.
Indeed, the Régie du logement uses the same scale and may intervene following a request from a tenant and it may eventually order a decrease of the rent because of this lack of heating.
With Autumn arriving, the cold nights are the first signs that should show us that starting the heating system and its maintenance are imminent.