Heat (By-law No. 2010-210)

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A by-law of the City of Ottawa respecting the maintenance of adequate heat in rented dwelling accommodations.

The Council of the City of Ottawa enacts as follows:

In this by-law:

“adequate and suitable heat” means between 11:00 pm of any day and 6:00 am of the next following day an air temperature in the centre of each reasonably ventilated room of not less than 16.67 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit) and between 6:00 am and 11:00 pm of any day an air temperature in the centre of each reasonably ventilated room of not less than 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit);

“Chief” means the Chief of By-law and Regulatory Services in the Emergency and Protective Services Department of the City of Ottawa or his or her designate;

“landlord” means the property owner, or property manager, or any person designated by the registered property owner as the person responsible for maintaining adequate and suitable heat in the dwelling or living accommodation.

  1. The rules in this section apply to this by-law, unless a contrary intention is evident from the context.
  2. Unless otherwise defined, the words and phrases used in this by-law have their normal and ordinary meaning.
  3. This by-law is gender-neutral and, accordingly, any reference to one gender includes the other.
  4. Words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular.
  5. It is declared that if any section, subsection or part thereof is declared by any Court of Law to be bad, illegal or ultra vires, such section, subsection part or parts shall be deemed to be severable and all parts hereof are declared to be separate and independent and enacted as such.
  6. Headings are inserted for convenience only, form no part of this by-law and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of the provisions of this by-law.

No landlord of a building or part of a building which is rented or leased as dwelling or living accommodation and which, as between the tenant or lessee and the landlord, is normally heated by or at the expense of the landlord, shall fail to maintain at all times adequate and suitable heat therein.

Section 4

When a landlord fails to maintain at all times adequate and suitable heat pursuant to Section 3, the Chief shall issue to the landlord of the building or part of a building which is rented or leased as dwelling or living accommodation and which, as between the tenant or lessee and the landlord, is normally heated by or at the expense of the landlord, a written Notice requiring the landlord to maintain at all times adequate and suitable heat therein and specifying the time allowed for compliance.

Section 5

The Notice shall be served to the landlord:

  1. personally;
  2. by prepaid registered mail to the landlord’s last known address, in which case it shall be deemed to have been given on the third day after it was mailed; or,
  3. by posting the Notice in a prominent position on the exterior of the dwelling or living accommodation.

Section 6

No person shall fail to comply with a Notice given under Section 4 of this by-law.

Section 7

If the landlord fails to comply with a Notice, the Chief may enter upon the property at any reasonable time for the purposes of carrying out the work described in the Notice.

Section 8

Costs incurred by the City in performing the required work pursuant to the Notice may be recovered by action or by adding the costs to the tax roll and collecting them in the same manner as property taxes.

Section 9

  1. Every person who contravenes any of the provisions of this by-law is guilty of an offence.
  2. Every person who is convicted of an offence under this by-law is liable to a fine as provided for in the Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O 1990, Chapter P. 33, as amended.

Section 10

When a person has been convicted of an offence under this by-law,

  1. the Ontario Court of Justice, or
  2. any court of competent jurisdiction thereafter,

may, in addition to any other penalty imposed on the person convicted, make an order prohibiting the continuation or repetition of the offence by the person convicted.

The following by-laws or portions of by-laws of the old municipalities are repealed:

  1. By-law No. 221 of 1988 of the Corporation of the City of Gloucester entitled “A By-law concerning the maintenance of adequate and suitable heat in rented or leased dwelling accommodation”;
  2. By-law No. 239-86 of the Corporation of the City of Kanata being a By- law of the Corporation of the City of Kanata requiring the maintenance of adequate and suitable heat for rented or leased dwelling or living accommodation;
  3. Paragraphs (4), (11) and (17) of Section 1.2, Section 2.5, Section 6.1, Section 6.2 and Section 6.3 of By-law No. 69-94 of the Corporation of the City of Nepean cited as the Property Standards By-law, as amended;
  4. By-law No. 201-89 of the City of Ottawa entitled “A by-law of The Corporation of the City of Ottawa respecting the maintenance of adequate heat in rented dwelling accommodation”, as amended.

This by-law may be referred to as the “Heat By-law”.

Enacted and Passed this 23rd day of June, 2010