Taking Action as a Tenant - Emergency Repairs

Know What Your Rights Are When A Repair Must be Made by a Landlord

Mar 16, 2009 Gemma Richardson

There are certain critical repairs that no landlord can put off addressing immediately and tenants should know when and how to deal with these emergency repair issues.

There are often many repairs that need to be made in rented accommodations, but they are put off or ignored by landlords, and often many tenants as well. However there are certain critical repairs that cannot wait and must be addressed immediately. No tenant should put off reporting these necessary repairs to their landlord immediately and no landlord should try to avoid making the necessary repairs immediately.

What Is An Emergency Repair?

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, an emergency repair is defined as basically anything that breaks in the rental unit that causes a health and safety risk to the tenant or the building property. Emergency repairs and associated costs are the full responsibility of the landlord.

Broken Pipes and/or Flooding

If you have a broken pipe that is causing water to leak you must notify your landlord immediately. Leaking water is not just a problem within your own rental unit, but also affects those renting the units below you as well. Long term damage to the rental property is caused when leaking and flooding are not immediately addressed so most landlords are quick to respond to tenants who report this.

No Heating During Cold Weather

This is a serious issue that no tenant should tolerate. If your heating breaks in the winter, call your landlord immediately to have the problem addressed. Refer to the link below for an article entirely dedicated to this topic.

Fridge Stops Working

If your fridge stops working, your landlord is responsible to respond in a timely manner to this situation. If action is not quickly taken, the food in the fridge will spoil, causing the tenant further hardship. Going several days without a working fridge is not an option any landlord should suggest to tenants.

Broken Locks

If you notice your apartment door or lock are no longer working and other individuals would be able to enter your apartment, this is an emergency that the landlord must attend to immediately. More often, it is common access points, such as the front door, that can become faulty and no longer properly secure the premises. This is a safety issue and no one should overlook the seriousness of this issue, despite how safe you may think your neighbourhood is.

Electrical Problems

If the wiring in your rented accommodation short circuits, there is a risk of fire and electrocution. Tenants should never try to repair an emergency maintenance problem themselves, but instead notify the landlord immediately and expect quick action to be taken.

Dealing with Landlords

If you try to reach your landlord to report an emergency repair and you cannot reach them, keep a log of the time and date that you tried to reach them. Try again and leave messages. If no one is responding, you can order the repairs to be made on their behalf. The landlord will be responsible for fully reimbursing you for emergency repairs, but ensure that they are truly classified as an emergency or you could risk having to assume the cost yourself.

Never put your health and safety, or that of your neighbours, in jeopordy by waiting for a landlord to respond to an emergency repair situation. If you are not able to reach them within an appropriate amount of time, keep the paperwork for all the repairs and ask that the landlord be billed directly. If the repair company is not able to bill them directly, ensure you continue to contact the landlord and report the cost that you have incurred and expect to be reimbursed.

Additional Resources:

The copyright of the article Taking Action as a Tenant - Emergency Repairs in Home Renovation/Repair is owned by Gemma Richardson. Permission to republish Taking Action as a Tenant - Emergency Repairs in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

A broken or leaking pipe is an emergency repair

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