Landlord vs. Tenant Responsibilities — Clavis Property Management

For both tenants and landlords, there can be some uncertainty over whether certain maintenance items are the tenant or landlord’s responsibility. Replacing lightbulbs, water damage, unclogging drains, and HVAC issues? These are some of the most frequent maintenance requests, but who’s job are they to fix?

Landlord’s Responsibility

Part III of the Residential Tenancies Act states that:

“A landlord is responsible for providing and maintaining a residential complex, including the rental units in it, in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and for complying with health, safety, housing, and maintenance standards.”

To sum it up, any issues affecting the livability and reasonable enjoyment of a unit falls under landlord responsibility. As such, the landlord must ensure that the property is both safe and functional to live in. Issues such as heating/AC, plumbing, and appliance functionality, to name a few, will be the responsibility of the landlord in most cases.

Tenant’s Responsibility

As a tenant, it is your responsibility to maintain the ordinary cleanliness of the property and make any maintenance issues known to your landlord when noticed. However, the line blurs when there are maintenance issues that do not affect the functionality or safety of the property, such as cosmetic issues or minor repairs and upkeep. Generally, minor repairs and upkeep, such as replacing lightbulbs, unclogging drains, replacing rubber washes on the faucet, and other minor items will be the tenant’s responsibility. Always check your rental agreement or reach out to your landlord if you’re unsure.

In the case that the tenant or any of the tenant’s guests caused damage by negligence or on purpose, the responsibility will then devolve onto the tenant as well. For example, if the property experiences water damage, but it was due to an overfilled bathtub, it will be the tenant’s responsibility to repair.

All things considered, it’s important that both tenant and landlord establish grounds for communication. Maintenance issues affecting the livability and functionality of a home are best attended to as soon as possible. Both parties need to be willing to work together by providing information to each other regarding the state of the property to avoid potentially dangerous situations.