# Property maintenance in East Gwillimbury, from 22 C heat to Sharon's heritage district

Updated 2026-10-05.

East Gwillimbury grew 44.4 percent between 2016 and 2021, the fastest of any municipality in Canada by the Town's own account. Its June 2025 [Housing Needs Assessment](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/HNA_East-Gwillimbury_2025.pdf) counts 1,805 tenant households, 15.8 percent of the total, and sorts the rental units it can count into 42 primary and 1,758 secondary. Primary means a building of three or more units built for long term rental, and the Official Plan's goal is 2,250 of them by 2051. So most rentals here are one address, not one building. Residents report major repairs needed in 4.4 percent of tenant homes against 3.3 percent of owner homes, and the report counts defective plumbing, defective wiring and structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings as major.

## Heat at 22 C, and an Order that can reach the manager

Section 5.19 of [Property Standards By-law 2018-083](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/resources/Documents/Commonby-laws/By-law-2018-083-Respecting-Property-Standards-REPEALS-By-law-2006-23.pdf) asks for heating that can hold 22 C throughout the unit and names no season. The same by-law counts anyone who manages or receives the rent as an owner, so the Order for a cold unit can land on the manager. The Town's [by-law fee schedule](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/resources/Documents/FeesandChargesSchedules/2025-Fee-and-Charges/SCH-J-Bylaw.pdf) charges the property $99.30 for an inspection that confirms a breach of a maintenance by-law, $196.40 when an Order or Notice is issued and $657.90 when one is registered on title. Heat is on Roundhouse's emergency list, which runs: Plumbing, electrical, major appliance and heating or cooling failures, lockouts, and a door that will not lock. The before photos on a no heat job show the thermostat setting and a thermometer reading in the coldest room, so the record answers the by-law's "throughout" wording, and gas work goes to TSSA registered contractors ([heating season](https://roundhousegroup.ca/services/hvac/heating-season/)).

A like for like furnace or hot water tank swap needs no building permit when the fuel source and heat output stay the same, and a change of either falls outside that exemption ([Town building permits](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/building-permits.aspx)). Winter adds two more rules. The [Property Maintenance By-law 2018-084](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/By-law-and-Parking/Property-Maintenance-Bylaw-2018-084.pdf) has the owner, defined the same way, clear hazardous snow and ice from walkways, steps, landings, ramps, driveways, parking areas and roofs (3.7 and 3.8). Walks, steps and parking are what a scheduled [exterior visit](https://roundhousegroup.ca/services/exterior/) clears. The [Traffic and Parking By-law 2019-136](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/By-law-and-Parking/2026-03-17-CONSOLIDATED-TRAFFIC-and-PARKING-BYLAW.pdf) bars leaving a vehicle on a Town street for more than three consecutive hours or between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., outside a few exceptions (3.2(a)(ii) and (iii)). A long job on a street with no driveway room is booked with the parking settled first, or with a Parking Consideration from By-law Enforcement Services.

## Where the Town's pipe ends

York Region [collects, treats and distributes the water](https://www.york.ca/environment/water-and-wastewater/municipal-water-supply) and the local municipalities deliver it. In East Gwillimbury the supply is groundwater, and the Town's [Water Department](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/water-and-sewer-services.aspx) runs its three drinking water systems and the sewer collection. Your line with the Town is the curb stop, and [a leak after it is the homeowner's](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/water-meters.aspx). The Town's meter gives the plumber a check: a flashing faucet icon is intermittent flow, a solid one is continuous flow, and after a repair the Town says to use no water for 15 minutes and expect the icon to drop to flashing, then clear within 24 hours. Our plumber photographs the meter screen before the repair and again after, and both go in the report beside the fixture. If the shutoff inside the house will not close, the Town closes the water at the curb for $52.80 on weekdays from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM and $301.90 outside those hours ([Schedule I](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/resources/Documents/FeesandChargesSchedules/2025-Fee-and-Charges/SCH-I-WWW.pdf), indexed January 1, 2026).

A blocked drain splits differently. The [Town's sewer blockage page](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/sewer-blockages.aspx) puts a private blockage on the resident but offers its pre-selected contractor, after a signed Sewer Servicing Agreement and a free Ontario One Call sewer safety inspection, and it carries an after hours line for urgent cases. The same Schedule I lists the camera inspection and clearing at no charge for a blockage on the Town's side that the owner did not cause, and at cost plus 20 percent for the private side. That makes the first call a decision. We put both routes, with the Town's rule, in front of the manager first: the Town's contractor, or one of our licensed drain contractors, whose findings and photos go in the report, with no refund from the Town if the blockage turns out to be on its side.

## Suites, basements and the conservation authority

Every accessory apartment application gets a Fire Department review, and the [Town asks you to start with Planning](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/accessory-apartments.aspx), which looks at parking and sewer capacity. The Town's own [housing report](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/HNA_East-Gwillimbury_2025.pdf) adds that the sewage allocation left for future development is largely committed. The Fire fee is two payments of $808.70, one at application and one when the inspections finish ([Schedule G](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/resources/Documents/FeesandChargesSchedules/2025-Fee-and-Charges/SCH-G-ES.pdf), indexed January 1, 2026). [Basement and secondary suites](https://roundhousegroup.ca/buildings/secondary-suites/) face a second test in section 5.9 of the property standards by-law: floors and walls impervious to leakage of underground and surface run off water, a fire separation from the fuel fired heating equipment, and no access to a habitable room through a furnace, boiler or storage room. A wet suite call is traced to the wall, the window well, the floor drain or the grading, with a photo of each, before a [waterproofing](https://roundhousegroup.ca/services/waterproofing/basement-apartments/) quote is written.

Regrading is the part that can reach past the property line. The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority regulates [work near a river, stream, steep slope or wetland](https://lsrca.on.ca/index.php/planning-permits/do-i-need-a-permit/), and in a regulated area permission is needed for site grading, for placing or removing material and for increasing the number of dwelling units in a building. Its subwatershed plans for the [East Holland River](https://www.lsrca.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/east-holland-subwatershed-plan-opt.pdf) and the [Black River](https://www.lsrca.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/black-river-subwatershed-plan-opt.pdf) both reach into East Gwillimbury, so the regulation map is checked before a grading fix near a creek is scoped.

## Sharon, the villages and the septic tank

Roundhouse books jobs in all four of the Town's communities: Holland Landing, Queensville, Sharon and Mount Albert. Two conditions change the work here: heritage rules in Sharon, and septic systems and wells. In Sharon, the Heritage Conservation District Plan [adopted in May 2026](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/heritage.aspx) covers the Leslie Street village around the Sharon Temple, and like for like repair counts as maintenance: the same shingle, the same siding, a window in the same material, size and design. Anything different on a contributing property goes to the Town first, and a heritage permit has to be in hand before the building permit can be issued. So an exterior quote for a Sharon address says like for like or not, and the photos show the existing material and colour before it comes off.

On a septic system, the owner's duty is the five year inspection in the [Town's Sewage System Maintenance Program](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/sewage-system-maintenance-program.aspx), and a repaired septic system needs its own building permit. A house on a private well carries a second duty. [York Region](https://www.york.ca/environment/water-and-wastewater/private-well-water-testing) says the owner maintains and monitors the well. It offers bacterial testing at no charge through Public Health Ontario Laboratories and advises testing after a flood and when the well has not been used for a long time. A [turnover](https://roundhousegroup.ca/services/turnovers/) at a house on a well says so on the report, so the owner can collect the sample bottle before the next tenant moves in.

Plumbing is done by licensed plumbers and drain work by licensed drain contractors. Gas work is done by TSSA registered contractors. We only use ECRA/ESA-Licensed Electrical Contractors. Pest control is done by licensed exterminators.

To send an East Gwillimbury job, [request work](https://roundhousegroup.ca/request-work/).

## Local rules

- Every dwelling unit has heating facilities capable of maintaining 22 C throughout the unit, and the heating system is kept in good working condition (section 5.19(a) and (b)). The section names no heating season and exempts only cottages and seasonal recreational buildings (5.19(g)). The by-law's definition of owner includes a person managing or receiving the rent (section 1.1(cc)), and an owner served with an Order has 14 days to appeal to the Town's committee (section 8.16). Source: [Town of East Gwillimbury, Property Standards By-law 2018-083, passed August 14, 2018](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/resources/Documents/Commonby-laws/By-law-2018-083-Respecting-Property-Standards-REPEALS-By-law-2006-23.pdf)
- Every accessory apartment application gets a Fire Department review, charged at application on top of the building permit fees, and half of the Fire accessory registration fee is non-refundable. The first step is Planning, which looks at parking and sewer capacity. The registration fee is $808.70 at application and $808.70 when the inspections are complete and before approval ([Schedule G to By-law 2015-078](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/resources/Documents/FeesandChargesSchedules/2025-Fee-and-Charges/SCH-G-ES.pdf), indexed January 1, 2026). Source: [Town of East Gwillimbury, Accessory Apartments](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/accessory-apartments.aspx)
- A blockage on private property is the resident's sole responsibility. The Town's pre-selected contractor can investigate and clear it after the owner signs a Sewer Servicing Agreement and Ontario One Call completes a free sewer safety inspection, which checks that gas lines do not cross the sewer pipes. If the blockage is found on Town property there is no charge. The Town does not reimburse earlier work by anyone else, wherever the blockage proves to be. Source: [Town of East Gwillimbury, Sewer Blockages](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/sewer-blockages.aspx)
- A leak after the curb stop is the homeowner's to repair. The Town's meter shows a flow arrow and a faucet icon: flashing means water ran in over 50 of the past day's 96 fifteen minute intervals, solid means it ran in all 96. After a repair, use no water for 15 minutes and the icon should change to flashing, then clear within 24 hours. The Town turns water off or on at the curb for internal plumbing repairs at $52.80 from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays and $301.90 at any other time ([Schedule I to By-law 2015-078](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/resources/Documents/FeesandChargesSchedules/2025-Fee-and-Charges/SCH-I-WWW.pdf), indexed January 1, 2026). Source: [Town of East Gwillimbury, Water Meters](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/water-meters.aspx)
- A building permit is needed for any new building with plumbing, a change in a building's use, and a new or repaired septic system. It is not needed to repair or replace a furnace or hot water tank when the fuel source and heat output stay the same, to replace a plumbing fixture, to install, repair or replace an air conditioner or air-to-air heat pump, to replace windows and doors with openings of the same size, or for damp-proofing foundation walls where no plumbing, shoring or underpinning is needed. Source: [Town of East Gwillimbury, Building Permits](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/building-permits.aspx)
- Council [adopted the Sharon Heritage Conservation District Plan and Guidelines in May 2026](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/heritage.aspx), covering 66 properties along Leslie Street. General maintenance and like for like repair need no heritage permit: asphalt shingles and flashing in the same material, colour and style, windows in the same material, size and design, siding replaced with the same siding, exterior wood painted in the same or a similar colour. On a contributing property, re-roofing in a different material, colour or style needs one, and so does a window in a different material, size or design that shows from the street. Heritage permits carry no fee (section 7.1.4). Source: [Town of East Gwillimbury, Sharon Heritage Conservation District Plan and Guidelines](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/Planning-and-Development/Planning-Studies/Sharon-HCD/Appendix-1---Sharon-HCD-Plan-and-Guidelines.pdf)
- A septic system within 100 m of the Lake Simcoe shoreline or of watercourses in the Lake Simcoe watershed, or near a York Region drinking water well, needs a maintenance inspection every five years. The owner hires a qualified person to inspect it and carries out any repair that follows. Source: [Town of East Gwillimbury, Sewage System Maintenance Program](https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/municipal-services/sewage-system-maintenance-program.aspx)

## Related pages

- [Multiplexes and rented houses](https://roundhousegroup.ca/buildings/multiplexes-and-houses/)
- [Basement and secondary suites](https://roundhousegroup.ca/buildings/secondary-suites/)
- [Landlords](https://roundhousegroup.ca/landlords/)

## Questions

### What temperature must a rental hold under East Gwillimbury's property standards by-law?

22 C throughout the dwelling unit. Section 5.19(a) of By-law 2018-083 requires heating facilities capable of maintaining it and names no heating season. Only cottages and seasonal recreational buildings are exempt.

### Can an East Gwillimbury property standards order be served on a property manager?

The by-law defines owner to include a person managing or receiving the rent (section 1.1(cc)), and an Order goes to the person who must do the work, so a manager can receive one. An owner has 14 days from service to appeal to the Town's committee by registered mail (section 8.16), and an Order that is not appealed is deemed confirmed.

### What does it cost to register an accessory apartment in East Gwillimbury?

The Fire accessory apartment registration fee is $808.70 at application and $808.70 when inspections are complete, before approval (Schedule G, indexed January 1, 2026), on top of building permit fees. Half of the Fire accessory registration fee is non-refundable.

### Who pays to clear a sewer blockage in East Gwillimbury?

The resident, when the blockage is on private property. If the Town's pre-selected contractor finds it on Town property the clearing is free, and the Town does not reimburse work another contractor did earlier, wherever the blockage was.

### Does a re-roof in Sharon need a heritage permit?

Not when the shingles and flashing are replaced in the same material, colour and style, which the Sharon plan treats as maintenance. A different material, colour or style on a contributing property needs a heritage permit, which has no fee and comes before the building permit.