# Property maintenance in Ottawa, under By-law 2020-255

Updated 2026-10-02.

Ottawa does not license ordinary rental units. It regulates the landlord instead, through the [Rental Housing Property Management By-law 2020-255](https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/laws-licences-and-permits/laws/laws-z/rental-housing-property-management-law-no-2020-255), in force since August 31, 2021, with fines of up to $100,000 a day for a continuing offence.

## The by-law asks for a record

Section 7 describes a work order system: every request taken in writing, by phone or by text, logged with times, urgency, what was done and how the tenant heard back, and produced to a by-law officer on request. That is the record Roundhouse keeps on every job anyway. A request that comes to us is timestamped on arrival, triaged as urgent or not against section 11, and closed with the outcome and the date the tenant was told.

## Pest control has a calendar

The pest sections set the order of work: plan first, a copy to the tenant before treatment, a lobby notice for common areas, then a re-inspection between day 15 and day 30. We book the re-inspection when we book the treatment, so it does not depend on anyone remembering. Treatment is by licensed exterminators. See [pest control](https://roundhousegroup.ca/services/pest-control/) and bed bugs.

## Heat all year, overnight included

The [Heat By-law](https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/laws-licences-and-permits/laws/laws-z/heat-law-no-2010-210) has no season and a separate overnight floor of 16.67 C. A tenant can call about heat in June and be inside the rule.

## Water, sewers and the plumbing rebate

The City runs water and sewers itself, from the Britannia and Lemieux Island plants on the Ottawa River through more than 3,000 km of watermain ([City of Ottawa](https://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/default/files/2025_annualreport_britannia_en.pdf)). It owns the water service up to the shut-off valve and the sewer lateral up to the property line ([shared responsibility](https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/drinking-water-stormwater-and-wastewater/water-and-sewer-services-homeowner-responsibilities/shared-responsibility-water-and-sewer-service-lines)). Report a break or backup to 311. The [Residential Protective Plumbing Program](https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/drinking-water-stormwater-and-wastewater/wastewater-and-sewers/basement-flooding/flooding-rebates-and-grant/residential-protective-plumbing-program) rebates backwater valves and sump pumps; the storm valve rebate is for homes built before 2004 and the sanitary valve rebate for homes built before 2012.

Roughly 36 percent of Ottawa households rent, about 147,000, and the City projects 43 percent by 2035 ([City of Ottawa staff report](https://pub-ottawa.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=327252)).

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.

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

## Ottawa's landlord duties

- Every landlord keeps a procedure that takes service requests in writing, by phone and by text or email, and records each one with the date and time, unit, issue, urgency, actions, outcome and how the tenant was told (section 7). Urgent requests are answered within 24 hours (section 10) and others within 7 days (section 12). Urgent means a loss of vital services, a security problem, a failed accessibility feature or anything likely to make a unit uninhabitable (section 11). Source: [City of Ottawa, Rental Housing Property Management By-law 2020-255](https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/laws-licences-and-permits/laws/laws-z/rental-housing-property-management-law-no-2020-255)
- Every rental property has an integrated pest management plan with preventive inspections and standing treatment plans for bed bugs, cockroaches, ants, rats and mice (sections 29 and 30). The tenant gets the treatment plan before their unit is treated (section 31), a lobby notice goes up when a common area is treated (section 32), and the treated area is re-inspected 15 to 30 days after treatment ends (section 33). Source: [City of Ottawa, Landlord guide to By-law 2020-255](https://documents.ottawa.ca/sites/default/files/landlordguide_en.pdf)
- A building of three or more storeys or ten or more rental units, other than a townhouse or rowhouse, keeps a capital maintenance plan covering its electrical distribution, plumbing, elevators, mechanical systems, roof, cladding, balconies and parking structures, with the last inspection date and planned work for each (sections 3 to 5). Rented condo and co-op units are exempt from this part only. Source: [City of Ottawa, Rental Housing Property Management By-law 2020-255](https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/laws-licences-and-permits/laws/laws-z/rental-housing-property-management-law-no-2020-255)
- A landlord who heats a rented dwelling maintains at all times at least 20 C from 6 am to 11 pm and at least 16.67 C from 11 pm to 6 am (Heat By-law 2010-210, sections 1 and 3). There is no heating season. Source: [City of Ottawa, Heat By-law 2010-210](https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/laws-licences-and-permits/laws/laws-z/heat-law-no-2010-210)
- Council approved a Rental Renovation Licence on July 15, 2026, in force January 1, 2027. A landlord evicting to renovate gets the building permit before serving the N13 and applies for the City licence within 7 days of it. There is no licence fee. Source: [City of Ottawa, Rental renovation licence by-law review](https://engage.ottawa.ca/rental-renovation-licence-by-law-review)

## Related pages

- [Pest control](https://roundhousegroup.ca/services/pest-control/)
- [Who is responsible for bed bugs in an Ontario rental?](https://roundhousegroup.ca/answers/bed-bugs-landlord-responsibility-ontario/)
- [What counts as a maintenance emergency in an Ontario rental?](https://roundhousegroup.ca/answers/what-counts-as-a-maintenance-emergency-ontario/)

## Questions

### How fast must an Ottawa landlord answer a repair request?

Within 24 hours for an urgent request and within 7 days for any other, under sections 10 and 12 of By-law 2020-255. Urgent covers lost vital services, security problems, failed accessibility features and anything that could make the unit uninhabitable.

### Does By-law 2020-255 apply to a rented condo unit in Ottawa?

Yes, except for the capital maintenance plan. The service request, tenant information, support registry and pest management duties all apply to rented condo units.

### Is there a heating season in Ottawa?

No. The Heat By-law 2010-210 requires 20 C by day and 16.67 C overnight at all times, all year.

### What does Ottawa pay toward a sump pump or backwater valve?

Under the Residential Protective Plumbing Program, up to $3,000 for a sump pump with battery backup in a new pit, up to $2,500 for an outdoor storm backwater valve and up to $1,000 for an indoor sanitary valve, plus the building permit fee. Eligibility depends on the year the home was built.