# Property maintenance in Windsor under By-law 148-2025

Updated 2026-10-02.

Windsor rewrote its property standards in 2025. [By-law 148-2025](https://www.citywindsor.ca/documents/city-hall/by-laws-online/148-2025%20(Building%20and%20Property%20Standards).pdf) sets 22 C heat measured anywhere in the room, writes mould and air quality reports into the text, and sits alongside a vital services by-law for buildings of six or more rental units. Report a property standards problem through 311.

## 22 C, measured anywhere

Many Ontario heat rules, Hamilton's and Mississauga's among them, measure 1.5 m above the floor. Windsor's measures at any point in the room, so a cold corner by an old window counts. A no heat call is answered 24/7 and booked with an HVAC technician, and the close out records the temperature where the tenant reported it. In a building of six or more units, heat is a vital service from September 1 to June 15. See [the heating season](https://roundhousegroup.ca/services/hvac/heating-season/).

## Mould with a report behind it

Visible mould on a wall or ceiling is a violation, and an officer who finds it excessive can make the owner pay for a certified air quality report, the remediation it calls for and a follow up report. A mould job here is scoped to the source, the moisture, the leak or the missing fan, and closed out with photos before and after. See [mould in a rental](https://roundhousegroup.ca/answers/mould-in-a-rental-ontario/). Pest control is done by licensed exterminators, and the by-law holds owner and occupant both to a pest free dwelling.

## Water, ENWIN and the flood subsidy

ENWIN delivers the water for the Windsor Utilities Commission, which owns the service pipe to the property line; water emergencies go to ENWIN at 519-255-2727 ([ENWIN](https://enwin.com/contact-us)). The City's [flooding subsidy](https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/roads-sewers-sidewalks/sewers/basement-flooding-protection-subsidy-program) needs approval before work starts and a City of Windsor licensed plumber, so we apply first and book second. In the mandatory downspout area between Tecumseh Road East and the CP Railway, the City disconnects for free through 311.

## Rental licensing, paused

The rental licensing pilot covered Wards 1 and 2 around the University of Windsor and St. Clair College under [By-law 14-2023](https://www.citywindsor.ca/Documents/city-hall/by-laws-online/14-2023_ResidentialRentalLicensing.pdf). Council put it in abeyance in April 2025. In the City's preliminary results, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms were the most common major defects found ([report C 36/2025](https://www.citywindsor.ca/documents/city-hall/city-council-meetings/Council%202025/04-28/C_36-2025-ResidentialRentalLicensingPilotStudyPreliminaryResults-Wards1&2.pdf)), which is where every turnover we run starts. See [student housing](https://roundhousegroup.ca/student-housing/).

## Who does the work

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 a Windsor job, [request work](https://roundhousegroup.ca/request-work/).

## Windsor by-laws in force

- Every dwelling and dwelling unit has a heating system able to keep the air available to the tenant at 22 C or more, measured at any point in the room, and common areas and internal entrances in a multiple dwelling at 18 C or more (section 5.4.6 of Property Standards By-law 148-2025). No season is written into the section. Source: [City of Windsor, Building and Property Standards By-law 148-2025](https://www.citywindsor.ca/documents/city-hall/by-laws-online/148-2025%20(Building%20and%20Property%20Standards).pdf)
- Walls and ceilings are kept free of visible mould and mildew (section 5.4.2). Where an officer finds mould excessive enough to be a health hazard, the owner pays for a report by a certified air quality assessment professional, carries out the remediation it calls for and pays for a follow up report (section 5.4.3). Source: [City of Windsor, Building and Property Standards By-law 148-2025](https://www.citywindsor.ca/documents/city-hall/by-laws-online/148-2025%20(Building%20and%20Property%20Standards).pdf)
- In rental buildings of six or more units, the landlord supplies hot and cold water, fuel, electricity and gas, and heat from September 1 to June 15, and may not cut a service off except for the time a necessary repair needs (Vital Services By-law 195-2011). Source: [City of Windsor, Vital Services By-law 195-2011](https://www.citywindsor.ca/Documents/city-hall/by-laws-online/By-law%20195-2011.pdf)
- The Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy pays up to $3,500 per property, for life. A backwater valve with a sump pump is covered up to $3,500 and a backwater valve alone up to $1,450. A City of Windsor licensed plumber does the work, and the application is approved before any work starts. A tenant can apply as the owner's agent with consent, and payment goes to the owner. Source: [City of Windsor, Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program](https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/roads-sewers-sidewalks/sewers/basement-flooding-protection-subsidy-program)
- Downspout disconnection is mandatory in the area south of Tecumseh Road East, north of the CP Railway, east of Howard Avenue and west of Walker Road, and the City disconnects free through 311. Source: [City of Windsor, Downspout disconnection](https://www.citywindsor.ca/residents/roads-sewers-sidewalks/sewers/Downspout-Disconnection)

## A renter city on the river

35,315 of Windsor's 94,275 occupied dwellings were rented in the 2021 Census, about 37 percent ([City of Windsor, 2021 Census snapshot](https://www.citywindsor.ca/documents/residents/planning/plans-and-community-information/about-windsor/demographics/Windsor%202021%20Census%20Snapshot.pdf)). Windsor is a single tier city and not part of Essex County. Its older neighbourhoods were once towns of their own: Sandwich, Walkerville and East Windsor, now Ford City, joined in 1935 and Riverside in 1966 ([City of Windsor, Main Streets](https://www.citywindsor.ca/documents/residents/planning/plans-and-community-information/major-projects/Main%20Streets%20JUN20_2023.pdf)). The University of Windsor and St. Clair College sit in Wards 2 and 1, the two wards of the City's rental licensing pilot.

## Related pages

- [Who is responsible for mould in an Ontario rental unit?](https://roundhousegroup.ca/answers/mould-in-a-rental-ontario/)
- [Student housing](https://roundhousegroup.ca/student-housing/)
- [Rental apartment buildings](https://roundhousegroup.ca/buildings/rental-apartment-buildings/)

## Questions

### What heat does a Windsor rental need?

22 C in the tenant's space, measured at any point in the room, under section 5.4.6 of Property Standards By-law 148-2025, and 18 C in the common areas of a multiple dwelling. In buildings of six or more rental units, the Vital Services By-law makes heat a vital service from September 1 to June 15.

### Is Windsor's residential rental licensing still running?

The pilot licence in Wards 1 and 2 under By-law 14-2023 was placed in abeyance by Council in April 2025. In July 2026 Council directed an education program and a further report, with a phased rental registry proposed in place of licensing each unit. We check the current status before a job that depends on it.

### Who fixes the water pipe at a Windsor rental?

The Windsor Utilities Commission maintains the service pipe from the main to the property line. From the property line into the building, it is the owner's, including protecting it from freezing. Water emergencies go to ENWIN at 519-255-2727.

### Can a tenant apply for Windsor's flood subsidy?

Yes, as the owner's authorized agent with the owner's consent. The subsidy is paid to the owner, and the work must be approved first and done by a City of Windsor licensed plumber.