{"id":10829,"date":"2015-12-22T18:14:04","date_gmt":"2015-12-22T22:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/living-safety-information\/%e6%b8%a9%e3%81%8b%e3%81%84%e6%b8%a9%e5%ba%a6%e3%82%92%e4%bf%9d%e3%81%a1%e3%81%be%e3%81%97%e3%82%87%e3%81%86\/"},"modified":"2021-02-17T14:43:31","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T18:43:31","slug":"cleo-keeping-the-heat-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/news\/cleo-keeping-the-heat-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping the heat on"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jss.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/CLEO_On-the-Rader-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11696\" src=\"https:\/\/jss.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/CLEO_On-the-Rader-1.jpg\" alt=\"CLEO_On the Rader\" width=\"624\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jss.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/CLEO_On-the-Rader-1.jpg 624w, https:\/\/jss.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/CLEO_On-the-Rader-1-300x90.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Keeping the heat on<\/strong><br \/>\nWith temperatures dropping, this month&#8217;s On the Radar has some information to help tenants stay warm.<br \/>\n<strong>What landlords have to do<\/strong><br \/>\nOntario&#8217;s Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) says that landlords must:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>keep their rental housing in a &#8220;good state of repair and fit for habitation&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>follow all applicable housing standards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This means that landlords must make sure that heating systems \u2013 things like furnaces, boilers, thermostats, ducts, and radiators \u2013 are working properly.<br \/>\nIt also means that they must correct other problems that make the place too cold, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>windows that don&#8217;t close properly<\/li>\n<li>drafts from doorways and other openings<\/li>\n<li>poor insulation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Minimum temperatures<\/strong><br \/>\nIf the landlord controls the heat, there is a minimum temperature they must keep it at. If the tenant controls the heat, the system must be able to keep the place at that temperature.<br \/>\nThe details are usually set in local bylaws. As an example, the City of Hamilton bylaw sets the minimum temperature at <strong>20 degrees<\/strong> Celsius, from September 1 to May 31. Other parts of the province have different rules.<br \/>\nIf there&#8217;s no local heat bylaw, the provincial standard sets a minimum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius at all times of the year.<br \/>\n<strong>What to do if there&#8217;s a problem<\/strong><br \/>\nThe tenant should tell the landlord in writing about the problem. And they should make sure to keep a copy of what they give the landlord, for example, a letter or an email message.<br \/>\nIf the landlord doesn&#8217;t fix the problem within a reasonable time, the tenant can call their local bylaw enforcement or housing standards department.<br \/>\nThe department will usually contact the landlord or send an inspector to confirm that there&#8217;s a problem. They can order landlords to do repairs and take them to court if they don&#8217;t.<br \/>\nIf there&#8217;s no local housing standards bylaw, the tenant can make a <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=0ed944e5b4&amp;e=89e4d80904\">maintenance complaint<\/a> in writing to the provincial <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage1.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=fc99b2cb6f&amp;e=89e4d80904\">Investigation and Enforcement Unit<\/a>.<br \/>\nTenants can also make an application to the <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=7236a6d4c8&amp;e=89e4d80904\">Landlord and Tenant Board<\/a>. The Board can order landlords to do repairs, as well as lower the rent until the repairs are done.<br \/>\n<strong>If a service is cut off because of the landlord<\/strong><br \/>\nIf a tenant loses heat because the landlord interferes with the energy supply or hasn&#8217;t paid the bill, they can call the <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=6277a1d80b&amp;e=89e4d80904\">Investigation and Enforcement Unit<\/a>. This applies whether or not there&#8217;s a local housing standards bylaw.<br \/>\nThey can also call their local councillor or bylaw enforcement department to see if there&#8217;s a &#8220;vital services&#8221; bylaw in their area.<br \/>\nTenants can apply to the <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=812ca9fbe4&amp;e=89e4d80904\">Landlord and Tenant Board<\/a> in these situations as well.<br \/>\n<strong>If the heating bill is in the tenant&#8217;s name<\/strong><br \/>\nMany tenants must pay the heating bill themselves because it&#8217;s not included in their rent. If a tenant can&#8217;t pay their bills, the utility company might cut off the service.<br \/>\nPeople who have low incomes may be able to get help from the following energy programs.<br \/>\n<strong>Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP)<\/strong><br \/>\nThe new Ontario Electricity Support Program applies monthly credits to the electricity bills of customers who qualify. People whose homes are heated by electricity can get larger monthly credits.<br \/>\nThere is a quick and easy-to-use <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=01cde25148&amp;e=89e4d80904\">online tool<\/a> that shows if someone qualifies.<br \/>\nElectricity customers can <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=084e719017&amp;e=89e4d80904\">apply online<\/a> or in person through a large number of <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage1.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=b46501677c&amp;e=89e4d80904\">social service agencies<\/a>.<br \/>\n<strong>Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP)<\/strong><br \/>\nThis <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=f556b1b99c&amp;e=89e4d80904\">program<\/a> gives emergency help to people who may have their gas or electricity disconnected because they haven&#8217;t paid their bill.<br \/>\nIt also lets them benefit from special rules, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>not having to pay a security deposit<\/li>\n<li>having flexible payment plans if they owe money<\/li>\n<li>getting faster refunds if they&#8217;re overcharged<\/li>\n<li>not having to pay by automatic withdrawal to get equalized billing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To find out if they&#8217;re eligible, people must apply through one of the <a href=\"http:\/\/cleo.us4.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=acaece29df8d07c95ef84a763&amp;id=de720aecc9&amp;e=89e4d80904\">agencies that work with LEAP<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With temperatures dropping, this month&#8217;s On the Radar has some information to help tenants stay warm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[280],"tags":[299,303],"class_list":["post-10829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-community-legal-education-ontario","tag-living-safety-information"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jss.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}