How to Coordinate HVAC Vendors Across Rental Units

Lease and Rental Management

By Devon Moore, Operations Lead

Under Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, landlords are required to maintain rental units in a good state of repair and fit for habitation. This includes ensuring the heating system can maintain a temperature of at least 20°C between September 1 and June 15.

Annual HVAC servicing is essential. A professional furnace tune-up ($120-200) inspects the heat exchanger, cleans burners, lubricates moving parts, and tests safety controls. This extends equipment life, improves efficiency, and most importantly, identifies safety hazards like cracked heat exchangers (carbon monoxide risk).

Ontario Tenancy Law

Furnace filter replacement is a shared responsibility in most tenancies. Standard filters should be replaced every 1-3 months depending on filter type and household conditions. Confirm in the lease whether the landlord or tenant is responsible for filter changes.

Central air conditioning: if the rental unit has A/C, the landlord is responsible for maintaining it in working order. Annual cleaning of condenser coils and servicing of refrigerant levels extends equipment life significantly.

Protecting Landlord Rights

Document your HVAC maintenance. Keep records of service dates, technician company, work performed, and parts replaced. These records protect you in LTB proceedings if a tenant claims the unit was improperly maintained.

Emergency heating failures in winter are urgent repairs. Ontario's maintenance standards require heat be restored quickly. Have a relationship with an HVAC service company offering emergency after-hours response.

D&D Property Management coordinates preventive HVAC maintenance for all managed properties and handles emergency repairs swiftly, minimizing tenant disruption and landlord liability.

Devon Moore, Operations Lead Co-Founder & Operations Lead — D&D Property Management

Devon Moore is the co-founder and Operations Lead at D&D Property Management, managing rental properties across Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph and Waterloo Region.