Who Pays When a Tenant Causes Water or Fire Damage in Ontario?

Who pays for tenant water damage in Ontario depends on the cause. A tenant must repair or pay for undue damage that the tenant, an occupant or a guest causes wilfully or negligently. The landlord must keep the unit in a good state of repair, so a failed pipe, a roof leak or faulty wiring is usually the landlord's problem. Insurance and a Landlord and Tenant Board claim sit on top of those two rules.

Tenant water damage and fire: who pays for repairs?

Two sections of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 do most of the work. Section 34 makes the tenant responsible for the repair of undue damage to the rental unit or residential complex caused by the wilful or negligent conduct of the tenant, another occupant or a person the tenant permits in the complex. Section 20 makes the landlord responsible for providing and maintaining the complex in a good state of repair and fit for habitation, and for complying with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards. It applies even if the tenant knew about a problem before moving in.

Use the table as a starting point. The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) decides disputed cases on the facts.

Normal wear and tear is not undue damage. A worn carpet or an old washer hose failing is not the tenant's fault by default.

What counts as negligence in a flood or fire

The Act does not list examples, so be careful with assumptions. A burst pipe in a cold snap is not automatically the tenant's fault. Neither is a kitchen fire. The question is whether the tenant, an occupant or a guest was wilfully or negligently responsible for undue damage.

Ask these questions of your own file:

• What was the cause, according to the plumber, electrician, fire department or insurer?
• Did the tenant do something that led to it, such as leaving a tap running, blocking a drain or tampering with an appliance?
• Was the equipment old, defective or overdue for service?
• Did the tenant report a leak or a fault, and when?
• Were alarms working? Smoke alarms are required on every storey and outside sleeping areas, and carbon monoxide alarms where there is a fuel-burning appliance, fireplace or attached garage.

Write the answers down with dates. Winter in Waterloo Region is hard on pipes and old housing stock has old plumbing and wiring, so a landlord's maintenance records can matter as much as the tenant's conduct.

How insurance fits in: landlord policy and tenant liability cover

Insurance rarely settles who is at fault, but it often decides who actually pays first. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) explains the basics:

• Home insurance includes personal liability for property damage you unintentionally cause to others, up to the policy limit.
• Tenant insurance covers the tenant's possessions and liability, and often additional living expenses if the tenant cannot live in the unit after a covered loss.
• Water damage coverage usually applies to the sudden and accidental escape of water from indoor plumbing, heating or appliances. Overland flooding and sewer backup are often optional add-ons.
• If you rent out a property, tell your insurer first. IBC says failing to do so can void your coverage.

Check what your lease says about tenant insurance, and see tenant insurance requirements in Ontario for what you can ask a tenant to carry.

Before you agree a settlement with the tenant, ask your insurer how the claim will be handled and whether it wants a say. Your policy is the authority, not this article.

First steps and evidence after water or fire damage

What you record in the first hours often decides how a claim goes later.

1. Make it safe. Stop the water, shut off power where needed, and call emergency services for a fire. Our guides on water damage response and fire damage response give the sequence.
2. Photograph before clean-up. Take wide and close photos, with dates.
3. Get the cause in writing. A plumber's or electrician's invoice that names the cause, or the fire department's report, is better than memory.
4. Tell your insurer. Do this early and follow its instructions.
5. Write to the tenant. State what happened, what you are doing and what you need from them. Keep all messages.
6. Keep repair records. Keep quotes, invoices and receipts, and keep damaged items if you can.

Entering the unit for repairs generally needs written notice, so review the landlord access rules. A rental emergency plan sets out who tenants call and which trades are authorized. D&D's rental emergency coordination is built around that kind of plan, without promises about arrival times.

Claiming repair costs from a tenant at the LTB

Section 89 lets a landlord apply to the LTB for an order requiring a tenant or former tenant to pay the reasonable cost of repairing, or replacing if repair is not reasonable, damaged property. It applies where the tenant, an occupant or a person the tenant permitted wilfully or negligently caused undue damage.

Timing and form:

• While the tenant still lives there, the application can be made at any time during the tenancy. The LTB's form is the L2.
• If the tenant has moved out, the application must be made no later than one year after they left. The form is the L10.
• The LTB replaced the L2 and L10 on September 21, 2026, and says previous versions will not be accepted after November 30, 2026. Use the LTB's current forms.

The form instructions say normal wear and tear is not undue damage. You must explain what damage occurred and how you worked out the cost, with a line for each repair or replaced item. If repairs are not done yet, estimates are allowed. Give your evidence, such as photos, quotes and receipts, to the tenant and the LTB before the hearing, by the deadline in the notice of hearing. The instructions note a monetary limit on what the LTB can order, so check them for large losses.

If the LTB orders payment and ends the tenancy, the Act says it sets off the tenant's rent deposit and interest against the amount owed. A notice to end the tenancy for damage (N5) is a separate and more serious step with its own rules, so read our guide to tenant damage and the LTB process and speak to a lawyer or licensed paralegal first.

When the building failed and the tenant is not at fault

If the cause was a failed pipe, a roof leak or faulty wiring, the repair is yours under section 20, whether or not the tenant could have prevented it. Do not bill the tenant for it. Under section 4 of the Act, a lease provision that is inconsistent with the Act is void, so a clause that shifts the landlord's repair duty to the tenant is unlikely to hold. Ask a lawyer if you are unsure.

The tenant's own belongings are usually a matter for the tenant's contents insurance. A tenant can also apply to the LTB about a landlord's failure to maintain the unit, and a flood or fire that leaves a unit unfit to live in raises questions about rent and the tenancy that need advice from the LTB or a lawyer. Prompt, documented repair is your best position.

Questions about tenant water and fire damage

A pipe burst in my apartment and caused a flood. Do I have to pay for repairs?

Only if you, an occupant or a guest caused undue damage wilfully or negligently. A pipe that fails from age, frost or a defect is the landlord's repair under the Residential Tenancies Act. Report it right away, take photos and check your tenant liability cover. If a claim is made, the LTB decides based on the facts.

A fire broke out in my rental apartment. Who has to pay?

It depends on the cause. If the tenant, an occupant or a guest negligently caused it, the tenant may be liable for repair costs. If the cause was building wiring or equipment the landlord supplied, the landlord is responsible. Ask for the fire department's and the insurer's findings on cause in writing.

Does landlord insurance cover water damage caused by a tenant?

It depends on the policy. IBC says water damage cover usually applies to the sudden and accidental escape of water from plumbing, heating or appliances, while overland flood and sewer backup are often add-ons. Tell your insurer you rent the property, report the loss early and ask how it handles claims against tenants.

How long does a landlord have to claim for tenant damage?

Under section 89 of the Residential Tenancies Act, a landlord can apply while the tenant is still in the unit, or no later than one year after the tenant leaves. Which LTB form to use depends on whether the tenant still lives there. Check current forms, because several were replaced on September 21, 2026.

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.