Winterizing a Rental in Eastern Ontario: The October Checklist

October is the month I get a rental ready for winter. Once the first hard frost hits between Kars and Cornwall, every small job left undone turns into a bigger, colder and more expensive one. A furnace that quits in January or a pipe that splits behind a wall is not just a repair bill, it is a tenant with no heat and a very long night for everyone.

Here is the checklist I work through every fall, and who usually handles what.

Start with the heat

In Ontario, if the landlord supplies heat, the Landlord and Tenant Board says it must be kept at a minimum of 20°C from September 1 to June 15. Heat is also one of the "vital services" under the Residential Tenancies Act, which means a landlord cannot cut off or withhold it, even if rent is late. Some towns add rules of their own through their property standards bylaws, so it is worth checking the one for your municipality.

That makes the furnace the first call of the season. I book a licensed technician in September or early October, before their calendars fill up, to service the furnace, check the venting and swap the filter. If the home has a boiler, a heat pump or a wood or pellet stove, the same idea applies. Get it looked at by someone qualified before you need it.

Filters are a small thing that matter. Agree with your tenant on who changes them and how often, and leave a few spares in the utility room so it actually happens.

Check the carbon monoxide alarms

This one changed recently. Since January 1, 2026, Ontario requires carbon monoxide alarms on every storey of a home that has a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage, not just next to the bedrooms. If your rental has a gas furnace, a propane water heater or an attached garage and you have not added alarms to the other floors, do it now.

Landlords are responsible for installing and maintaining CO alarms, testing them every year and at each new tenancy, and giving tenants the maintenance instructions. Tenants are responsible for letting the landlord know if an alarm is beeping, missing or not working. Fall is a good time to test the smoke alarms on the same visit.

Protect the plumbing

Frozen pipes are one of the most common winter repairs, and they are mostly preventable.

Shut off the water to every outdoor tap from the inside valve, then open the tap outside to let it drain. Disconnect and store the hoses. If a pipe runs along an outside wall, through a crawl space or into an unheated garage, insulate it. In older homes in places like Merrickville or Prescott, it is worth walking the basement with a flashlight to find the cold spots before the weather does.

If a unit is going to sit empty over the winter, even for a few weeks between tenants, keep the heat on and have someone check it regularly. Talk to your insurer as well. Many policies have conditions about vacant properties and maintained heat, and you want to know them before something happens, not after.

Clear the eavestroughs and look up

Once the leaves are down, clean the eavestroughs and make sure the downspouts carry water well away from the foundation. Blocked gutters are how ice dams start, and ice dams are how water ends up in a ceiling in March.

While you are up there, or while someone is, look at the roof for missing shingles and check the flashing around the chimney and vents. Look at the weatherstripping on doors and windows too. Drafts cost the tenant money if they pay the heat, and cost you money if you do.

Settle snow and parking before the first storm

Snow is where I see the most confusion between owners and tenants, so I like it written down. Ontario's standard lease says the landlord must maintain the rental property, and it allows additional terms that are specific to the tenancy. If a tenant in a single-family home is going to clear their own driveway and walkway, put that in the lease as an additional term. If you are hiring a snow contractor, book now. The good ones in the corridor are often full by November.

Tenants should also know the local parking rules, because a towed car on a snowy morning helps no one. In North Grenville, the township declares overnight parking bans during winter storm events, usually when 7 cm or more of snow is forecast, and posts the notice by 5 p.m. so people can move their cars. Smiths Falls ran overnight restrictions from midnight to 7 a.m. between November 15 and March 31 last winter, and they can start earlier if snow or freezing rain arrives first. Check your own town's website each fall, since dates can change.

Make it easy to report problems

The best winter protection is a tenant who tells you early. I let tenants know at the start of the season who to call, what counts as an emergency (no heat, a burst pipe, a CO alarm going off) and to put non-urgent repair requests in writing.

That written step matters on both sides. In Cornwall, for example, the city asks tenants with a maintenance complaint to notify their landlord in writing first, and only call by-law services if the issue is not fixed. A quick reply and a fix keep it from ever getting that far.

The short version

Book the furnace service, test the CO and smoke alarms, shut off and drain the outdoor taps, clean the eavestroughs, put snow duties in writing and give your tenant a clear way to reach you. An afternoon in October saves a lot of trouble in January.

If you own a rental in the corridor and would rather have someone handle all of this for you, get in touch. This is what we do every fall.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — for your specific situation, talk to a paralegal, lawyer or accountant.