CORNWALL, Ontario – On January 24, 2022, the Council of the City of Cornwall met with Chief Building Official, Charles Bray to discuss the Adequate and Suitable Heat By-law. This By-law serves to protect residents in rental accommodations from unhealthy living conditions, as a result of the lack of heat in their rental unit.
“I can’t imagine going without heat in this kind of weather. We have a humanitarian responsibility to look out for these people”, said Councillor McIntosh.
Currently it takes 14 days, plus 5 days for service before an officer can act on an order under the Property Standards By-law to address any complaints of defective heating appliances.
Councillor McIntosh asked about the time difference between this by-law compared to ordinary property standards.
“The way it would work as a property standards matter, is there’s 14 days, plus we have to allow 5 days for service”, said Charles Bray “It’s not an appropriate method when dealing with heat. That’s why there is a provision in the municipal act to by-pass that typical property standards approach, and we could deal with it more efficiently. The officer may give them 24 to 48 hours, if not we’ll get it done.”
If the order is not complete, the officer is permitted to solve the problem, at the owner’s/landlord’s expense.
It must be noted that some complaints will not always result in quicker compliance if the necessary repairs are extensive.
The City of Cornwall Council were all in favour of the motion.
