Landlord or tenant: who cleans the gutters in Ontario?

In Ontario, gutter cleaning is the landlord's job. The Residential Tenancies Act makes landlords responsible for keeping a rental in a good state of repair, and the Landlord and Tenant Board's guidelines say a lease clause moving maintenance onto the tenant is not enforceable. Tenants are responsible for ordinary cleanliness and should report problems promptly.

What does Ontario law say?

Section 20(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 makes a landlord responsible for providing and maintaining a residential complex, including the rental units in it, in a good state of repair and fit for habitation, and for complying with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards. Section 33 makes the tenant responsible for ordinary cleanliness of the rental unit.

Eavestroughs are part of the building's water management, so keeping them clear and working is maintenance of the complex, not cleaning of the unit. The Landlord and Tenant Board's interpretation guideline on maintenance is direct: if a tenant agreed in a lease to assume the responsibility to maintain any part of the unit or complex, beyond ordinary cleanliness and damage, that would not be enforceable.

Can a lease make the tenant clean the gutters?

Not in the sense of shifting the legal duty. The Act also says a provision in a tenancy agreement that is inconsistent with the Act is void. Under the Tenant Protection Act, the law in place before the Residential Tenancies Act, the Court of Appeal for Ontario applied the same rule to snow removal in Montgomery v. Van (2009): a lease clause making tenants responsible for snow removal was void, because the law puts that duty on the landlord.

A landlord and tenant can agree to a separate, paid arrangement where the tenant does a job as a service, much like hiring anyone else. That does not remove the landlord's responsibility if the job is not done, and on a two-storey roofline it raises obvious safety and liability questions.

What should a tenant do?

1. 1Note what you see: overflow in rain, plants growing in the gutter, water pooling against the house, a leak inside.
2. 2Take dated photos from the ground. You do not need to climb anything to document a clogged gutter.
3. 3Report it to the landlord in writing, by email or text, and keep a copy.
4. 4Report any water getting inside immediately, since damage spreads quickly.
5. 5If maintenance problems are not dealt with, the Landlord and Tenant Board handles tenant applications about maintenance.

What should a landlord do?

• Schedule cleanings on the GTA's two-peak calendar, late spring and late fall, rather than waiting for complaints.
• Pay particular attention to gutters over basement suites and side entrances, where overflow ends up in someone's home.
• Check downspout discharge. An extension that dumps water beside a basement window well is a tenant complaint waiting to happen. Where downspouts should drain.
• Keep records: invoices and photos show the maintenance was done, useful with tenants, insurers and the Board. Insurance and maintenance records.
• Give tenants notice before a crew arrives, and ask them to keep pets inside and side gates unlocked.

Why does this matter in a bungalow with a basement suite?

In a single-family house, a clogged gutter is the owner's problem in the owner's basement. In a bungalow with a basement apartment, the water that overflows and soaks the soil against the foundation ends up in someone else's home, and the landlord is responsible for both the gutter and the unit. Scarborough's post-war bungalows and side-splits, many under silver maples that fill a gutter in one windy week, show why the fall cleaning should be on the calendar, not on the complaint list.

Landlords do not need to be on site: the crew needs access to the gutters, and the before and after photos arrive by email, a record for both landlord and tenant. Gutter cleaning in Scarborough runs $299 to $499 before HST in 2026, depending on home type and storeys. Managing several properties? The commercial page covers bulk scheduling and consolidated invoicing.

Sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario e-Laws)
• Montgomery v. Van, 2009 ONCA 808 (Court of Appeal for Ontario)
• Landlord and Tenant Board Interpretation Guideline 5: Breach of Maintenance Obligations