It is September, the evenings have that first bite in them, and somewhere in your suite there is a window that whistled all last February.
The question renters start asking around now is practical: when it gets cold, whose job is what? Who fixes the furnace, who shovels the walk, who pays when a pipe splits, and what happens if you turn the thermostat up and nothing happens.
Winter here is not a surprise event. It is six months of your lease. Worth knowing where the line falls before the first cold snap, not during it.
The Short Answer
Your landlord is responsible for the building being warm, sealed and in good repair. That is not a courtesy — it is set out in Alberta's Minimum Housing and Health Standards, and applies whether or not your lease mentions it.
You are responsible for using the place sensibly: keeping the heat on, not blocking vents, reporting problems promptly and in writing.
The grey zone in the middle — snow clearing, plug-in parking, who pays for a frozen pipe — is where most winter disputes happen, and it usually comes down to what your lease says and how quickly you spoke up.
Heat: 22°C Is the Standard, Not a Preference
Under Alberta's Minimum Housing and Health Standards, the heating system must be in good repair and capable of heating all living spaces to 22°C. The separate 16°C figure is the extreme-cold safety floor, not a temperature anyone is meant to live at through January.
These standards are enforced by Alberta Health Services through Environmental Public Health, not by a landlord-tenant office — which means there is an inspector who can attend and write an order.
Here is the part that trips people up: the first step is not the phone call to AHS. It is telling your landlord in writing.
A text, an email, or a message through a maintenance portal all count. A verbal complaint in the hallway does not — it leaves no record, and if this becomes a dispute the written trail is the whole case. Note the date, the temperature you are reading, and what is happening.
If you have made that written request and nothing is done, call Health Link at 811 to be connected to an inspector.
Windows: A Draft Is a Repair Issue
The same standards require that windows protect against the cold in winter and be maintained in good repair — free of cracks, weatherproof, properly sealed.
Renters routinely treat drafts as a personality trait of the building. They are not. A window that leaks cold air, a cracked frame, a sash that no longer closes, a failed seal — those are maintenance items, the same as a leaking tap.
Report them now, while a caretaker can actually get to it. The same request on a -30°C morning in January joins a queue behind burst pipes and dead furnaces.
Plug-In Parking: Ask Before You Sign
This one is deeply Edmonton, and it catches almost every newcomer.
A block heater is a small electric element that warms your engine block and oil overnight, so the engine turns over in the morning instead of grinding and eventually not starting. Below roughly -20°C, an energized stall stops being a nice extra and becomes the difference between driving to work and calling for a boost.
"Parking included" and "plug-in included" are not the same sentence. Plenty of stalls are just a rectangle of asphalt.
Before you sign, ask three specific questions:
- Is the stall energized, and is the outlet actually working?
- Is the electricity included in rent, or billed separately?
- Is the plug-in metered, and if so, how is it charged?
Get the answer in the lease or in an email, not in conversation at the showing. Then test the outlet before December rather than discovering it is dead at 7am.
Snow and Ice: Read the Lease
Edmonton's Community Standards Bylaw 14600 requires property owners to clear the public sidewalk adjacent to their property within 48 hours of a snowfall, and corner lots must clear both frontages. On a complaint, the City issues a notice giving 7 days to comply before things escalate.
In an apartment building, that is the landlord's or property manager's job. Nobody expects the tenant in 304 to be out with a shovel.
In a rented house, duplex or townhome it is often different. Leases regularly assign snow clearing to the tenant, and that is generally enforceable between you and your landlord — even though, as far as the City is concerned, the owner stays on the hook for the bylaw. So read your lease for this specifically, and if it is silent, ask in writing before the first snowfall.
Two practical notes. Ice matters more than snow — a cleared walk that glazes over in a freeze-thaw is more dangerous than an uncleared one. And the City provides free sand at community leagues and Roadway Maintenance Yards, so pick up a pail in October.
Frozen Pipes: Prevention, Then Responsibility
Prevention is short, boring, and works. Keep the heat on, including when you are away — set it back a few degrees if you like, but never off. Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm air reaches the plumbing. In an extreme cold snap, let a tap run at a thin trickle. Drain outdoor hoses before the first hard freeze.
On responsibility, the split is roughly this. A pipe that freezes because the building is under-insulated, or because an unheated crawlspace was never properly protected, is the landlord's problem — a defect in the building. A pipe that freezes because a tenant shut the heat off entirely to save money while away for two weeks may not be.
Between those poles is a lot of grey, which is why the written record matters. If you reported a cold room in November and nothing was done, that message is doing real work for you in February.
When the Furnace Quits at 11pm
No heat in an Edmonton winter is an emergency maintenance issue, not a next-business-day one. So is a burst pipe or a total loss of water. A slow-draining sink is not — sending both through the same channel at midnight is how real emergencies get lost.
The most useful thing you can do this month: find your after-hours emergency number and save it in your phone now, under a name you will actually find at 11pm. Do not go hunting for it while wearing a parka indoors.
A reasonable response is quick contact back and someone attending the same night, or a temporary fix — space heaters, or accommodation — if a part cannot be had until morning. Furnaces do fail; the test of a landlord is what happens in the next few hours.
Before the First Snow
- Save the emergency maintenance number in your phone.
- Test the thermostat and run the furnace for an hour.
- Report drafty or cracked windows in writing now.
- Confirm whether your parking stall is energized, and test the outlet.
- Check your lease for who clears snow and ice.
- Pick up free sand from a community league or Roadway Maintenance Yard.
- Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses, and know where your water shut-off is.
- Check that your tenant insurance is current.
Renting With GSK
GSK Properties manages and leases rental homes across the Edmonton area, so winter maintenance is day-to-day work for us rather than a seasonal scramble.
Where it applies to the building, heat is included in rent — worth knowing when you compare a listing against a place where January utilities land on you. Residents send maintenance requests through our /request-maintenance page, so a no-heat call reaches a person instead of a voicemail box. If you are looking for somewhere warm before the snow arrives, our available suites are listed at /properties.
FAQ: Renting Through an Alberta Winter
What temperature must a landlord keep a rental at in Alberta?
Alberta's Minimum Housing and Health Standards require the heating system to be in good repair and able to heat all living spaces to 22°C. A separate 16°C figure exists as an extreme-cold safety floor, not a normal living temperature. The standards are enforced by Alberta Health Services through Environmental Public Health.
What do I do if my heat goes out in Alberta?
Tell your landlord or property manager in writing first — a text or email creates the record a verbal complaint does not. Note the date, the indoor temperature and what is happening. If the written request goes unanswered, call Health Link at 811 to reach an environmental public health inspector.
Who shovels the sidewalk at a rental property in Edmonton?
Under Community Standards Bylaw 14600, the property owner must clear the adjacent public sidewalk within 48 hours of a snowfall, and corner lots must clear both frontages. In apartment buildings this is handled by the landlord or manager. In rented houses and townhomes, leases frequently assign the job to the tenant, so read yours before winter.
Is plug-in parking included with Edmonton apartments?
Not automatically. "Parking included" often means a stall with no electrical outlet. Ask specifically whether the stall is energized, whether the power is included in rent or billed separately, and whether it is metered — and get the answer in writing before you sign.
Who pays for frozen pipes in a rental?
It depends on the cause. If the pipe froze because the building is under-insulated or a space was never properly protected, that is the landlord's repair. If it froze because a tenant turned the heat off entirely while away, responsibility can shift to the tenant. Reporting cold rooms and drafts in writing early is the best protection either way.
This is general information to help you know what questions to ask, rather than legal advice. For a serious dispute, the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service and Alberta's tenant advisory services can look at your specifics.
