If you rent out a unit anywhere in Canada, you have probably fielded the question: does the landlord owe air conditioning during a heat wave, or a way to keep wildfire smoke out?
The short answer is that cooling requirements are set province by province, with municipalities adding another layer. Most provinces do not require a landlord to retrofit every existing rental with cooling, but Ontario now protects many tenant-installed window and portable units, and cities including Vancouver, New Westminster and Toronto have added their own cooling rules.
Wildfire-smoke duties are still handled mainly through maintenance, habitability and the terms of the lease rather than a rule requiring an air purifier in every unit.
Key Takeaways
- Cooling requirements are not uniform across Canada. Provincial or territorial law, municipal bylaws and the lease all matter.
- Since July 1, 2026, Ontario generally allows tenants to install a safe window or portable air conditioner after written notice, subject to legal and building-safety conditions.
- BC has new-construction cooling requirements, while Vancouver and New Westminster have local rules for existing rentals. Toronto also regulates landlord-provided cooling and some RentSafeTO amenity spaces.
- Manitoba treats AC that was not already included as a tenant-requested improvement. Alberta, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces centre the analysis on habitability, repairs and services promised in the lease.
- Wildfire-smoke filtration is not a standard landlord requirement across the country. Health Canada recommends a properly sized portable air cleaner in a closed clean-air room and warns against ozone generators.
Do landlords have to provide air conditioning in Canada?
Usually no, but the answer now changes by province and city.
In British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, the baseline is still a safe, habitable, properly maintained rental and the services promised in the lease, rather than an automatic duty to add AC to every existing unit.
Ontario now goes further. As of July 1, 2026, its Residential Tenancies Act generally allows a tenant to install and use a window or portable air conditioner when the landlord does not supply cooling, provided the tenant:
- Gives written notice
- Installs it safely and securely
- Avoids damaging the property
- Follows applicable laws and building requirements
There is an important catch everywhere.
If your unit already came with air conditioning, or you advertised it as a feature, that cooling can become a service or term of the tenancy. Pulling out a wall unit or telling a tenant they cannot use the AC you supplied can lead to a rent reduction, maintenance claim or tenancy dispute.
The safer rule is simple: maintain what you provide unless you follow the legal process required in that province to change it.
Before answering a heat complaint, check three things:
- The provincial or territorial tenancy law
- The municipality’s property standards
- The tenancy agreement
A clause that works in a Winnipeg walk-up may not work in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal or Moncton.
What heat and cooling rules look like across Canada
The ground is shifting because extreme heat is no longer limited to one region.
BC moved early after the 2021 heat dome, when the BC Coroners Service confirmed 619 heat-related deaths between June 25 and July 1. Ninety-eight per cent happened indoors, and most were in homes without adequate cooling.
Other provinces and cities are now building their own responses rather than following one national model.
Under the 2024 BC Building Code, new residential construction must include at least one living space designed not to exceed 26°C. Vancouver has a similar design rule for new homes.
For existing rentals, Vancouver now prevents landlords from blocking a portable air conditioner when no centralized cooling is provided, subject to an exemption process. A violation can bring a $1,000 CAD fine per offence.
New Westminster goes further by requiring at least one living space in an occupied rental to average 26°C or lower overnight from April 1 to October 31.
BC is only one part of the picture. Ontario added a province-wide installation right in 2026, Manitoba has a formal tenant-requested-improvement process, and other provinces rely more heavily on habitability and lease obligations.
| Jurisdiction | What changes the answer for landlords |
| British Columbia | There is no general province-wide AC retrofit requirement for existing rentals. New homes need one living space designed for 26°C or lower. Vancouver protects portable cooling, while New Westminster has an overnight temperature rule. |
| Ontario | Since July 1, 2026, tenants generally may install a safe window or portable unit after written notice. If the landlord supplies electricity, a seasonal rent adjustment may reflect the actual cost or a reasonable estimate. Toronto requires landlord-provided AC to maintain no more than 26°C and requires certain RentSafeTO buildings to cool an existing amenity space. |
| Manitoba | The Residential Tenancies Branch will not order a landlord to supply AC when it was not normally included. If a landlord agrees to add it at the tenant’s request, the Branch can set the value and ongoing charge through its tenant-requested-improvement process. |
| Alberta | Alberta’s rental-housing health standards focus on a safe home, working heat in cold weather, plumbing, electricity and ventilation. They do not create a general AC retrofit rule, but landlord-provided equipment still has to be maintained. |
| Quebec | The Civil Code requires the dwelling to remain fit for habitation and suitable for its rented use. Cooling promised in the lease is part of the contract. Removing or changing it must follow Quebec lease and Tribunal administratif du logement rules. |
| Atlantic Canada | New Brunswick requires a fit, well-maintained rental and fulfilment of lease inclusions. Nova Scotia restricts discontinuing a service supplied with the tenancy without the required notice or permission. Municipal standards can add another layer. |
Owners in Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut should use the same three-part check: tenancy law, municipal or community standards, and the lease.
A Vancouver or Toronto rule does not automatically apply elsewhere.
Pendo tip: Keep every heat or smoke complaint, your reply and any AC approval in one place with a time stamp. If a tenant files with the RTB, LTB, TAL or another tenancy authority, a clean, dated record of what you did and when is often worth more than a verbal explanation. Pendo’s Issue Tracker gives tenants a defined place to submit maintenance concerns instead of scattering the history across texts and emails.
What you have to do during a heat wave
None of this requires central air in every building. It is mostly about maintenance, communication, local rules and a paper trail.
1. Keep essential services working
Make sure windows open and lock, blinds function, and any fan or cooling equipment you provide is in good repair.
A window painted shut or a broken ventilation fan is a maintenance issue, not the tenant’s problem.
2. Check your lease and local rules
In Ontario, follow the written-notice and safety rules for tenant-installed AC.
In Vancouver, do not block a portable unit without an approved exemption.
In New Westminster and Toronto, confirm whether a temperature or cooled-space rule applies.
In Manitoba, use the proper process if you agree to provide AC as a tenant-requested improvement.
3. Respond to complaints in writing, fast
A tenant reporting an unsafe indoor temperature is flagging a health and habitability concern.
Acknowledge the complaint, say what you will inspect or approve, and date the response.
4. Offer low-cost help early
A box fan, reflective covering, safe portable-AC approval or a properly documented seasonal electricity charge in Ontario can cost far less than a dispute or an avoidable vacancy.
5. Prioritize vulnerable tenants
If you know a tenant is elderly or has a health condition, a quick check-in during an extreme-heat alert is both decent and protective.
A documented medical or accommodation request may also need separate professional advice.
Wildfire smoke: what landlords should provide
Canadian tenancy laws do not impose a blanket requirement for landlords to supply an air purifier during wildfire smoke.
Provincial maintenance and habitability duties still apply, though. Windows and seals that do not close, or a landlord-controlled ventilation system that is not working as intended, can cross from inconvenience into a repair obligation whether the property is in Kelowna, Winnipeg, Yellowknife, Toronto, Montreal or Halifax.
Health Canada’s portable air-cleaner guidance is the practical playbook:
- Pick one room as a clean-air space
- Run a properly sized HEPA or high-efficiency portable air cleaner
- Keep windows and doors closed when outdoor smoke is at its worst
- Maintain or replace HVAC filters as needed
- Avoid ozone generators sold as air purifiers
- Use the Air Quality Health Index to track local conditions
When extreme heat and wildfire smoke happen together, keeping the unit cool may become the more urgent health concern. Tenants should not be told to keep every window closed in a dangerously hot unit without another safe cooling option.
A smoke advisory does not automatically require you to buy every tenant a purifier.
Sealing gaps, maintaining HVAC filters, and not unreasonably blocking a safely operated tenant-supplied unit go a long way. Pendo’s spring maintenance checklist covers filters, window seals, ventilation and other small issues worth catching before extreme weather arrives.
While you are checking seals and filters, confirm that smoke and carbon monoxide alarms still work. Our guide to carbon monoxide and fire safety in rentals covers the related inspection and documentation steps.
Heat and smoke: who is responsible for what?
| Situation | Usually the landlord | Usually the tenant |
| Heat in winter | Provide and maintain working heat under the applicable provincial and local standards | Report outages promptly |
| A unit with no AC | Check provincial and municipal rules. Ontario and Vancouver restrict blanket bans, while New Westminster can require an indoor-temperature result | Follow written-notice, installation, safety, electricity and bylaw requirements |
| AC already provided | Repair and maintain it, or follow the proper legal process before changing the service | Use it reasonably and report faults |
| Wildfire smoke | Keep windows, seals and landlord-controlled HVAC systems working | Use an air cleaner and follow public-health guidance |
| Vulnerable tenant during an alert | Respond quickly and consider whether separate accommodation advice is needed | Explain the concern and cooperate with reasonable measures |
Common mistakes
Writing one blanket no-air-conditioners clause for every property
Ontario now protects many tenant-installed units, Vancouver restricts bans, and New Westminster may require an actual temperature result.
A lease template should not travel across provincial borders without review.
Removing cooling a tenant relied on
Whether the dispute goes to the RTB, LTB, TAL or another authority, AC that formed part of the tenancy can be treated as a service or lease condition that cannot simply disappear.
Assuming there is one legal maximum temperature across Canada
Toronto, New Westminster and new BC construction use 26°C in different ways, while many other jurisdictions have no matching province-wide maximum for existing units.
Keeping arrangements verbal
“I told them they could install a unit” or “we agreed on the electricity cost” is hard to prove if you cannot show the notice, approval, calculation and follow-up in writing.
Two quick examples
A Winnipeg landlord approves a tenant-supplied unit
Nadia rents out a two-bedroom in a Winnipeg walk-up.
In late July, her tenant emails that the unit hit 33°C and asks about air conditioning. Manitoba’s Residential Tenancies Branch will not automatically order Nadia to provide AC when it was not included, but she replies the same day, confirms that the tenant can use a safe portable unit within the building’s electrical limit, and records the approval.
When prairie wildfire smoke arrives two weeks later, she has already serviced the HVAC filter and sent the clean-air-room guidance.
No hearing, no vacancy and one retained tenant.
If Nadia decided to buy and provide the AC herself at the tenant’s request, she would use Manitoba’s tenant-requested-improvement process before adding a charge.
A Toronto landlord documents the seasonal electricity cost
Jordan manages a RentSafeTO apartment building where electricity is included in the rent.
A tenant gives written notice to install a portable AC. Jordan checks that it can be used safely, records the unit’s energy information, and calculates a seasonal rent adjustment based on the actual cost or a reasonable estimate, as Ontario law allows.
Because the building does not cool every rental unit but has an existing indoor amenity room, Jordan also checks Toronto’s rule requiring that room to stay at or below 26°C from June 1 to September 30.
The rules are different from Manitoba’s, but the workflow is the same: check, document and respond.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do landlords have to provide air conditioning in Canada?
Air-conditioning obligations vary by province, territory, municipality and the terms of the lease.
The answer depends on provincial or territorial law, municipal bylaws, and whether cooling was included in the lease. Ontario now protects many tenant-installed units, while some cities set additional cooling or temperature rules.
What changed for Ontario landlords in 2026?
Since July 1, 2026, Ontario tenants generally may install and use a window or portable AC after written notice when the landlord does not supply cooling.
The installation must be safe, secure, damage-free and legal. If the landlord supplies electricity, a seasonal rent adjustment may reflect the actual cost or a reasonable estimate.
The provision does not apply to mobile home parks or land lease communities.
Can a landlord stop a tenant from installing a portable air conditioner?
It depends on the property.
Ontario limits blanket bans under its 2026 rules. Vancouver also prevents a landlord from blocking portable cooling when no centralized system is provided unless an exemption is approved.
Elsewhere, check the lease, electrical and installation safety, provincial law, and local bylaws.
Is there a maximum legal temperature for a rental in Canada?
Maximum-temperature standards also vary by jurisdiction.
New Westminster requires one living space to average 26°C or lower overnight during the warmer months.
Toronto requires landlord-provided AC to maintain no more than 26°C and has a cooled-amenity-space rule for certain RentSafeTO buildings.
BC’s 26°C building-code rule applies to one living space in new construction, not every existing rental.
Does a landlord have to protect tenants from wildfire smoke?
Portable smoke filtration is not a blanket landlord requirement across Canada.
Landlords must still maintain windows, seals, ventilation systems and other building components they control. Health Canada recommends a properly sized portable air cleaner in a closed clean-air room as a practical measure.
Who pays can depend on the lease, local law and any separate accommodation issue.
Who pays for an air conditioner or air purifier?
The tenant usually pays when the equipment was not included in the tenancy, but the rules differ.
In Ontario, a landlord who supplies electricity may recover the actual or reasonably estimated seasonal electricity cost.
In Manitoba, a landlord who agrees to supply AC at the tenant’s request may need a Residential Tenancies Branch order to set the charge.
If the landlord provided the equipment as part of the tenancy, the landlord should maintain it or follow the proper legal process before changing the service.
Keep your records dispute-ready
Managing heat complaints, smoke advisories and the paper trail that protects you is easier when leases, maintenance requests and payment history live in one place.
Start a free 30-day trial today and see how Pendo keeps your records ready before a dispute ever starts.
