There are a lot of questions when you are a tenant in a building, about your responsibilities for upkeep in your unit or on the property. In general the landlord is responsible for keeping repairs made and keeping it safe and healthy for the tenants.
Landlord Responsibilities
If you had appliances included with your unit, the landlord is responsible for their repair. The do not have to replace broken applicances with new ones, just ones that work and are similar to the ones you already had.
Under Section26 of Ontario Regulation 517, exterior common areas must be maintained by the landlord and this includes removing noxious weeds and any unsafe accumulation of ice and snow. You are not responsible for mowing and removing snow, even if you agree to, you are not legally responsible for doing it.
Tenant Responsibilities
You need to keep your unit in good repair and inform the landlord of any problems.
You should meet with the landlord and find out where you need to take your trash, and dispose of it properly.
If your landlord is not maintaining the property properly, you have avenues to travel on for relief. Above all, do NOT quit paying your rent. That gives them the right to terminate your lease for non-payment, a black mark on your financial history. Take steps to request the repairs and document them. Write down times, dates, and places, and who you spoke to. If a conversation doesn’t prompt some action, then a written letter to the landlord and property manager is next. Be sure to detail every problem, and the attempts you’ve made previously to get these things rectified. If action is still not taken, you may make an application to the Landlord and Tenant Board or you can contact the investigation
and Enforcement Unit of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. This will trigger an inspection and the landlord will be ordered to make repairs as reported in the inspection notice.