Preventing Fire At Your Ontario Rental Property

As a small landlord, your most important asset is usually your rental property. Protecting it and your tenants should be top of mind. To do this, create a fire safety plan that gives you clear checklists for maintenance and lays out clear expectations for your tenants. 

What You Can Do as a Landlord

As the landlord, you are responsible for making sure that snow drifts, ice buildup, and water problems don’t pose hazards for either escaping tenants or the fire department. To do this, you can: 

-Have a clear snow removal plan in place
-Perform a thorough exterior inspection in the fall to check for potential hazards, such as leaf-cluttered gutters, excessive debris in front of doors, and clear exit pathways.
-Make sure carbon monoxide and fire alarms are operating properly and unobstructed twice a year
-Install fire extinguishers in kitchens and make sure tenants are educated on how to use them
-Add into your lease agreement that tenants must never disable fire alarms or carbon monoxide detectors
-Inspect and clear dryer vents annually
-Make sure electrical systems are up to code and functioning properly 

You may want to contact your insurance company to see if there are any specific measures they want to see put in place to prevent fires, and make sure you have them in place. 

You also need to ensure that your property complies with the Ontario Fire Code. Here is a checklist for what you need to look for, updated for 2025. 

What Your Tenants Can Do

Put together a short, concise checklist for your tenants on things they can do to prevent fires. It may include:

-Making sure that radiators and other heat sources are kept clear of boxes and debris
-Keep doors and windows clear of debris and easy to enter and exit from
-Don’t impede a self-closing mechanism from closing a door
-Keep porches, decks, and fire escapes clear
-Keep fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors unobstructed and operating at all times
-Make sure smoked items are only consumed outside and are disposed of in appropriate containers

If you have any questions about fire safety and your obligations, you can always call your local fire department for help. There are also businesses that specialize in consulting on fire safety issues – if you have multiple properties or a multi-tenant dwelling, you may want to consider their services. 

As a property management company, we are aware of what needs to be done to bring a unit into compliance with various regulations, including the City of Toronto and fire code. We can recommend trusted contractors to help you, and keep an eye on the property through inspections with proper notice. Contact us today to find out how we can be an extra pair of eyes to protect your property.