Does the Landlord or Tenant Clean the Gutters?

In most rentals across Canada and the US, gutters are the landlord's responsibility. They are part of the building's exterior and its protection against water, and residential tenancy laws put the duty to keep the structure in good repair on the owner. A lease can sometimes hand routine cleaning to the tenant of a single-family house, but repairs, replacement and anything that needs a tall ladder almost always stay with the landlord.

The details change by province and state, and a few common lease clauses muddy the picture. Here is how the main rules read, where the grey areas are, and what each side can do before the late-fall leaf drop turns into a dispute.

Why gutters land on the owner in most places

Gutters and downspouts exist to keep water off the walls and away from the foundation. When they clog or sag, the damage shows up as wet basements, rotted fascia, peeling paint and ice dams. Those are structural and habitability problems, and tenancy laws in both countries treat the structure as the landlord's job.

There is also a practical side. Cleaning gutters on a two-storey house means working at height, and most leases and insurers are not comfortable with a tenant on an extension ladder. Even where a lease assigns the task, many landlords choose to book it themselves so they know it was done.

Ontario

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 is the main rulebook. Section 20 makes the landlord responsible for keeping the residential complex in a good state of repair, fit for habitation and in line with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards. Gutters, downspouts and the fascia they hang on fall under that duty.

Section 33 makes the tenant responsible for ordinary cleanliness of the rental unit. That word "unit" matters: it covers the inside of the space the tenant rents, not the roofline. Section 34 makes a tenant pay for undue damage they or their guests cause, which would apply if, for example, someone bent a downspout backing a trailer into it.

Many Ontario municipalities also have property standards bylaws that require eavestroughs and downspouts to be kept in good repair and to discharge water away from the building. Toronto's property standards rules are one example. A tenant who cannot get a landlord to act can contact the city's bylaw office, and the Landlord and Tenant Board can hear maintenance applications.

Quebec

The Civil Code of Québec splits the work by size. Article 1854 requires the lessor to deliver the dwelling in a good state of repair and to keep it that way for the lease. Article 1864 puts necessary repairs on the lessor and leaves only minor maintenance repairs to the lessee, unless those result from normal aging or superior force.

Whether clearing a gutter counts as minor maintenance is debatable on a ground-floor duplex unit, but on a typical plex the gutters serve the whole building, so the owner handles them. Repairs to seams, hangers, corners and downspouts are not minor maintenance. The Tribunal administratif du logement hears disputes about repairs and the condition of a dwelling.

British Columbia

Section 32 of the Residential Tenancy Act requires the landlord to provide and maintain the property in a state of decoration and repair that meets health, safety and housing standards. The tenant must keep reasonable health, cleanliness and sanitary standards in the unit and the areas they use.

The province publishes Residential Tenancy Policy Guideline 1, which sets out how routine exterior tasks are usually divided. It is worth reading before signing a lease on a house, since it is the reference the Residential Tenancy Branch uses when the lease is silent. For Vancouver-area rentals, where autumn rain and needles from big conifers fill gutters quickly, settling this in writing up front saves a lot of back and forth.

The US: lease first, habitability always

In the US, the lease does most of the work, but nearly every state recognizes some form of the implied warranty of habitability. Under it, the landlord must keep the dwelling weather-tight and safe, and that duty generally cannot be waived by a lease clause.

California is a clear example. Civil Code section 1941.1 lists effective waterproofing and weather protection of the roof and exterior walls among the conditions a dwelling must have to be considered habitable. A gutter that dumps water against the siding or into a crawl space works against exactly that.

For single-family homes, many US leases assign yard and exterior upkeep to the tenant, and some name gutter cleaning outright. Courts tend to enforce those clauses for routine cleaning, but not for repairs, rehanging, or replacing a run that has rusted through. Some states and cities add their own rental housing codes, so a quick look at the local code is worthwhile.

Condos and multi-unit buildings

In a condo, the owner of a unit usually is not responsible for gutters at all. They are typically common elements, maintained by the corporation, strata or HOA under the declaration, bylaws or covenants. Townhouse complexes sometimes treat the gutters on each unit as exclusive-use areas, which can shift the job to the owner. If you rent a condo unit, the gutters are rarely a matter between you and your landlord: they belong to the building.

Clauses to watch in a lease

• "Tenant maintains the exterior and grounds." On a house, this may include clearing gutters you can reach safely. It rarely extends to second-storey work or repairs.
• "Tenant responsible for seasonal maintenance." Vague. Ask for a list before signing.
• "Tenant pays for damage caused by failure to maintain." Only enforceable to the extent the tenant actually had the duty in the first place.
• No mention at all. The default rules above apply, which in practice means the landlord.

Practical steps for both sides

Landlords: book a gutter cleaning in late fall after most leaves are down, and a second one in spring if the property has heavy tree cover. Keep the invoice. If the gutters keep clogging, gutter guards can cut down how often a crew needs to go up, which matters more on rentals where you are not there to notice an overflow. Check downspout extensions after any landscaping work, since they are the part tenants most often move or remove.

Tenants: report overflow, sagging runs, leaking corners or water pooling near the foundation in writing, with photos and the date. That creates a record if the issue becomes a repair claim. Do not climb onto a roof or a tall ladder to clear a gutter the landlord is supposed to handle.

Frequently asked questions

Can a landlord charge a tenant for gutter cleaning?

Only if the lease clearly assigns that task to the tenant and the tenant failed to do it, and even then the charge has to be reasonable. In Ontario and Quebec, landlords generally cannot shift building repairs onto a tenant through the lease. If the lease is silent, the landlord pays.

Is a clogged gutter a habitability problem?

On its own, a few leaves are not. A gutter that is causing water to leak into the home, soak the foundation or build ice dams can become a repair issue under tenancy laws and local property standards. Report it in writing and give the landlord a reasonable time to act.

Who pays for gutter damage caused by ice or a storm?

Storm, ice and age-related damage is normally the landlord's cost, often through their property insurance. A tenant only pays when they or their guests caused the damage through negligence or misuse.

How often should a rental property have its gutters cleaned?

At least once a year, in late fall, for most homes. Properties under mature trees usually need it twice, in spring and fall. A scheduled gutter cleaning is cheaper than the fascia or basement repair that follows a season of overflow.

Get the gutters on your rental handled

Whether you own one rental house or a small building, send us the address, the number of storeys and what you are seeing at the roofline. We match you with a gutter crew in your area, and the cleaning, repair or guard work comes back as a written quote. Request a gutter quote.