Crete v. Ottawa Community Housing Corporation
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The Facts
Daniel Crete slipped on ice on the front steps of a townhouse that his family rented from the Ottawa Community Housing Corporation. The lease made the tenant responsible for removing snow from the front and back doors to the main walkways. A claim was brought over the fall, and the landlord denied responsibility and sought contribution and indemnity from the tenant who had signed the lease. The Cretes argued that the clause was inconsistent with the Residential Tenancies Act, which obliges a landlord to keep a rental complex in a good state of repair, and that it should therefore have no effect. The lower court judge disagreed and held that the clause was valid and that the family had to handle winter maintenance in the area where the fall happened. The tenants appealed.
What the Court Decided
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. It first accepted that the order under appeal was final, so the appeal could proceed. It then held that the lower court judge had misread some provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act but had reached the right result. The landlord's duty to clear snow and ice in a residential complex extends to the exterior common areas, according to the regulation, and the Act does not itself oblige tenants to clear snow. The steps where the fall occurred were used only by the tenants, so they were not common areas. The lease clause therefore filled a gap and was not inconsistent with the Act. The Supreme Court of Canada refused leave to appeal in January 2025.
Many tenants in townhouses and semi-detached rentals assume that the landlord must always clear the ice. This decision shows that a lease can legitimately assign winter maintenance of exclusive-use areas to the tenant, and that a fall there may leave the tenant, not the landlord, answerable. It does not give landlords a blanket exemption: shared walkways, stairs and parking areas stay the landlord's responsibility, and the outcome depends on the wording of the lease and who really controls the area.
Does This Affect You?
- ✓You rent a townhouse or house and slipped on ice on steps or a walkway that only your household uses.
- ✓Your lease says tenants must handle snow removal and you are not sure the clause is enforceable.
- ✓You are a landlord or property manager deciding which winter maintenance duties belong in your lease.
Key Takeaways
- A landlord's statutory duty to clear snow and ice under the Residential Tenancies Act covers exterior common areas, not areas used exclusively by one tenant.
- A lease clause assigning snow removal for exclusive-use areas to the tenant was held not to conflict with the Act.
- Who is responsible after a fall turns on the lease wording and on who controls the area, so details matter.