Renter or Landlord: Who Must Shovel in Calgary?

Every winter this argument plays out across Calgary. The tenant assumes the landlord handles snow. The landlord assumes the tenant does. Nobody shovels, a neighbour calls 311, and a $250 fine arrives.

Here is how it actually works.

The City’s position

Calgary’s snow and ice bylaw requires the public sidewalk bordering a property to be cleared to bare surface within 24 hours of snowfall ending.

The important part for rentals: the responsibility sits with the property owner. Renting the place out does not transfer that obligation as far as the City is concerned. Landlords remain responsible even when they do not live at the property.

Fines escalate within a twelve month period: $250, then $500, then $750. If the City ends up clearing it, the charge is a minimum of $150 plus GST plus administration fees, added to the property taxes.

Those charges follow the property and the owner.

What a lease can and cannot do

A lease can assign the practical job of snow clearing to a tenant. That is a normal and enforceable term of a private agreement between the two of you.

A lease cannot make the City pursue your tenant instead of you. If the sidewalk is not cleared, enforcement is directed at the owner. Your recourse against the tenant for breaching the lease is a separate, private matter, and it happens after you have already paid.

So the practical position for a landlord is:

• You can require the tenant to do it
• You are still the one the City comes to if they do not
• You are also still the occupier for liability purposes if someone falls

That last point matters. Alberta’s Occupiers’ Liability Act expects reasonable care to be taken so visitors are reasonably safe. A landlord who assigned the task and never checked has a weaker position than one who arranged a service.

If you are a landlord

Three sensible options:

1. Handle it yourself, or hire it out. The most reliable, because it does not depend on anyone else’s diligence. A seasonal plan runs roughly $130 to $300 a month for a standard property and simply happens.

2. Assign it in the lease, and verify. If the tenant is willing and equipped, put it in writing clearly: which surfaces, what standard, what timeframe. Then actually check occasionally, especially early in the season. An unverified assumption is how fines happen.

3. Split it. Some landlords have the tenant handle the driveway and hire out the sidewalk, since the sidewalk is where the bylaw exposure sits.

Worth knowing about multi-unit properties: if four tenants share a building, “everyone” is responsible means nobody is. Either name one person in each lease or hire it out.

If you are a tenant

Check your lease first. If it says snow removal is your responsibility, it is, as a matter of your agreement with the landlord.

If it says nothing, the default practical position is that the owner carries the obligation. Raise it early rather than in January, and get the answer in writing, even just an email.

Either way, if you live there and the sidewalk is dangerous, it is worth clearing regardless of whose job it technically is. The person most likely to slip on it is you or your visitors.

The condo and strata wrinkle

If you own a condo unit and rent it out, snow clearing of common areas is usually the condominium corporation’s responsibility, handled through condo fees.

But confirm what is common property and what is not. Some units have exclusive-use areas, patios, private entrances, assigned parking, that are not covered by the corporation’s contract. Those can fall to the owner.

Check your bylaws and the corporation’s maintenance contract rather than assuming.

The practical summary

Situation	Who the City pursues	Who does the work
Owner-occupied	Owner	Owner or their contractor
Rented, lease silent	Owner	Usually owner arranges
Rented, lease assigns it	Still owner	Tenant, by agreement
Condo common property	Condo corporation	Corporation’s contractor

Frequently asked questions

Is the tenant or landlord responsible for shovelling in Calgary? For the City’s purposes, the property owner. A lease can assign the task to a tenant privately, but enforcement and fines still go to the owner.

Can I put snow removal in the lease? Yes, and you should be specific about surfaces and timeframes. Just understand it does not shift the bylaw obligation away from you.

What if my tenant does not do it? You pay the fine, then pursue it as a lease matter. Which is why many landlords simply hire the work.

Who clears snow at a condo I rent out? Usually the condominium corporation for common property. Check whether any exclusive-use areas fall to you.

What are the fines? $250 first offence, $500 second, $750 for a third or more within twelve months, plus a minimum $150 plus GST if the City clears it.

Removing the argument entirely

The simplest fix for a landlord is to arrange the clearing and build it into the rent. It removes the dispute, protects you from fines, and strengthens your position if anyone is ever injured.

Our residential snow removal plans cover the driveway, walkway and the public sidewalk with ice control included, and we can bill an owner directly at a property they do not live at.

For multi-unit or commercial buildings, commercial snow removal is quoted per property.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For advice on your lease or a specific dispute, speak to a lawyer.