If you own your own home and land through Certificate of Possession (CP), you are responsible for all repairs and upkeep. These costs may be covered if the homeowner qualifies for a shelter allowance.

The Band’s core responsibilities in caring for rental homes are to maintain homes in a reasonable state of repair to be suitable for occupation, carrying out annual inspections on homes to identify maintenance needs, carrying out preventative maintenance, investigating the cause of a fire, making insurance claims in the case of an accidental fire, ensuring the condition of the home complies with health and safety standards, making structural repairs, and making repairs to house systems.

Your core maintenance responsibilities as a tenant are to be familiar with the contents of the Rental Agreement and to fulfill the tenant’s responsibilities, to report necessary repairs to the Housing Department, to call 911 in the case of an emergency (i.e. fire), to report emergencies to the Housing Department, and to generally care for the lawn, landing, stairs, screens, floors, walls, fixtures, systems, and appliances.

In the case of negligence, willful damage, or improper use, residents will be asked to cover the cost of repairs. If efforts are not made to amend the breach of the Rental Agreement regarding general upkeep or payment for major repairs, tenant counselling will be attempted. If tenant counselling fails, an eviction notice will be issued.

Tenants should also check on the overall state of their home once or twice a year to ensure that issues such as leaks, mold, pests, home structure or problems with heating and plumbing systems are not missed. Tenants may choose to use a template such as that used for formal inspections by the Housing Department which may be picked up at the Band Office and is Appendix 6 in the Housing Policy.

Tenants should report any issues that are the responsibility of the Housing Department. This includes any accidents or problems with the water, heating, or electrical systems, cracks in walls and ceilings due to construction, sticking doors (when reported immediately), sagging or shifting door frames, siding replacement, load bearing walls and foundation repairs, roof/truss repairs, and flooring repairs.

Small repairs and general maintenance that are the responsibility of the tenant should be carried out by the tenant as the need arises. Issues which are the responsibility of the Housing Department, such as a door not closing properly or an appliance not working, should be reported as they arise so they can be dealt with before they become significant concerns.

Problems with mold should be reported immediately to the Housing Department in order for a staff member to make an assessment of the repairs needed. A small repair will be prioritized and paid for by the Band, while more significant repairs may require an application be made under the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP).

Once a report has been made to the Housing Department, a staff member will visit the residence to assess the repairs needed, the responsibility for the repair, and the cost. The repair will be prioritized and completed, pending availability of funds.

The tenant is responsible for all seasonal maintenance on the home, including yard clean-up and any applicable winterizing.

If a repair is the responsibility of the Band, i.e. is related to structural or housing systems and has not been the result of negligence or improper use on the part of the tenant, the Band will pay for it. If a repair is the responsibility of the tenant, i.e. general maintenance, light bulb replacement, filter replacement, this should be carried out and paid for by the tenant. Major repairs should be carried out by a contractor and paid for by the tenant.