A Winnipeg property owner is warning others after discovering the cost of their rental property’s sewer repairs were not covered by the city.
“We want to raise awareness, because a lot of the businesses and people we have spoken to, they had no clue that if you do not physically live at the address, you are responsible for the repairs,” Lise Musso said.
Musso’s husband Paul Lussier bought a house on Provencher more than 20 years ago. He has rented the house’s two suites to various tenants over the past 17 years. On Feb. 28, one of their current tenants noticed some sewer backup in the basement.
Musso and Lussier contacted the City of Winnipeg and got quotes from contractors. They determined the sewer pipe from the house to the City sewer line was broken, and would cost roughly $40,000 to repair. But the couple thought that cost would be covered by the city, as the issue was under municipal property.
“The break was 33 feet from our sewer, which would then bring it to just about the first or second lane under this Provencher road,” Musso said.
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Musso says the contractors closed Provencher Boulevard and dug down to the sewer pipes in two places, from on the boulevard and on Musso’s property, to fix the break.
According to the city’s website, property owners are responsible for maintenance and repairs to their own sewer line. But if the blockage is under city property “between the property line and the City’s sewer main,” the city will pay for repairs — but only if the owner lives there.
In Musso and Lussier’s case, they’re responsible for the bill.
“We were dumbfounded,” said Musso. “We pay property taxes just as our neighbour does.”
The couple also paid for a hotel for one of their tenants for three nights as water to the building was shut off during repairs.
Water and Waste Committee Chair Ross Eadie says while he sympathizes, sewer repair is part of a landlord’s responsibility.
“When you’re a landlord, you’re actually a businessperson,” he said. “You’re supposed to be charging enough rent so that you can maintain the house so it is livable, and also to take care of house infrastructure that supports the ability of people to live there.
“There’s no grants for a grocery store if their sewer breaks and there is a backup, so why should there be for somebody who is a landlord?”
Musso says she and Lussier try to keep the rent low for their tenants, and that a large rent increase to cover the cost would likely price them out.
“It’s not like we’re making money on this house, on the rental property,” she said. “Our rental market is lower-income families and lower-income people.”
Musso says she wants to make other property owners aware so they are better prepared for the possibility of tens of thousands in repairs.
“Not many people are aware that if you don’t physically live at your address, you have to pay for sewer repairs, whether it’s on your property or not.”
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