Hiring a Gas Contractor for Your Ontario Rental? Check TSSA Registration First

HAMILTON, Ont., Nov. 3, 2026: In Ontario, a business that installs or services gas appliances must be registered as a contractor with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), and the person doing the work must hold a TSSA certificate. On Nov. 2, TSSA announced that a Hamilton fuel worker was fined $22,500 for doing gas work without that registration. Before booking, landlords can check TSSA registration online.

What happened in the Hamilton gas work case?

According to TSSA's Nov. 2, 2026 release, the worker pleaded guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice to two offences under the Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000: performing regulated gas work without the required contractor registration, and failing to comply with a TSSA inspector's order. TSSA says the worker improperly installed a furnace at a Hamilton home, and the furnace was later found to be leaking natural gas, an immediate safety hazard. TSSA says it had ordered the worker to register in 2020; the worker did not. The court imposed fines totalling $22,500, plus a 25% victim fine surcharge.

What does Ontario law require of a gas contractor?

Ontario's gaseous fuels regulation says no person shall act as a contractor unless registered for that purpose (O. Reg. 212/01, s. 21(1)). A "contractor" is anyone who carries on the business of installing, removing, repairing, altering or servicing appliances (s. 1).

Registration covers the business; a certificate covers the person. Under s. 6(1) of the same regulation, no one may install, alter, purge, activate, repair, service or remove a gas appliance without a certificate for that purpose. Under the fuel industry certificates regulation, a gas technician 2 (G.2) may install and service natural gas or propane appliances with an input of 400,000 Btuh or less (O. Reg. 215/01, s. 21(1)).

The maximum fine for an individual convicted of an offence under the Act is $50,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both, and up to $1,000,000 for a corporation (Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000, s. 37(1.1)).

What it means for landlords

In Ontario, the landlord is responsible for keeping the rental unit in a good state of repair and for complying with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 20(1)). Separately, the owner or user of a gas appliance must ensure it is maintained in a safe operating condition (O. Reg. 212/01, s. 15). For who pays when heating equipment breaks, see our guide to furnace and heat pump repairs in an Ontario rental and the wider landlord's duty to repair.

The case lands during Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, which Ontario law sets as the week beginning Nov. 1 each year (Hawkins Gignac Act (Carbon Monoxide Safety), 2013, s. 1). In a joint Nov. 2 release, TSSA and the Office of the Fire Marshal asked Ontarians to have fuel-burning appliances inspected by a TSSA-registered fuel contractor and to buy CO alarms carrying a CSA, ULC or ETL certification mark.

What to do now

• Look the contractor up before you book. TSSA's Authorized Heating Fuel Contractors lookup searches by company name, authorization number, city or postal code, and fuel type. TSSA notes the list is not an endorsement.
• Ask for the numbers. Get the contractor's TSSA registration number on the quote or invoice, and ask which certificate the technician holds for the job.
• Book an inspection. Use a registered contractor and keep the invoice with the unit's records.
• Check the CO alarms. Where a suite has a fuel-burning appliance, flue or fireplace, the Ontario Fire Code requires a CO alarm next to each sleeping area and on each storey without one (O. Reg. 213/07, Div. B, 2.16.2.1(1)). The landlord must test them every year and after every change in tenancy (6.3.4.8(2)(a)) and give the tenant the manufacturer's maintenance instructions (6.3.4.4).
• Watch for recalls. Our note on space heater and gas boiler recalls covers what to do if equipment in a unit is named.