When a Surrey tenant reports no heat, a landlord's first job is a few quick questions, then getting a licensed technician in fast.
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Quick answer
When a tenant reports no heat, ask a few quick questions first, whether the thermostat is set correctly and has power, whether a breaker or switch near the furnace has tripped, and whether they smell gas, since a gas smell changes the response entirely and means telling them to leave and call FortisBC. Otherwise, arrange a licensed technician promptly, and as a landlord in Surrey, know whether the affected unit is served by the main furnace or a suite's own system.
Need a licensed gas fitter for your gas furnace? Call CANRO at (604) 359-1081 — residential natural-gas heating and hot water across Metro Vancouver since 1999.
Before dispatching anyone, a quick phone call with the tenant can rule out the easiest causes: is the thermostat set to heat and above room temperature, does it have working batteries if it's battery-powered, and has a breaker tripped. These take a minute to check and sometimes resolve the issue immediately without a visit.
If the tenant mentions any smell of gas along with no heat, stop troubleshooting immediately and tell them to leave the unit, avoid switches, and call FortisBC at 1-800-663-9911 from outside. This is a different, more urgent situation than a furnace simply not turning on, and it should never be treated as a routine maintenance call.
In a Surrey rental with a secondary suite, confirm whether the affected unit is on its own dedicated furnace or shares the main house's system, since that changes both the diagnosis and who else in the property might be affected. If you're not certain which setup your property has, that's worth confirming with a technician even outside of an active no-heat call.
When you call CANRO, describe what the tenant reported, whether the simple checks were already ruled out, and which unit or suite is affected. This lets the technician arrive prepared rather than starting the diagnosis from zero, which is especially useful if you can't be on site yourself and the tenant will be letting the technician in independently.
Let the tenant know a technician has been booked and give them a general sense of timing rather than a fixed promise, since diagnosis time varies. Clear, timely communication matters as much to tenants as the actual repair speed, particularly during a cold stretch, and a tenant who feels informed is generally far more patient than one who's been left wondering whether anyone is coming at all.
A single no-heat call is a good prompt to ask when the furnace was last serviced, since many end up tracing back to a unit that hasn't had a maintenance visit in several years. Scheduling an annual service after the immediate repair is resolved is generally far cheaper than the pattern of reactive, urgent calls that comes from skipping it, and it gives you a documented baseline to point to if the same unit acts up again, which also helps if you ever need to show a prospective tenant or a future buyer that the equipment has genuinely been looked after over time.
Call the CANRO office, describe the situation, and we'll get a licensed technician scheduled to diagnose the furnace serving your tenant's unit.
Safety note
Any furnace work that involves the gas line, burner, or venting must be done by a Technical Safety BC licensed gas fitter; CANRO holds gas licence LGA0043870. If you ever smell gas or suspect a leak, leave the home first, avoid switches and phones inside, and call FortisBC at 1-800-663-9911 from outside before doing anything else.
Check the thermostat setting and power, whether a breaker has tripped, and specifically ask whether they smell gas.
Tell them to leave the unit immediately, avoid switches, and call FortisBC at 1-800-663-9911 from outside; this is not a routine no-heat call.
Yes, it changes the diagnosis and whether other units in the property might also be affected; confirm this with a technician if you're unsure.
We don't promise a fixed arrival time, but describing the situation clearly when you call helps us schedule appropriately.
Give them a general sense of timing and let them know a licensed technician has been booked, rather than a fixed promise you can't guarantee.
Simple checks like the thermostat and breaker are fine; anything involving the furnace's gas components should be left to a licensed technician.
Family-run, TSBC-licensed (gas LGA0043870 · boiler LBP0046450), serving Metro Vancouver homes since 1999. Residential, natural gas only.
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