Accumulating ice and snow on rooftops can be hazardous — so much so that Greater Sudbury has a bylaw against it.

The property standards bylaw is in place to maintain the property value of homes or buildings that could be damaged by an excessive pile of snow.

People who shovel rooftops in Sudbury are keeping busy clearing heavy loads of snow as temperatures across the region rise. (Supplied)

The manager of compliance and enforcement with the city also said the rule is in place to both protect citizens from falling chunks of snow or ice.

"You don't want the snow and ice to accumulate on the top of your building and cause the roof to cave in,” said Darlene Barker.

She noted bylaw officers will only enforce the rule if they receive a complaint.

‘Running into a lot of problems’

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Chris LeBrun, owner of 2 Brothers 2 Shovels. His business clears snow and ice from rooftops.

His toughest job ever was a carport last week.

"We arrive there and there was actually a bow in the middle of it ... ‘cause there was so much snow there,” he said.

“We actually had to stand on the edges where the beams were and shovel off our weight before we can get up there."

LeBrun said he has seen an excess of melting snow cause flooding, damaged pipes and mould.

The sudden change in temperature means melting snow and ice are starting to slide off rooftops, which is keeping LeBrun busy.

"All winter long it’s been just building up and not melting away,” he said.

“So people are running into a lot of problems with flooding even. I've had to pump out a few basements already too.”