WEEK OF APRIL 1 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
The federal government announced a Canadian Renters Bill of Rights and we cover the headlines.
read moreLANDLORD GROUP’S PUSH TO KILL WINDSOR’S RENTAL LICENSE PROGRAM DISMISSED
The Windsor city councillor who championed a residential rental licensing pilot program is “delighted” with the city’s win in a court challenge to the program made by a group of landlords. On Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Kelly Gorman ruled against Windsor Housing Providers, Inc.’s arguments and dismissed their application. It means the City of Windsor can continue with its Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) program in Ward 1 and Ward 2, which was first...
read moreTRUDEAU ISN’T INTERESTED IN BEING THE PM, HE WANTS TO BE PREMIER
I really don’t know why Justin Trudeau doesn’t step down as prime minister of Canada and run to be premier of Quebec. Based on his policy priorities, this is clearly the level of government that he should be in. Over the past several years, Trudeau has introduced childcare programs, pharmacare, dental care, and now he’s talking about a renter’s bill of rights.To accomplish this goal, like all the other programs, Trudeau will need to negotiate with the provinces and territories. Anything to do...
read moreMONTREAL ANNOUNCES MEASURE TO INCREASE LANDLORD ACCOUNTABILITY AMID HOUSING CRISIS
The city of Montreal says it wants to crack down on the housing crisis with measures intended to slow rent increases and hold landlords accountable for lack of maintenance. The measures include an inspection blitz of 10,000 housing units in buildings with six or more units this year. The city is also investing $30,000 in an organization that created an online rent registry. Montreal also wants to increase pressure on landlords to conduct repairs by alerting mortgage creditors when a building...
read moreSURGE IN APARTMENT STARTS OFFSET PLUNGE IN SINGLE-DETACHED HOME BUILDS IN 2023, CMHC SAYS
The number of single-detached homes being built in Canada’s big metropolitan areas plunged in 2023, even though overall starts were down only slightly, according to housing supply data released Wednesday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. CMHC’s report on new housing construction trends in Canada’s six largest census metropolitan areas (CMAs) — Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal — found that housing construction dropped by 0.5 per cent compared to 2022, with a total...
read moreWEEK OF MARCH 25 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
While the immigration minister is announcing new immigration caps – no one is paying attention to what the finance minister is doing. We tell you what she’s up to.
read moreSOME ONTARIO LANDLORDS ARE CALLING FOR ‘AUTOMATIC’ EVICTIONS FOR TENANTS WHO DON’T PAY RENT
When Zahid Mahmood bought a house in Oshawa, Ont., in 2021, he hoped rental income would help him and his wife save money to pay for post-secondary education for their three children. Walking into the house last month, Mahmood says he was faced with piles of trash, bottles of urine, rodents and dog feces — the mess left behind by former tenants. Mahmood says the tenants moved into the house in May 2022 and stopped paying rent a year later. In August, he and his wife gave the tenants an N4...
read moreN.S. GOVERNMENT EXTENDS REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR SHORT-TERM RENTALS
Airbnb operators and other short-term rentals in Nova Scotia are being handed a break by the Houston government. The Tourist Accommodations Registration Act came into effect in April 2020 requiring accommodations with 28 days or less rent to register each year. Starting last April, short-term accommodations within a host’s primary residence like Airbnb were added to the act. According to a release, the province extended registration today until September to allow “visitors and hosts more time...
read moreTPG SAID IN TALKS TO BUY CANADA REIT’S MANUFACTURED HOUSING UNIT
Alternative asset manager TPG Inc. is in talks to buy the manufactured housing business of Canadian Apartment Properties REIT, a move by a major US investor to gain exposure to the historically tight real estate market of its northern neighbour. TPG is in exclusive discussions to acquire the business for more than C$700 million ($519 million), according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. A transaction is not imminent and if a deal...
read moreTHE EVIDENCE LEAVES NO DOUBT – RENT CONTROL HURTS RENTAL SUPPLY
Many housing advocates champion rent controls as a panacea for rising rents, but a wealth of empirical evidence indicates that while such controls may offer temporary respite to current tenants of controlled units, they invariably inflict long-term damage on future renters. This is because landlords grappling with rents that don’t cover improvement costs often neglect maintenance, leading to a decline in housing quality. This neglect is not just a theoretical possibility, but a real-life...
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