HOMELESS WINNIPEGGERS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT RAPID AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN
Some members of Winnipeg’s homeless community are cautiously optimistic about a federal plan to spend $1 billion over the next six months to create new affordable housing units across the country. The Liberal government is making the cash available to municipalities, provinces and non-profit organizations for the purchase of land and property that have become vacant during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding can also be used to cover the construction of modular housing. The program is...
read moreWALL STREET’S NEW SUBURBAN SUBDIVISION IS FULL OF RENTERS
Wall Street won big buying up homes during the foreclosure crisis and renting them out. Now, it’s headed back to the suburbs in hopes of scoring again. With the pandemic driving demand for larger living spaces, institutional investors are pouring money into single-family rentals. In addition to buying houses on the open market, they’re bankrolling subdivisions — inventing a new kind of suburban living that’s easier to afford, but where the financial benefits of homeownership go to Wall...
read moreTORONTO LOOKS AT FORCING NEW CONDO DEVELOPERS TO DEDICATE 10% OF RESIDENTIAL SPACE TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Toronto’s chief planner is proposing new condominium developments in parts of the city be required to dedicate 10 per cent of their space to affordable rentals or owned homes and be guaranteed affordable for 99 years. Under the proposal, to be presented to a committee meeting on Tuesday, any condo development above a certain size in “strong market” areas of the city — including much of the old city and North Toronto, southwest Scarborough and Scarborough Town Centre, Don Mills, York Mills and...
read morePEEL LOAN PROGRAM FOR SECOND UNIT AND BASEMENT RENOVATIONS LOOKS TO CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING
The Region of Peel announced it will be launching their ‘My Home Second Unit’ renovation pilot program in October 2020 to help residents repair their existing “illegal” or unregistered basements and second units. The program approved in February 2020 following a motion moved by Regional Councillor Gurpreet Singh Dhillon, was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The program will allow eligible homeowners to secure a 10-year interest-free loan to upgrade and renovate their existing unregistered...
read moreRENTAL HOUSING AND EVICTIONS
The Globe and Mail, in partnership with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) hosted a virtual event on September 16 to discuss the path forward for Canada’s rental housing market. Here are some of the highlights from the discussion: Rentals are key to affordable housing CMHC has set a goal to provide all Canadians with housing they can afford by 2030, said Romy Bowers, senior vice-president of client solutions with CMHC. In cities such as Toronto and Vancouver home ownership is less...
read moreTIPS ON MAINTAINING YOUR BUILDING’S LAUNDRY ROOM
A clean, well-lit laundry room is a valuable amenity for your apartment building. Not only does an inviting laundry area make a positive first impression on potential renters, it gives current residents a sense of security when laundry day arrives. Here are a few ideas to help you make your apartment building the rental of choice with a welcoming, community-focused laundry room. Communicate COVID-19 guidelines During these times, most residents are likely concerned for their health. Keep a...
read moreTORONTO TENANTS RENT INCREASES AFTER $100 GIFT CARDS HANDED OUT FOR LOCKDOWN HARDSHIPS
Early in the COVID-19 lockdown, a Toronto apartment rental company was praised for offering $100 grocery gift cards to tenants and donating funds to local charities. In addition to the generous donations, Greenrock Real Estate Advisors also offered flexible rent payments when many laid-off residents worried about making April 1 rent payments. So it came as a surprise when some Greenrock tenants in 40 and 50 Alexander Street and 55 Maitland Street learned they owed a lump sum of more than...
read moreHAS COVID REALLY RESULTED IN TORONTO RESIDENTS FLEEING TO THE SUBURBS?
Fed up with crowds, fearful of elevators and sick of inadequate space for a home office … is the COVID-19 pandemic pushing urbanites to ditch the city for a house in the ‘burbs, or even as far away as cottage country? The latest figures from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) numbers seem to back up the trend, with overall sales growth in the 905 area (near Toronto) higher than in the city’s 416 centre. But the reality is more complicated, experts say. That’s because moving to the...
read more‘THE DOOR GETS SHUT ON THEM’: YUKON NGOS HELP CLIENTS FIND HOUSING
Yukon non-profit groups are appealing to landlords on business terms, promising stability and accountability if their clients are accepted as tenants. The non-profit groups guarantee they’ll pay rent, and will also be accountable for damage. “We as an organization become the tenant. We rent from the landlord and then rent out that unit to our clients,” explains Elena Ross, housing navigator for the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre. Since 2013, a program called Landlords...
read moreCOVID-19 IS EXPOSING FUNDAMENTAL FLAWS IN THE CANADIAN HOUSING MARKET
Provincial eviction bans across Canada have begun to end. The bans were initially adopted as a response to the economic shut-down induced by COVID-19. These bans, along with income support from the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), have maintained the integrity of the housing market during the pandemic. But with COVID-19 still in full swing and eviction bans being lifted, it could spell bad news for low-income renters and potentially the Canadian economy. While the U.S. was plunged...
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