Does rent control stifle construction? Until there’s more data, the jury’s still out
But evidence mounts that demand-side measures are ineffective. Ontario has done yet another somersault on rent control regulations. Premier Doug Ford’s government recently reversed the stringent rent control regulations that were enforced last year by the Liberals. Under the revised regulations, new or previously unoccupied rental units will no longer be subject to rent control. Existing tenants in purpose-built or private rentals will continue to be protected. The change in regulation...
read moreMerry Christmas!
Greeting you with hugs and cheers! May this holiday bring joy and peace to your home. We extend our very best wishes for a Merry Christmas!
read moreChanges to LTB Rules, Guidelines and Forms
The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) has provided a few Holiday goodies and “lumps of coal” just in time for the Holidays! As this is an electronic Bulletin you have access to the documents by clicking on the underlined links. We have bolded some significant changes below. There are important changes to the Rules of Procedure, forms, and two Interpretation Guidelines: Guideline 6: Tenant Rights and Guideline 12: Eviction for Personal Use, Demolition, Repairs and Conversion. Here are...
read moreLandlords Tackle Homelessness at Community Event
Belleville, December 19, 2018. Landlords, members of the public, local government officials and community stakeholders recently met to discuss ways to reduce homelessness in the Quinte Region. The December 17 event hosted by the Quinte Region Landlords Association was chaired by President Robert Gentile and the discussion led by guest speaker Ruth Ingersoll of the Community Development Council of Quinte. The main purpose of the event was to educate housing providers of alternatives to eviction...
read moreTasso Eracles Resigns from FirstService Residential
After decades in our industry and with an impressive portfolio including his role in building FirstService Residential Ontario, Tasso Eracles is resigning. In his letter of resignation, obtained by RHB he said, “It is with mixed emotions that I’m writing to advise you that I am resigning from FirstService Residential effective December 31, 2018 to pursue other opportunities. It certainly is a new beginning rather than an end.” In 1998, Tasso Eracles founded Simerra Property Management,...
read moreDeveloper Uses Passive House for Better Affordable Housing
Building as many homes as possible, as cheaply as possible, could seem like the best way to create affordable housing. But, like with most things, you get what you pay for. Spending money up front to create energy-efficient buildings with lower maintenance and operating costs is a better approach. Developers like Hamilton-based Indwell believe that low-energy design and construction are the smart way to build affordable housing. “It’s actually quite doable to reduce energy use and get a better...
read moreLandlordBC RentalHousing Task Force Recommendations Released.
Today, December 12, 2018, Chair Spencer Chandra Herbert and his fellow task force members released their Rental Housing Task Force recommendations as they pertain to the Residential Tenancy Act. The Task Force completed their consideration of the various submission they received and research they conducted and put forth their recommendations to the Premier and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing today. The recommendations are generally balanced and largely represent a modernizing of...
read moreInvestment in Alberta not all it appears to be
Investment activity in Alberta looks promising, but a closer look at the numbers tells a different story. An analysis by Altus Group of activity through the third quarter of 2018 revealed the provincial capital bore witness to $3.1 billion of investment, which is a 38% increase over the same quarter in 2017 and a whopping 86% spike over the first three quarters of 2016. Breaking down those numbers, the industrial sector’s investment by the end of Q3 was $638.7 million, and retail investment...
read moreMorneau vows to focus on China trade as Huawei tensions mount
Finance Minister Bill Morneau said he’s remaining focused on enhancing the trade relationship between Canada and China – and keeping that separate from the legal issues at hand – in the wake of escalating tensions over the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. “Our goal has to be to keep these things separate,” Morneau told BNN Bloomberg’s Amanda Lang in an interview from the Toronto Global Forum on Wednesday. “So we have to look at trade as something that’s in the important long-term interest of...
read moreToronto and Vancouver most ‘vulnerable’ to rate hikes: CMHC
Canadians living in two of the country’s largest cities may find themselves more “vulnerable” to interest rate increases as personal debt levels in Toronto and Vancouver continue to hit record-levels, warns a report by Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. The housing agency says the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio for those living in Vancouver climbed to 242 per cent in the second quarter, which ended June 30. That means that for every $1 of disposable income, $2.42 is owed. It was...
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