MAJOR ZONING MOVE COULD BRING MORE MULTI-UNIT LOWRISES TO OTTAWA’S CORE
Older neighbourhoods in Ottawa could soon see more lowrise apartment buildings popping up between houses as the city updates its zoning rules in an attempt to encourage more rental units. The changes to what are known as R4 zones are four years in the making, and stem from the city’s earlier issues with illegal rooming houses in neighbourhoods such as Sandy Hill and Old Ottawa South. City staff closed a loophole allowing the rooming houses a few years ago, but also saw them as a symptom...
read moreVANCOUVER TO CONSIDER ELIMINATING MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW BUILDINGS
A new motion by Vancouver city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung calls for the consideration of the abolition of parking minimums — the minimum number of on-site parking spaces that must be provided by newly constructed buildings, according to municipal regulations. She says there is a growing trend amongst North American cities of reassessing parking capacity requirements against housing and environmental considerations. The City of Edmonton approved the complete elimination of parking...
read moreBRITISH COLUMBIA 2020 AND 2021 RENT INCREASES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
2020 Rent Increase: 2.6% 2021 Rent Increase: 1.4% 2020 Rent Increases Rent Increase Notices served in December 2019 would have had an effective date of April 1, 2020. In late March there was a Ministerial Order which delayed these increases and any future increases to the end of the Provincial State of Emergency. Through a change to the Residential Tenancy Regulations, this new effective date was changed from the end of State of Emergency to December 1, 2020. This change means that any rent...
read moreTORONTO IS FINALLY STARTING TO ENFORCE ITS OWN SHORT TERM RENTAL RULES
Next month, nearly three years after city council voted to crack down on Toronto’s booming (and largely-unregulated) Airbnb market, government officials will at long last start enforcing their own hard fought-for short term rental rules. The city announced the news on Tuesday, warning all Toronto residents who rent out their homes for less than 28 days at a time that they’ll need to register as short-term rental operators by the end of this year. “Beginning September 10,...
read moreRENT HIKE IN B.C. IS FROZEN, BUT PROVINCE SAYS LANDLORDS CAN EVICT
A payment plan has been set out for renters in British Columbia who haven’t been able to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic as a government moratorium on evictions ends on Sept. 1. Renters in arrears between March 18 and Aug. 17 will have until at least next July to pay back the money owed to landlords. The government says landlords and renters need to work out a payment plan with the extra payment due with the monthly rent. The province has also extended its prohibition on rent...
read morePANDEMIC EXACERBATES LANDLORD-TENANT POWER STRUGGLE WITH BOTH SIDES CRYING FOUL
Dean Thornhill, a small-scale landlord and resident of Brampton, Ont., has been waiting for almost six months to get an eviction hearing at the province’s Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). He claims problems with his tenants — who live in the basement of his home — started back in February. They were allegedly noisy and sent constant messages with “unrealistic demands,” leading him to file an eviction application citing harassment with the board (none of his claims have been proven). Then the...
read moreBYLAW CHANGES TO ADD FLEXIBILITY FOR RENTALS IN BURNABY ‘URBAN VILLAGES’
Property owners in Burnaby’s “urban villages” may soon be able to build rental housing above shops without needing to go through the lengthy rezoning process. City council gave staff approval recently to move forward on a zoning bylaw amendment to conform with the rental use zoning policy, which was given final approval earlier this year, along with a few amendments. The policy requires developers in multi-family districts to include a significant number of below-market rental units – defined...
read moreCITY RELEASES PROPOSED BYLAW TO REGULATE RENTAL PROPERTIES
A bylaw proposed by the city would make sure landlords maintain their rental units and encourage tenants to help keep cockroaches, rats and other pests out of the building. The draft bylaw published by the city on Tuesday would effectively set a minimum standard for all rental housing in Ottawa, including social housing. Council last year rejected the idea of a licensing regime for landlords but directed staff to establish additional regulations for Ottawa’s residential rental industry. Under...
read moreNEW LAW WILL ENCOURAGE LANDLORDS AND TENANTS TO NEGOTIATE REPAYMENT AGREEMENTS AMID COVID-19
Ontario’s Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, which has received royal assent, seeks to better protect tenants and to improve the stability of the province’s rental market. The legislation amends the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, the Housing Services Act, 2011 and the Building Code Act, 1992, as well as repeals the Ontario Mortgage and Housing Corporation Act. The Act introduces numerous legislative changes, such as the following: The Act encourages repayment...
read moreTORONTO MAKES MASKS MANDATORY IN APARTMENT BUILDINGS
Toronto City Council has passed a roster of new bylaws meant to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 as Toronto moves to Stage 3 of re-opening. Among the bylaws passed by council Wednesday is a temporary requirement that most people wear masks while inside lobbies, elevators, laundry rooms and other shared spaces in condo and apartment buildings. The new bylaw requires building owners or operators to have a policy to ensure masks or face coverings are worn by individuals in enclosed...
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