Mayor John Tory pitches tax hike to fund transit & housing
Toronto taxpayers may have to dig a little deeper. Average homeowner can expect to pay $43 more per year starting in 2020. Mayor John Tory says he will go before council later this month with a plan to increase the City Building Fund in the upcoming 2020 budget — initially meant to top out at 2.5% by 2022 — but now expected to peak at 10.5% by 2025. “By approving an increase in this levy … and extending it over the next five years, we can raise needed funds that will be dedicated to improving...
read moreToronto leads in housing overcrowding: StatsCan
In major cities across Canada, rental housing construction has not been a priority for close to 40 years and the effect is an affordable housing crisis that is happening at a time when immigration is at a really high level. Nearly one in 10 Canadian households that rent on the open market are suffering from overcrowding, Statistics Canada reported in the first batch of data from its Canadian Housing Survey. But given Canadian housing affordability has severely eroded over the past decade, and...
read moreLTB Monetary Jurisdiction Increasing in New Year
As of January 1, 2020, the maximum amount that may be claimed in Small Claims Court will increase from $25,000 to $35,000. Because the Landlord and Tenant Board’s (the “LTB”) monetary jurisdiction is equivalent to that of the Small Claims Court, the LTB’s jurisdiction will also be increasing from $25,000 to $35,000. A claim that was filed with the LTB before January 1, 2020 will continue to be limited to $25,000. Landlords who have large damage claims or rent arrears...
read moreVancouver rental developments to be fast-tracked
Vancouver City Council is hoping to fast-track rental developments in more areas of the city with a series of changes. The measures include rental-only zoning, allowing up to six storeys in commercial zones, a new family-friendly housing pilot program for four to six storey buildings close to schools, parks and shops, as well as policies for increased affordability and a partnership with CleanBC that will enable reinvestment in existing buildings while keeping tenants in place. “Vancouver...
read moreToday’s letters: Landlords need protection too
It’s all well and good to strengthen tenants’ rights, but landlords put up with lots of abuse too, says one letter-writer to the Ottawa Citizen. The letter read: How about protecting landlords from abuse? I see that Ottawa Council is contemplating new regulations for landlords. These proposed regulations are designed to protect tenants and include such provisions as a requirement that landlords provide contact information to tenants; instructions for waste management; a large fee...
read moreLandlords association ‘fears anarchy’
People are ‘losing their properties’ because of Landlord and Tenant Board hearing delays. North Bay and area landlords are “losing and at risk of losing their properties,” Tricia Marshall claims. The problem is it takes more than six months to get a hearing with the Landlord and Tenant Board, says Marshall, a member of the Affordable Housing Providers of Ontario and the Near North Landlords Association. The number of adjudicators has dwindled to 24 for all of Ontario, while some...
read moreNew Toronto law means apartment buildings will be given colour-coded ratings, similar to restaurants
Landlords in Toronto will have to pay a fee to the city if they fail to provide for tenants in the event the buildings they live in are evacuated due to fire, flood or other service disruptions — part of a suite of changes adopted by city council Wednesday strengthening tenant rights. Landlords will also have to post a colour-coded sign in a prominent location, displaying a rating from the city, similar to what restaurants currently have to do under DineSafe. The move comes as the city...
read moreToronto wins the right to crack down on shady Airbnb-lords
A long fought battle between the City of Toronto and local Airbnb hosts over new regulations governing short term rentals is finally over after nearly two years of delay-fueled frustration. The provincial government’s Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) announced today that it had ruled in favour of Toronto, effectively allowing the city to crack down on sketchy ‘Airbnb-lords’ for the first time since approving new bylaws to do so in December of 2017. It’s a major...
read moreA LOOK AT REGIONAL HOUSING PROGRAMS JUST ANNOUNCED
Here’s a look at a few housing programs being announced across Ontario. These programs aim to help each region and housing providers meet community needs by preserving and increasing the supply of affordable housing. York community housing, homelessness program get funding boost More than $17 million from the provincial and federal governments will help build, repair and expand housing options. [Read Now] Oshawa regional council contemplates building 1,000 housing units Affordable...
read moreMARKET SPOTLIGHT: VANCOUVER
Here are a number of stories surrounding Vancouver’s rental housing market. Suburbs and beyond lure Vancouver’s rental property investors Vancouver landlords are looking to suburban markets and deeper into the boondocks to capture higher yields and escape the spiralling cost of buying and owning big-city apartment buildings. [Read Now] Vancouver rental completions down 30 per cent from last year: report After years of a chronically low rental vacancy rate, Vancouver lags far behind its...
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