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 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 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 moreShort-term rentals impacting Halifax’s rental market
After a $400 rent increase pushed her out of her house, Samantha McPhee has been on the hunt for a new place, but she says prices everywhere have skyrocketed over the past few years. “There shouldn’t be two-bedroom apartments for $1,500, $1,700 — it’s not OK, and these places are in less-than-desirable neighbourhoods. They don’t fit $1,500 price ranges,” she said. McPhee says even when she is able to find a place within her budget, it goes fast. She said called the landlord for one place she...
read moreRental demand to boost further apartment construction – CMHC
Ever-increasing prices in Canada’s hottest residential markets will trigger accelerated demand for rental space – in turn driving near-future growth in apartment construction, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In its Fall 2018 Housing Market Outlook, the Crown corporation stated that this would be especially evident in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. “Single-family existing home sales and starts will post a partial recovery in 2019 as better than expected job growth and...
read moreShort-term rental rules eyed
Sarnia is considering beefing up regulations for short-term rentals, amid a situation one councillor says is eating into local long-term housing supply and disrupting neighbourhoods. Sarnia is considering beefing up regulations for short-term rentals amid a situation one councillor says is eating into the local long-term housing supply and disrupting neighbourhoods. “A lot of communities have jumped on this issue, and they recognize it as a massive problem,” said Coun. Bill Dennis. Locally, he...
read moreRent increase guideline for 2020
The rent increase guideline is 2.2% for increases between January 1 and December 31, 2020. Who it applies to The guideline applies to most private residential rental units covered by the Residential Tenancies Act. The guideline does not apply to: vacant residential units social housing units nursing homes commercial properties This guideline also does not apply to new buildings, additions to existing buildings and most new basement apartments that are occupied for the first time for...
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