TINY SHARE OF CANADIAN HOMES ARE AIRBNBS THAT HAVE POTENTIAL TO BE LONG-TERM HOUSING
A recent StatsCan study indicates that an estimated 0.69 per cent of the country’s housing stock in 2023 was short-term rentals that had the potential to be long-term housing. Less than 1 per cent of the country’s housing stock are Airbnbs and Vrbo rentals that could be turned into long-term rentals or permanent housing, according to a Statistics Canada study. Housing experts have been trying to understand how short-term rentals (STRs) affect the housing market given that rental vacancy rates...
read moreOVER 100,000 SHORT-TERM RENTALS COULD BE HOMES: STATSCAN REPORT
A new report by Statistics Canada shows the country’s total number of short-term rental listings increased by more than 60 per cent between 2017 and 2023, while the number of short-term rental units that could be used as long-term housing grew by more than 80 per cent. The report identified more than 100,000 short-term rentals that could be homes. But the fact that figure makes up less than one per cent of Canada’s total housing stock, according to the data, only adds more fuel to...
read moreTRUDEAU PLEDGED TO SLOW IMMIGRATION. THE BANK OF CANADA HAS DOUBTS
There’s mounting uncertainty about when and by how much Justin Trudeau’s government will be able to reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada, muddying a key input for fiscal and monetary policymakers. The Bank of Canada raised its population growth forecasts Wednesday, saying the government will probably need more time to limit non-permanent resident inflows. It predicts the number of people over 15 in Canada will rise by 3.3% this year, up from about 3% previously. The pace — among...
read moreFEDERAL EMPLOYMENT BLOAT COSTING TAXPAYERS AT LEAST $10 BILLION ANNUALLY
Buried among the many tables in Statistics Canada’s June employment report are data on public sector employment: federal, provincial and local employees hired by departments, agencies, hospitals and schools, including universities and colleges. As of June, 4.412 million workers were public employees, representing 21.5 per cent of Canada’s workforce. That is an astonishing 972,000 more (28.3 per cent) than in 2014, when 3.439 million Canadians were working for governments. And the numbers don’t...
read morePROPOSAL FOR RENTAL PROPERTY BYLAW TO UNDERGO PUBLIC CONSULTATION
North Battleford’s rental property situation is about to get a closer look following Monday night’s council meeting. “Under the mandate of council’s strategic plan, subsequent discussions related to community safety, community standards and housing challenges and as a result from complaints from the public and general community regarding substandard rental properties, the administration was directed to develop an approach to develop inventory for residential rental properties in the city,”...
read moreRETIREES TAKING A LARGE CHUNK OF THE RENTAL MARKET
One third of Canadian households are renters. And although it’s a common belief that older people are big on property ownership, a key part of the renting pool are Gen Xers and boomers. New census data released by Statistics Canada show renters by individual and by age, instead of household. In Vancouver and Toronto, 30 per cent of individuals over the age of 55 are renters. “This is the first time this population has been broken down by age and made available, so we learn a little more about...
read moreONTARIO GOVERNMENT SETS 2025 RENTAL CAP FOR MOST UNITS
Rent for some homes in Ontario will be capped below the rate of inflation next year, the provincial government announced Friday. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing released its annual rent increase cap ahead of the long weekend, keeping landlords of some properties to increases of 2.5 per cent or less for 2025. The average rate of inflation, the government said, was 3.1 per cent. The cap, however, only applies to homes that were built and first occupied before Nov. 15, 2018. The...
read moreFIXING LANDLORD AND TENANT DISPUTE MECHANISMS COULD HELP ADDRESS HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
Rental housing is scarce in Canada, with demand far exceeding supply. Consequently, rents have skyrocketed over the past few years. The solution, of course, lies in rapidly increasing rental housing, which has proven to be a significant challenge. The rental supply could be boosted immediately if over-housed homeowners made their redundant space available to rent. With aging demographics and many seniors choosing to age in place, tens of thousands of surplus basements and secondary units could...
read moreMISSISSAUGA MAYOR-ELECT WANTS TO WORK WITH FORD GOVERNMENT ON URGENT HOUSING NEEDS
The mayor-elect of Mississauga says she wants to work with Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government to build more homes and plans to strike a panel to speed up the building approval process in her city. Carolyn Parrish, a former long-time Liberal MP, was elected Monday in a competitive mayoral by-election that centred around the city’s housing needs – which she says are urgent. “It’s got to be done fast, because we’re losing people every day,” she said in an interview Tuesday. Mississauga, which...
read moreCOURT RULING PREVENTS DARTMOUTH LANDLORDS FROM MOVING FAMILY OUT TO MOVE DAUGHTER IN
Property owners in Dartmouth, N.S., can’t move a family out of the duplex it has rented for 13 years in order to move their daughter in. A small claims court adjudicator said it would be inappropriate to disrupt the living arrangements for the family of six. In his decision last month, Darrel Pink noted factors including how long the tenants have lived there and the shortage of housing alternatives. A lawyer who represents tenants said the decision sets a precedent and sends a strong...
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