WHY JUSTIN TRUDEAU’S ‘BILL OF RIGHTS’ MAY NOT HELP RENTERS IN B.C.
Justin Trudeau’s proposed renters bill of rights is irrelevant without a massive increase in rental stock, say some housing observers. This past week, the prime minister announced measures to help renters as part of the upcoming federal budget, including a requirement for landlords to disclose their properties’ rental price history so renters can bargain fairly. But housing experts say tenants will still face increasing rents due to the lack of rental stock. “In cities where there are very...
read moreMONTREAL ANNOUNCES MEASURE TO INCREASE LANDLORD ACCOUNTABILITY AMID HOUSING CRISIS
The city of Montreal says it wants to crack down on the housing crisis with measures intended to slow rent increases and hold landlords accountable for lack of maintenance. The measures include an inspection blitz of 10,000 housing units in buildings with six or more units this year. The city is also investing $30,000 in an organization that created an online rent registry. Montreal also wants to increase pressure on landlords to conduct repairs by alerting mortgage creditors when a building...
read moreTPG SAID IN TALKS TO BUY CANADA REIT’S MANUFACTURED HOUSING UNIT
Alternative asset manager TPG Inc. is in talks to buy the manufactured housing business of Canadian Apartment Properties REIT, a move by a major US investor to gain exposure to the historically tight real estate market of its northern neighbour. TPG is in exclusive discussions to acquire the business for more than C$700 million ($519 million), according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. A transaction is not imminent and if a deal...
read moreHOUSING WILL BE KEY IN BUDGET 2024. FOR NDP, THAT MEANS RENOVICTION REFORM
Ahead of what’s expected to be a tight federal budget next month, the NDP is calling for a rental protection fund to stop renovictions as part of what the party is coining its “budget demands.” But there’s no word on what such a proposal could cost, or whether it can fit into what Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and others have stressed is a “constrained” fiscal environment. “If we see rents continue to rise the way they are, and if we can continue to see affordable homes being sold off to...
read moreRENT UP 10.5% NATIONWIDE BUT STAGNANT IN MANY ONTARIO MARKETS, INCLUDING HAMILTON AND OSHAWA
The average asking rent for all property types in Canada increased 10.5 per cent annually to $2,193 per month, the fastest annual growth since September 2023 according to Rentals.ca and Urbanation’s latest National Rent Report. Compared to February 2022, just before the onset of interest rate increases by the Bank of Canada, average asking rents in Canada have increased by 21 per cent, translating to a $384 per month increase nation-wide. “The rapid rate of rent growth in Canada is...
read moreCOVID MADE HOUSING UNAFFORDABILITY “CONTAGIOUS”
Our recently released Rental Market Report (PDF) attracted significant attention. It underscores what Canadians have been experiencing for the past several years — there simply is not enough affordable housing in most areas of the country. Canada is facing the lowest national vacancy rate since the 1980s at 1.5% and a sharp increase in rents of 8%. This is well above the historical average of 2.8%. These numbers are very concerning and paint a sobering picture of our current reality. Even in a...
read moreQUEBEC ADOPTS BILL RESTRICTING LEASE TRANSFERS, OFTEN USED TO LIMIT RENT INCREASES
The Quebec government adopted a controversial housing bill Wednesday that will restrict a popular tool tenants have used for years to limit rent increases. The new law will allow landlords to reject lease transfers for any reason. Previously they had to show they had serious concerns about the new tenant, such as their ability to pay or problematic behaviour. The transfer of leases allowed new tenants to benefit from the existing rent and prevented landlords from jacking up the price, but...
read moreB.C. TO FUND NEW INCOME-TESTED RENTAL HOUSING ON PUBLIC LAND
The provincial government says it will spend $950 million and provide $2 billion in low-cost financing to have thousands of rental homes built on under-used public land, which would then be provided to middle-income earners living in those communities. The announcement is the latest under the province’s Homes for People program, which was announced last April and promised a multi-pronged approach to supply new types of housing in the province, combat rampant speculation and address the...
read moreBANK OF CANADA BELIEVES INTEREST RATES NEED MORE TIME TO WORK, MINUTES REVEAL
The Bank of Canada believes current interest rates are high enough to bring inflation under control, but will not contemplate cutting them until it is convinced price stability has been restored. The central bank left its key overnight interest rate at five per cent last month and central bankers are now weighing how much longer it will have to be maintained at that level, according to a summary of the deliberations that led to the Jan. 24 hold decision. Still, with core inflation of around...
read morePROTESTORS TAKE TO MONTREAL’S STREETS TO OPPOSE QUEBEC HOUSING BILL
Protesters gathered in the Montreal neighbourhood of La Petite-Patrie on Saturday afternoon to voice their opposition to Quebec’s Bill 31 and the province’s housing minister. If adopted, the housing bill would allow landlords to reject any request for a lease transfer — which some tenants see as a way of limiting rent increases — without specifying why, and then cancel the lease. “Tenants in Quebec are suffocating,” said Cédric Dussault, spokesperson for Regroupement...
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