B.C. LANDLORD CAN INCREASE RENT 23.5% BECAUSE OF VARIABLE MORTGAGE: ARBITRATOR
A potentially precedent-setting ruling from the Residential Tenancy Branch has prompted B.C. Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon to review regulations for special rent increase applications from landlords. At issue is a recently published May 8 ruling that allowed a landlord to increase rent by 23.5 per cent for four tenants. The landlord claimed that their increase in mortgage financing costs, due to a sharp rise in interest rates in 2022, “could not have been foreseen under reasonable...
read moreWHY CANADIAN LANDLORD GROUPS SAY PUSH TO VOID ‘NO PET’ CLAUSES IS ‘UNFAIR’
As a petition is being pushed to end pet restrictions in rental housing, some organizations representing landlords in Canada are cautioning voiding such clauses in the proposed federal renters’ bill of rights could create conflicts. Last month, Humane Canada started a parliamentary petition asking the House of Commons to include a specific provision for tenants with pets in the proposed bill of rights, calling for “no pet” clauses to be voided “so that tenants with pets are no longer excluded...
read moreTORONTO’S CONDO MARKET IS FACING ITS BIGGEST TEST SINCE THE 1990S RECESSION
Canadian housing markets have taken some knocks over the past few years as interest rates and inflation soared, but few have had it as rough as Toronto’s condo market. While the low-rise market in the Greater Toronto Area is holding its own, conditions in the condo market are deteriorating to levels not seen in decades, says a report by Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets, and Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation. Their report describes how the condo market has...
read moreMORE QUEBEC LANDLORDS REFUSING TENANTS WITH ANY RENTAL BOARD RECORD
Tenants’ rights advocates say landlords openly using records from Quebec’s housing tribunal against prospective renters is cause for concern. CBC News has reviewed dozens of postings specifically spelling out that having any record with the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) will influence your shot at getting the place. Some landlords are considering any interaction with the TAL as a potential red flag. The TAL enforces housing law and protects both tenants and...
read moreA DOWNTOWN APARTMENT FOR $1,200 A MONTH? HERE IS ONE GROUP’S PLAN ON HOW TORONTO CAN RETHINK ITS VACANT OFFICE SPACE
A Canadian think-tank has a plan to keep young people from fleeing urban centres in search of more affordable accommodations. As part of its Toboggan Flats project, Youthful Cities is working on a plan to convert vacant office spaces in Canada’s urban centres into residential co-living developments for young people struggling to pay rent in the country’s most expensive cities. “Downtowns are starting to hollow out because people aren’t coming back to work,” Robert Barnard, co-founder of...
read moreWEST VANCOUVER APPROVES NEW DEMOVICTION PROTECTIONS FOR RENTERS
West Vancouver renters can rest a little easier knowing that developers will have to make significant accommodations for them should their existing homes be demolished and redeveloped. At a meeting Monday evening, council unanimously approved a newly created rental replacement and tenant assistance policy. The final version of the policy includes a more tailored approach to tenant relocation plans than previous iterations, considering factors such as the size of renters’ units, their length of...
read moreCANADIAN RENTAL HOUSING CRISIS: A CALL FOR LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT
Canada faces a significant challenge in its rental housing crisis due to a lack of new affordable units being built. Despite efforts through the National Housing Strategy’s five programs, only 17,000 units were delivered over four years, barely improving Ottawa’s track record from the past 30 years. For instance, between 1996 and 2013, provincial and federal governments provided less than 7,000 new units. On the other hand, between 1987 and 2021, the United States constructed 3.5 million...
read moreNOVA SCOTIA TO OVERHAUL PUBLIC HOUSING RENTS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Nova Scotia is overhauling its public housing rent system, transitioning fixed-rate rents to an income-based model for over 1,400 tenants. The changes will mainly affect tenants with higher incomes, who will see their rents rise gradually over the next few years. Housing minister John Lohr said the new model aims to create a “fairer and more consistent” system. Under the new system, tenants with higher incomes will see their rent increase by 5% annually for the first three years....
read moreCHANGES COMING FOR TENANTS PAYING FIXED RENT IN NOVA SCOTIA’S PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS
Nova Scotia is changing the rules for those who pay a fixed amount of rent for public housing, a move the government says is aimed at achieving fairness and consistency. Housing Minister John Lohr made the announcement Thursday, saying that over the next four years, 1,445 public housing tenants — about 13 per cent of the total — will start paying rent based on their household income, which means they could be paying more or less than they are now. Lohr said the other 87 per cent of tenants...
read moreCANADIAN REAL ESTATE MARKETS WON’T SEE A BIG BOOST FROM RATE CUT
Canadian real estate markets hit pause, with the theory being rate cuts would revive the market. That theory is playing out for sellers, but one of Canada’s banks doesn’t see it driving many new buyers. A new analysis from BMO argues the Bank of Canada (BoC) rate cut may boost sentiment, but won’t provide much affordability relief. In the near-term, they see the market being contained by surging inventory and a lack of affordability. Canadian Real Estate May Get A Sentiment Boost From Cuts,...
read more