LANDLORD GROUP’S PUSH TO KILL WINDSOR’S RENTAL LICENSE PROGRAM DISMISSED
The Windsor city councillor who championed a residential rental licensing pilot program is “delighted” with the city’s win in a court challenge to the program made by a group of landlords. On Monday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Kelly Gorman ruled against Windsor Housing Providers, Inc.’s arguments and dismissed their application. It means the City of Windsor can continue with its Residential Rental Licensing (RRL) program in Ward 1 and Ward 2, which was first...
read moreSOME ONTARIO LANDLORDS ARE CALLING FOR ‘AUTOMATIC’ EVICTIONS FOR TENANTS WHO DON’T PAY RENT
When Zahid Mahmood bought a house in Oshawa, Ont., in 2021, he hoped rental income would help him and his wife save money to pay for post-secondary education for their three children. Walking into the house last month, Mahmood says he was faced with piles of trash, bottles of urine, rodents and dog feces — the mess left behind by former tenants. Mahmood says the tenants moved into the house in May 2022 and stopped paying rent a year later. In August, he and his wife gave the tenants an N4...
read moreFIRST WE TRIED TINY CONDOS, NOW ARE TINY HOUSE RENTALS GOING TO HELP OUR HOUSING CRISIS?
The latest is a report from the Task Force for Housing and Climate, which is made up of politicians, academics and private sector stakeholders, with over 140 policy actions they recommended for federal, provincial and municipal governments. While all of this effort is welcomed given the extent of our housing affordability crisis, it once again shows that good intentions alone are not enough when it comes to housing policy. It takes very little for policies to incentivize the wrong behaviour in...
read moreINFRASTRUCTURE OR NON-PROFIT RENTAL BUILDINGS? HOW SHOULD TORONTO SPEND PROVINCE’S $114 MILLION HOUSING “REWARD”
Following the Ontario government recently “rewarding” the City of Toronto with $114 million for exceeding its Housing Action Plan targets by 51 per cent, conversations surrounding how the money should be spent have begun. Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford believes this newly available funding should go towards city infrastructure. “There are a couple things the province outlined that we could do with the money, but we need to be investing this in the infrastructure to enable growth,”...
read moreWILL RENTAL HOUSING PRICES DROP IN 2024?
An ongoing boom in apartment construction has helped slow down rental inflation — but renters shouldn’t expect prices to drop dramatically from their pandemic-padded highs. That means affordability will remain the dominant narrative in rental housing in 2024. The combination of a pandemic economic rebound, a longtime shortage of rental housing stock and high interest rates on mortgages created a perfect storm for rental prices to spike beginning in 2021 and peaking last spring, inflation data...
read moreHAMMER HEADS AND HAZELVIEW INVESTMENTS FORM INVESTMENTS TRADE APPRENTICE PARTNERSHIP
Hazelview Investments partners with Hammer Heads to formalize Trade Apprenticeship Partnership which will support under-resourced and Indigenous youth with apprenticeship career opportunities in the Greater Toronto Area. Created by the Central Ontario Building Trades (COBT), Hammer Heads is a community-based initiative that offers access to meaningful employment in the skilled trades. “Our 12-week comprehensive skills development program was designed to train and place under-resourced...
read moreCONCERNS ABOUT RENT INCREASES AFTER MONTREAL TENANTS SIGN RENOVATION AGREEMENT
For 29 years, Muguette Payette has lived at her studio apartment in downtown Montreal. She never thought she would have to leave. “If I don’t have an apartment, a decent apartment, what am I going to do? I’m going to be outside in the street,” Payette told CTV News. Recently, a new landlord purchased her building and the adjacent one on Fort Street. Shortly after, Payette says she met with two employees from the company that owns the building, and they offered her a...
read moreCANADA’S HOUSING CRISIS: NEW FUNDING ISN’T A ‘LONG-TERM’ SOLUTION, WARNS RESEARCHER
As a crushing housing stock shortage, record prices and skyrocketing rents spur an exodus from Canada’s biggest cities, the federal government announced almost $100 million in new funding to tackle rent affordability. One researcher is warning, however, that although the additional support is “absolutely needed” it’s not a long-term solution to a growing problem. “The yawning gap between affordable rents and what people are earning … won’t be helped very...
read moreDON’T MEET ALL THE CRITERIA? TRY THE RENT BANK ANYWAY, SAYS HOUSING MINISTER
People who aren’t sure whether they’re eligible to receive a grant from New Brunswick’s rent bank should still apply, said Housing Minister Jill Green. The rent bank, first announced as a loan program last summer, launched in December — three weeks ahead of schedule. With $3 million in funding for two years, New Brunswickers can receive as much as $2,750 in grants from the rent bank to pay for utilities, rental arrears or security deposits on new apartments. People can only...
read moreSTALLED CONSTRUCTION AND SUPPLY SHORTAGES FUEL RECORD-HIGH RENT PRICES ACROSS CANADA
liv.rent’s recently released 2024 Rental Market Trend Report unveils surprising trends that renters and landlords should be aware of. This report delves into crucial rental data from 2023, covering rent prices, construction trends, and migration patterns to provide a snapshot of the current Canadian rental market and the primary forces shaping its ongoing dynamics. Inside the 43-page report, you’ll find new data and exclusive insights drawn from liv.rent’s own rental market analysis and...
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