RHB’s forum for rental housing associations to share news, events and industry information
Hot Topics: LPMA introduces Karen's Place London, which offers support and mentoring to disadvantaged women, and provides advice on how to avoid human rights complaints when selecting tenants. pg. 49 EOLO discusses the City's requirements for solid waste collection, the Rental Housing Management By-law, and the differences between rent supplements and housing allowances. pg. 53 HDAA discusses new and updated bylaws involving short-term rentals, renovictions, safe apartment buildings, and vital services. pg. 57 IPOANS discusses its advocacy efforts involving the rent cap, the Nova Scotia Rental Tenancies Program, the HRM bylaw, and rental housing affordability. pg. 61
The Member Associations
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE LPMA members unite for fall events LPMA has started its new calendar year on a positive note. We held our first event—our annual charity golf tournament—on September 11. It was a fantastic day filled with great weather, golf, and an opportunity to meet new and current members. The real winner of the day was our charity, Karen’s Place London, and we raised $11,200. It was great to see our members coming together to support this fantastic initiative. LPMA’s education committee is preparing for our first members meeting of the fall on Tuesday, October 10. Join us at Highland Country Club, starting at 5:30 Richie Anand pm, for a discussion of legal matters, particularly the recent amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act and processes before the Landlord and Tenant Board. Our panel of knowledgeable and experienced speakers will guide you through the changes and answer questions. Mark your calendar for the annual Christmas party. It will be held on December 5 from 5 pm to 8 pm at Museum London. Sincerely,
- Richie Anand, President, LPMA
KAREN’S PLACE LONDON GIVES DISADVANTAGED WOMEN HOPE FOR A BETTER FUTURE On a tree-lined street in London’s historic Woodfield district stands a three-storey yellow brick home that offers something unexpected: a fresh start in life for older, homeless women. The home was inspired by London developer and LPMA member Karen Crich, who passed away in 2021. Karen’s Place London gives five women over the age of 50 a safe, stable environment for up to two years. During that time, volunteers show the women how to clean and deal with household glitches as they arise, says executive director Mona Wuytenburg. The women also learn how to set a budget and participate in cooking classes that help them prepare nutritious, costeffective meals. A live-in mentor supervises the household during the evening and overnight hours in exchange for a small stipend and free room and board. The
mentor, once homeless herself, is a valuable role model, Wuytenburg says. “She’s a beacon of light for the five residents. When they’re having a tough time, they look at her and realize, ‘Yes, I can,’ because she did.” The women pay deeply discounted amounts for room, board, and groceries as a percentage of their social assistance payments. The long-term aim is to help them develop the skills they need to become model tenants once they move into an apartment or a room in a house. “That’s where the two years come into play. It gives them the time to slowly build up their skills,” notes Wuytenburg, who plans and implements programs, buys groceries, trains volunteers, and talks to groups about the project. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) selects the women from within its group homes. Karen’s Place London has contracted the association to provide the services of a mental health and addictions worker, and its mobile nursing unit and 24-hour crisis unit as needed. “Regardless of what’s going on, the CMHA has the supports that will be necessary for those tough times,” Wuytenburg says. Wuytenburg and Crich were lifelong friends who met while attending Medway High School. The
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idea for the home began when family friends John and Ann Brown approached the Crich family after learning from their church minister how great the need was for supports for older, homeless women in London. Karen’s brother, Jamie, decided to create a memorial project in honour of his sister. The siblings worked together at Auburn Developments where Jamie is president. “It was very in line with Karen because Karen’s natural inclination was always to help people strive to do better and improve their situation,” Wuytenburg recalls. “It was something we felt that she would be very supportive of and that she would love the idea of a project helping women in this (age) category.” Wuytenburg’s first task was to visit agencies to gauge the need. She soon realized that no one was specifically helping older women. “We thought, ‘Let’s tackle this, let’s take this on in honour of Karen.’ With every thought and every idea that we have, I keep Karen in mind.” Karen’s Place London rents the house from one of Jamie Crich’s companies. Organizers opened the house to the community, talked to groups and individuals about their aspirations and invited them to donate their time, talent, household goods, or cash. As a result, the house was furnished almost entirely through donations and leftover items were donated to other charities. Karen’s Place London has received grant money from four foundations: Westminster College Foundation, The Miggsie Lawson Foundation, The Richard and Shelley Baker Family Foundation, and The Brian and Heather Semkowski Family Foundation. Wuytenburg says organizers would appreciate businesses, such as electricians and plumbers, coming forward to help maintain the house. Volunteers are also welcome. The organization can be reached at info@karensplacelondon.ca.
HOW TO AVOID HUMAN RIGHTS COMPLAINTS WHEN SELECTING TENANTS It’s not uncommon for small landlords to use their own criteria when they’re evaluating applications from prospective tenants. However, many don’t realize that steep fines could result from their lack of knowledge of what’s allowed under the Ontario Human Rights Code. London lawyer Joe Hoffer says discrimination is fairly common among small owners and investors, although the vast majority of professional property managers and landlords are well versed in the Code and its prohibited grounds for discrimination. “When it comes to small landlords, they buy a rental property thinking that the tenants will pay the mortgage and the operating expenses, and the landlord will have this capital asset that they can realize down the road,” Hoffer notes. “They seldom know the rules and often are in breach of the Human Rights Code and the housing guidelines.” Landlords often tell applicants on social assistance that they need a minimum income of 30 per cent and wouldn’t be able to afford the rent. That position could be discriminatory on the basis of family status and being in receipt of social assistance if a single mother, for example, was told her application was denied because she didn’t meet the landlord’s income criterion, Hoffer says.
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“Sometimes the landlord thinks this is a reasonable threshold he’s setting, i.e., a certain percentage of income going to rent when, in fact, it takes them offside of the Human Rights Code.” Landlords also commonly deny applications from persons under the age of 18 in the belief that the lease will be void. However, Hoffer says 16-yearolds can enter into a binding lease if they have withdrawn from parental authority. Rejecting those applicants, as well as applicants who lack rental history, exposes landlords to a human rights complaint. If landlords haven’t asked the applicants to obtain a guarantor, they could be contravening the Human Rights Code on the basis of country of origin in the case of immigrants, or age in students or young people living alone. “The unsophisticated landlords don’t know what the regulations to the Human Rights Code say when assessing, for example, creditworthiness of prospective tenants,” Hoffer says. Last year in London, a first-year Western University student had her lease cancelled at the last minute because the small landlord who had rented to her said she found the young woman’s tattoos “scary” after meeting her in person. Hoffer says that lack of knowledge informs the decision-making processes of many unsophisticated landlords when it comes to renting, although this particular landlord’s response wasn’t a violation of the Code. Even so, disclosing the reasons for declining an application is inadvisable. “If they disclose those reasons, and sometimes they do, they’re dead in the water,” Hoffer notes. Hoffer’s standard advice to landlords is not to inform tenants of their reasons for declining a rental application. In fact, prospective tenants sign a line on the LPMA application acknowledging they understand they won’t be contacted if the landlord has decided not to rent to them. Even if the rationale for disqualifying an application is innocuous, it can get landlords into trouble, Hoffer says. For example, landlords might tell applicants that a building wouldn’t be suitable for them because there aren’t any children there or the rent is high.
“All of those kinds of statements can trigger a Human Rights Code application,” Hoffer says. Landlords should bear in mind that advertisements can’t state that a unit is best suited to an employed or older person. Building superintendents and rental agents should avoid engaging applicants in conversation so they don’t pose problematic questions, such as who will be living in the unit or where applicants, who have an accent, originate from. Instead, they should restrict the conversation to the unit itself. As a precaution, Hoffer recommends that landlords assess applications based on risk. If they receive four applications for a vacant unit, they’re entitled to accept the application that poses the least risk. Even so, they should be careful when explaining why an application might entail risk. The Human Rights Tribunal can impose fines for special damages, such as whether the individual who was discriminated against ended up in a homeless shelter. It usually costs $3,000 to resolve the problem in mediation; otherwise, fines start at $10,000, Hoffer says. Fines for general damages are set at $10,000 but can go up to $25,000 in egregious cases, such as a landlord blatantly discriminating against a First Nations’ member using prejudicial language. “It’s really the cost of going through the process, the exposure to financial penalties, and the tribunal can make them post apologies to publicly acknowledge they have discriminated against others, won’t do it again, and have required their staff to go through specialized training,” Hoffer says. Interestingly, the Divisional Court and the Ontario Human Rights Commission have confirmed that rental applications and occupancy can be restricted to people age 50 and over because they are not an identifiable group that has historically been discriminated against. If landlords restrict occupancy to tenants who receive social assistance, provisions in the Code say that’s fine as a way of improving their ability to be housed, Hoffer notes.
London Property Management Association (LPMA) is a non-profit organization, located in London, Ontario, Canada, that provides information and education to landlords. LPMA represents the interests of both large and small property owners. The association has more than 400 landlord members representing approximately 35,000 rental units. Membership is open to landlords and property management professionals who own or manage one or more residential rental units.
Sign up online or call Tina Potter. Ph: 519-672-6999 Web: www.LPMA.ca
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Chair’s message In case you missed the announcement in the last issue, please be aware that I have stepped down as the President of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations (CFAA). However, I am continuing as the Chair of EOLO, and look forward to continue representing EOLO members in dealing with the City of Ottawa. EOLO would welcome membership from more rental housing providers in Ottawa, who provide quality service to tenants and engage with the community as EOLO’s current members do. This issue of EOLO RAV reports on what EOLO addressed at our very well received Education Event, held for members on September 27. - John Dickie, Chair, Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization
Solid waste While the City Solid Waste staff understand the concerns that rental housing providers have about organic recycling in apartment buildings, City Council has decided that all buildings that use the City’s solid waste collection must offer organic recycling. Over the next three to four years, all buildings will be on-boarded. If a rental housing provider wants to choose the buildings within their portfolio to on-board first, and when in the year to do that, the provider must reach out to the City Solid Waste team proactively to arrange for a solid waste inspector to work with the provider on where best to site green bins and what other changes are needed for those buildings. Several large EOLO members are providing organic recycling now, and find that they are able to cope with their concerns. See the previous issue and the March/April 2022 issue for more information.
RHPM by-law City By-Law & Regulatory Services staff are pleased with rental housing providers’ demonstrated knowledge of the Rental Housing Property Management By-law, with our level of compliance and with the results of the bylaw. Staff noted only two areas where some rental housing providers could improve their performance. The first is in maintaining the capital maintenance plan. This requires a listing of the most recent inspection of each major building element and a brief note of the condition of the element. If the element is defective, then a note needs to indicate the date on which repairs are planned. The second involves some confusion over how quickly repair requests need to be acted on. Under the RHPM By-law, a rental housing provider needs to respond to a tenant report of a defect regarding
a vital service (heat, electricity or water) within 24 hours. However, the Vital Services By-law requires a rental housing provider to act immediately on such a report to begin remedying the problem. EOLO members are surely doing that already.
City housing programs Paul Lavigne, Director, Housing Services, and Kale Brown, Manager, Homelessness, both with the City of Ottawa, spoke about: • The pressures on housing services • Major program milestones • Housing benefits (including both housing allowances and rent supplements) • Supportive housing • The role of the private rental housing sector The pressures include the: • Inflow of newcomers • Increased rents and decreased availability of affordable housing • Limited availability of hotels, motels, and postsecondary residences • High cost for development of supportive and affordable housing • Increased need for supportive housing Within housing allowances, Kale gave particulars about three established programs and two new pilot programs. The established programs are the Canada Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB), Homes for Good, and Families First. Each program has different rules about direct payment, where clients can move, and whether the financial support for housing comes with social service or mental health supports as well. The pilot programs are the Large Family Housing Allowance Pilot and the Deeper Housing
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Allowances program. They both recognize that average rents are higher on turnover units than in the rental market as a whole (as reported by CMHC). Kale also spelled out the differences between housing allowances and rent supplements. See Table 1. Table 1: Housing allowance vs. rent supplement program
Housing allowance
Rent supplement program
Supports the housing needs of low-income Ottawa residents
Supports the housing needs of low-income Ottawa residents
Monthly benefit payment can be Monthly subsidy payment made directly to the household is made directly to housing or the rental housing provider provider COHB is attached to the household; if a client moves anywhere in Ontario, COHB moves with you
Subsidy is attached to the rental unit; a client must select a community from participating housing providers
Monthly benefit is calculated using the household’s adjusted family net income (AFNI) as reported through the annual Notice of Assessment Line 23600
Monthly rent payable is calculated using 30% of the household’s adjusted family net income (AFNI) or based on rent benefit set by the province for social assistant recipients
Eligibility is reviewed once a year
Eligibility is reviewed once a year and when household income changes
Funding is ongoing until 2028 subject to provincial approvals, unless a client no longer meets the eligibility requirements
Funding is ongoing, unless a client no longer meets the eligibility requirements
You may be eligible to have first and last months’ rent paid
First and last months’ rent are not paid
As compared with the situation ten years ago, the City Housing branch and the province are putting more resources into supportive housing. According to a recent City service announcement, over this term of Council about 40 per cent of the City’s capital investments in housing will go into supportive housing. That is up from 10 to 20 per cent five or ten years ago. One of the supportive housing investments is the purchase of 1245 Kilborn Place for $21.1 million of City money. That site is to be redeveloped or developed as a supportive housing community hub that will provide housing options for individuals in need. Once online, the facility will help reduce shelter pressure and free up other community spaces that are being used as physical distancing centres. Extensive community consultation will take place to decide on the long-term use of the excess land at the site. Another $21.2 million in federal and provincial funding will go to Ottawa Salus Corporation to build 54 supportive housing units at 56 Capilano Drive. At the end of their presentation, the City Housing staff praised the role private rental housing providers play in providing housing to low-income residents and other vulnerable people. Paul Lavigne Kale Brown
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EOLO panel
EOLO’s political update
After hearing from the City’s housing staff, attendees heard from a panel of EOLO directors, namely Geoff Younghusband, Christian Szpilfogel, and me (John Dickie) as a participating moderator. We all agreed with the observations of the City Housing staff: there is a major influx of people into Ottawa, there is a shortage of housing, rents are rising, rental development is costly, and there are real concerns. The panel was of the view that the current housing situation will likely continue for at least several years because it will take time for housing supply to catch up with demand. Christian said that even if there is a recession, rental demand tends to hold up or increase, since rental demand is somewhat counter-cyclical. In Geoff’s view, the one thing that could result in a fall in rental demand in Ottawa would be a new federal government that slashed public service staffing in Ottawa. The panel also addressed whether a recession or rising rents would lead to households doubling up, and thus causing more need for more unit refurbishment on turnover. The consensus was that the doubling up was already apparent, and the need for more unit refurbishment on turnover was a small price to pay for the lift in rents now available under vacancy decontrol.
EOLO’s political update addressed the RHPM Bylaw issues noted above, and addressed leading provincial and federal issues. For 25 years, EOLO has strongly supported CFAA and FRPO, and intends to continue doing so.
City Budget 2024 On September 13, Ottawa City Council approved the 2024 budget directions, timeline, and consultation process. The overall property tax increase in the 2024 Budget is to be not more than 2.5 per cent. (Individual tax bills can go up by up to 3.0 per cent because of the effect of appeal decisions on the property tax base. The City’s spending can go up by about 5 per cent because of assessment growth, which funds some additional service provision.) The draft budget is to be tabled at City Council on Wednesday, November 8. Each Standing Committee will meet in November or early December to consider their portions of the draft budget. Residents, businesses, and community groups will be able to take part as public delegations, and to participate in any Councillorled public budget consultations. Council is to consider and adopt the final budget on Wednesday, December 6.
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE After a great summer, the HDAA is now back in full swing for the second half of the year. We will be continuing with our November dinner meeting and slowly setting our sights on our Golf Tournament and Trade Show for next year, which will be coming up very quickly. This year we will also be holding our presidential election as I step down to fully embrace my retirement and provide an opportunity for a fresh voice to guide the association. With things back to normal, we are excited about the future of the HDAA and hope to provide our members with a more engaged association. -
Arun Pathak, President, HDAA
Short-term rental bylaw Early this year, the City of Hamilton Planning Committee voted to bring in a short-term rental bylaw that will require all short-term rentals to be in the principal residence of the homeowner. It will allow a homeowner to rent out a laneway residence or secondary dwelling unit and there will be no limitation on how many days a year someone can rent out space. For those wishing to apply for a licence, the cost for an entire dwelling will be $875.81. A licence for a partial dwelling will cost $213.81 and renewals for each will cost less. The intention of a short-term rental bylaw is to discourage people from buying investment properties for short-term rentals and commodifying the marketplace. Residents have complained about out-of-town absentee investors who scoop up homes to turn them into short-stay hotels and who don’t care about garbage, noise issues, and other property-related issues. There are also hopes that the bylaw would add hundreds of units back onto the long-term rental market at a time when housing is desperately needed. It is argued that the commercialization and commodification of housing used for short-terms rentals removes long-term housing from the rental market. Information presented suggested that in November 2022, there were approximately 1,250 listings for short-term rentals in the city. Of the short-term listings identified, about half of them are owned by those trying to supplement their income or mortgage while the other half are
corporations that are argued to commodify the market. The originally proposed bylaw would not have allowed short-term rentals in basement units or other separate units in a resident’s home. However, after dozens of pleas from residents, the City has decided to allow this. Many residents rely on the additional income from renting out their spaces to supplement their incomes and cover the ever-rising cost of living on a fixed income while having the security of a third party, such as Airbnb, vet prospective short-stay tenants. This past June, the City decided to hit pause on the bylaw and enforcement of short-term rentals, which was to see its first licences issued in December, due to “a council shift in priorities.” The bylaw will now be revisited later in the year. The City advised it is facing a staff resource crunch and needs to “triage” some housing initiatives over others. Those other initiatives are likely the new renovictions and licensing bylaws the City wishes to proceed with.
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Renovictions bylaw, safe apartment buildings bylaw, and changes to the vital services bylaw Hamilton is looking at new rules designed to stop bad-faith renovictions, the first bylaw of its kind in Ontario. Landlords looking to evict tenants to complete renovations would have to first get a licence from the City. To get the licence, a landlord would need to provide proof from a professional engineer that the renovations are so extensive that tenants must leave their units for the work to be done. If the City gives the landlord the green light, the landlord would need to provide the tenants with the opportunity to rent another unit close by and at no more than 15 per cent above their current rate. The decision to move forward with the bylaw is scheduled to be discussed in October, so we hope to have more news soon. The City has also given final approval for a safe apartment buildings bylaw. Its goal is to encourage landlords to maintain their properties so renovictions aren’t necessary in the long term. Hamilton’s safe apartment buildings bylaw is similar to Toronto’s RentSafe program, which began in 2017. The safe apartment buildings bylaw would require landlords to register their building with the City and have plans in place for pest and waste management, cleaning, repairs, electrical maintenance, and vital service disruption, including power outages and water shutoffs. They’d be subject to regular City inspections and be scored on how well the building is maintained. Landlords would also need to keep track of all tenant maintenance requests and what actions were taken to address them. If a request involves a security issue or shutdown of vital service such as running water or power, the landlord must respond within 24 hours. It is anticipated this program would not start until September 2025. Updates to the vital services bylaw have also been made to prevent months-long service utility disruptions. The bylaw now clearly allows the City to quickly hire its own contractors to do extensive repairs to restore vital services, and then peg the expense onto the landlord’s property tax bill. As can be seen from the above and through other bylaws the City of Hamilton has recently moved to enforce, the City is becoming more unfriendly toward housing providers. As with other levels of government, there seems to be a continuing attack on housing providers, which will ultimately result in a loss of supply, at a time when supply is so desperately needed. It is imperative that each and every housing provider do their part to make their voice heard and their concerns acknowledged. As long as the majority of housing providers sit on the sidelines with regard to political advocacy, the harder the industry will become as a place to operate. The HDAA will continue to do our public relations work and political advocacy but we need the support of members and other housing providers to ensure we have a strong voice that can create change in the industry.
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aspects of the operation and maintenance to one that would see the City handling both. Several delegates to Hamilton’s Light Rail Transit Subcommittee were unanimous that they would like to see the proposed LRT operated and maintained by City staff, although this model would carry the most financial risk. Nonetheless, staff told councillors that Metrolinx flatly rejected the City being responsible for maintenance of the LRT system, who would have the final say and who would likely contract the maintenance to a company like Siemens.
Hamilton LRT update The LRT, which was cancelled in 2019 due to budget concerns and then revived in 2021 when the provincial and federal governments committed $1.7 billion each toward the project, is proposed to be 14 kilometres long with 17 stops, stretching from McMaster University to Eastgate Shopping Centre. The LRT will be one of the larger projects undertaken by the City of Hamilton and will encompass many changes to infrastructure. Metrolinx has been feeling out the impacts of industry-wide construction price increases as it continues to plan out the $3.4 billion project and work out a budget. There has been some demolition occurring, mainly at the corner of King and Holton, of a three-storey brick apartment building emptied in 2018. There are also more talks with landowners to purchase land along the LRT corridor, but major construction is not expected before 2024. The Hamilton Light Rail Subcommittee of Council met recently to consider options for the operation and maintenance agreement that will have to be signed with Metrolinx before the project proceeds. There are four potential models, ranging from one that would see Metrolinx responsible for all
Some of the delegates pointed to the Ottawa LRT fiasco as justification for the rejection of a PrivatePublic Partnership model to build and operate the Hamilton system. The Ottawa system was forced to shut down completely on several occasions, and an inquiry found that the system was rushed into service without an adequate testing period because of political pressure. Several mentioned the profit motive leading to the cutting of corners on maintenance. A final recommendation will come in December.
Upcoming events November 8, 2023 - Dinner meeting The HDAA will hold our last dinner meeting of the year on November 8. During this dinner meeting, we will also be holding our presidential election. Current President, Arun Pathak, has been with the HDAA for close to two decades and has been instrumental in shaping the association, as well as being a strong advocate for housing providers. He is now considering taking full advantage of his retirement and stepping down as president of the association. Make sure to mark your calendars and keep an eye out for our emails for more details on this dinner meeting.
Hamilton & District Apartment Association Since 1960, the Hamilton & District Apartment Association has grown significantly. Our members manage over 30,000 units throughout Hamilton, Burlington, Brantford, Guelph, Mississauga, Oakville, St. Catharines and into the Niagara Peninsula. The association is a highly respected organization, sought out regularly by government, industry, media and the public.
Interested? Call us or join online! Ph: 905-616-2058 Web: www.hamiltonapartmentassociation.ca
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE The summer lull offered us a valuable opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments and setbacks of the preceding six months. It also afforded us the time to recalibrate and prepare for an active autumn and winter, focusing on advancing IPOANS’s three pillars: advocacy, education, and membership services.
- Kevin Russell, Executive Director
Advocacy Advocacy remains a significant focus, demanding a substantial portion of our time, especially as government policies adversely affect Nova Scotia’s rental housing industry. We promoted member and non-member participation in provincial riding barbeques, enabling them to share their personal experiences with MLAs and underscore the consequences of these policies on their operations.
Rent cap We have been steadfast in advocating our stance regarding the province’s rent cap, emphasizing its detrimental impact on Nova Scotia’s affordable rental housing supply by exerting financial strain on rental operations. The rent cap has led numerous small rental housing providers, overseeing over 60,000 rental units, to operate with consistent negative cash flow. Consequently, they are deciding to divest their rental portfolios, comprising single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, condominiums, and single-room occupancies, within the next three to five years. A Q1 survey conducted by IPOANS garnered 209 responses, revealing that, in each of the upcoming three years, approximately 1,000 units are slated for sale. These sales will result in new owners occupying the units, displacing current tenants who will contend with a rental market with a vacancy rate of less than 1 per cent. Nova Scotia continues to demonstrate the characteristics of a rent-controlled market: new tenants subsidizing rent-controlled units, a dramatic decrease in unit turnover with the last two quarters being under 1 per cent, decreased investment, and decrease in maintenance and capital investment. IPOANS has been receiving reports the rent cap has resulted in illegal subletting where current tenants are subletting their unit without the property owner’s permission with the subletting tenant paying double the rent of the leaseholder. Reports have also been received of tenants financing vacations by
subletting their rental at twice the rent they’re being charged. Residential Tenancies displayed indifference when these RTA violations were brought to their attention, forcing rental housing providers to follow an eight- to nine-month process to secure a resolution (maybe).
Residential Tenancies Program Addressing the deficiencies within the Nova Scotia Residential Tenancies Program, a system plagued by inefficiencies and biases, remains a focal point for IPOANS. The current process proves detrimental to rental housing providers and tenants, challenging the government’s notion the system is functioning adequately. When grievances arise from both sides—landlords and tenants alike—it underscores the pressing need for reform. As IPOANS has reported, waiting times for hearings have increased due to tenants and their legal representatives strategically leveraging the system to extend tenancies without paying rental payments and often causing damage to properties for up to eight to nine months before vacating the unit, knowing there will be no financial consequences. This misuse has led to a surge in appeals to the Small Claims Court, resulting in RTO orders being overturned in favour of rental housing providers. In meetings, the government made it evident they are not inclined to augment the understaffed Residential Tenancies Officers (RTO) team, currently comprising 10 RTOs grappling with over 5,000 applications annually. This understaffing is contributing to mounting wait times. In a noteworthy development, a leaked document brought to light an IPOANS recommendation for the establishment of a Compliance and Enforcement division to handle recurrent violators of NSRTA regulations. This recommendation gained traction when a government-contracted consulting firm advocated for a shift toward an Ontario-based compliance and enforcement
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model. While the government has refrained from providing comments, they acknowledged the existence of the report and confirmed its active review.
Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) bylaws We continued to advocate for nullification of HRM Bylaw R-400, aimed at establishing a mandatory Residential Rental Registry requiring all rental housing providers to register their properties by April 2024 or face fines of up to $10,000. Despite our advocacy, the provincial government, holding the authority to nullify the registry, conveyed their decision not to intervene, solidifying the bylaw’s implementation as a fait accompli. Having no options left, IPOANS engaged once more with senior city staff to reiterate our stance, emphasizing the detrimental effects the registry would have on the industry, especially on small-scale rental housing providers—many of whom are inclined to sell their properties to avoid listing on the registry, seeing it as an intrusion on their right to privacy. This concern arises at a time when HRM’s homelessness crisis has escalated, with tent cities proliferating throughout the city, and yet the government passed a bylaw that will reduce affordable rental housing options. HRM’s staff, however, agreed to collaborate on an educational initiative, partnering with IPOANS for two webinars scheduled in January 2024. These sessions will cover all aspects of Bylaw R-400 and Bylaw M-200 Respecting Residential Occupancy Standards, which outlines the minimum requirements for maintaining residential buildings within HRM.
Rental housing affordability The rental housing affordability crisis is coming into sharper focus as new research highlights the government’s reliance on tax revenue generated by the apartment rental industry. This dependency spans from the development phase through postdevelopment property operations, with the government imposing taxes and fees at every stage of the process and into perpetuity, which is driving up rents to record levels, allowing the media and the public to wrongly cast developers and property owners as the primary culprits behind the crisis. The trend of small rental housing providers selling their properties is expected to accelerate, particularly as mortgages renew at higher rates, rendering financial losses unsustainable. This ongoing divestment of affordable rental units is poised to offset any unit gains resulting from the introduction of new rental supply to the market.
Immigration IPOANS is collaborating with the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing to facilitate housing arrangements for an anticipated influx of healthcare workers from an international recruitment initiative. The escalation of immigration and the influx of international students are compounding the strain on the rental market. This heightened demand is amplifying the difficulty for newcomers to secure appropriate housing due to the limited availability of rental housing inventory.
Education The IPOANS–Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Residential Property Management course is expected to reach full enrollment with 25 students this fall. Successful completion of the course leads to the students earning an NSCC Certificate of Professional Studies in Residential Property Management. Students receive comprehensive training covering various facets of property management, with a strong focus on comprehending the complexities of Nova Scotia’s Residential Tenancies Act. The curriculum encompasses modules on finance, law, maintenance, occupational health & safety, leasing, and marketing.
Membership services The IPOANS weekly newsletter, Multi-Res News, is the primary catalyst for engagement, boasting a subscriber base exceeding 1,200. Its readership has transcended Canadian borders, extending to the U.S., Asia, and Europe.
62 | October 2023
Webinars continue to serve an important role in engaging members and bolstering membership. The webinar calendar is booked until the conclusion of January 2024, with an expected average participation of 100 plus attendees per webinar. Following a rainout on September 14, the IPOANS Annual Golf Tournament took place at the picturesque Chester Golf Club on October 3. Thanks in part to the unseasonably warm and sunny weather, the tournament surpassed all expectations, attracting over 170 attendees, with 136 golfers vying for the prestigious IPOANS trophy. This year, the winning team hailed from Kent Building Supplies, a long-time loyal supporter of the association. The second annual Women In Industry Luncheon is set for Thursday, November 23. We’re honoured to have Faten Alshazly, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of WeUsThem, as the keynote speaker. Faten’s leadership has earned WeUsThem recognition as a Top Innovator by institutions like the Governor General of Canada, the WHO, and the World Bank. She’s also made history as the first female immigrant chair of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, with numerous accolades to her name, including Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women and Atlantic Canada’s Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business. We are anticipating another sold-out event.
Looking forward GST rebate The federal government’s announcement regarding the rebate of the federal portion of the GST to boost new rental construction, coupled with the Nova Scotia government’s decision, was received as positive news. Anecdotal evidence suggests a decline in the number of construction cranes throughout HRM, indicating a reduction in new construction. Reports attribute this decrease in construction to increasing mortgage rates, labour costs, and cost of materials. The urgency for addressing the housing crisis in Nova Scotia necessitates a focus on creating new supply. With the ongoing sale of properties by small rental housing providers, the significance of new construction has been underscored. It is crucial for governments to provide incentives to developers, encouraging the construction of new rental units to offset the reduction in available units caused by these providers exiting the rental market. Additionally, a program is required to incentivize existing rental housing providers to remain in the industry, which is essential to mitigate the loss of rental inventory.
Fall legislative session Reflecting on past legislative sessions where the government introduced bills safeguarding tenant rights, with unanimous support from opposition parties, IPOANS anticipates a similar dynamic in this session if the government were to introduce tenant rights legislation. We keenly await if the
government will take action regarding IPOANS’ proposed recommendations, specifically the establishment of a Compliance and Enforcement Unit, the recording and release of residential tenancy hearings, public release of RTO orders, and regulations addressing tenants who habitually pay their rent late.
Government and public relations IPOANS’ efforts in government and public relations campaigns have proven effective in countering misinformation campaigns that have cast a negative shadow over the industry. Our proactive approach involves sharing factual information with politicians through informational bulletins and media releases, and refuting anecdotal media reports with evidence-based research. We seize every interview opportunity to articulate our views and clarify misconceptions surrounding our industry. Our engagement extends to meetings with government ministers, deputy ministers, and their teams, ensuring they are well informed about IPOANS’ stance and the proposed solutions that can benefit stakeholders. Collaboration with various stakeholders and industry associations is a priority, acknowledging how the issue indirectly negatively impacts their industry. Leveraging social media, we have bolstered our online presence and launched an eight-part podcast series, using the medium to educate audiences about the industry’s nuances and presenting pragmatic solutions to pertinent issues. These initiatives have broadened IPOANS’ outreach throughout the province and have resulted in an increase in membership, indicating the positive impact of our proactive engagement strategies.
Call to Action Advocacy campaign We are in the midst of our annual Call to Action Advocacy contribution drive, seeking financial backing from members for advocacy endeavours. The aim of this year’s campaign is to reach a fundraising goal of $100,000, enabling a sustained and impactful advocacy effort against a wellorganized and proficient collective of housing activists. The funds will also go toward external research projects, enabling us to tailor our approach to address the challenges affecting Nova Scotia’s rental market. Recognizing the need to combat misinformation and promote accurate and well-informed discussions on critical issues, we are committed to eliminating information gaps. Our fund operates with complete transparency, subject to an annual audit conducted by appointed auditors. Every member receives detailed financial information through the annual AGM circular, and members can request a copy at any time, ensuring openness and accessibility of financial records.
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