In this issue of... NATIONAL OUTLOOK 35. CFAA has recently relaunched lobbying on federal tax issues, with the help of Robert McCreight of Capital Hill Group, and Len Farber. See what progress they are making and what their next steps will be.
37. Ontario’s May 2 Housing Supply Action Plan is a possible model for other communities which need to solve issues about uncertain community benefit charges or planning delays.
38. CFAA will recognize the winners of the 2019 National Rental Housing Awards at the CFAA Awards Dinner on May 14, as part of CFAA-RHC 2019. Shown here are the finalists.
CFAA Member Associations Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization (EOLO) www.eolo.ca P: 613-235-9792 Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) www.frpo.org P: 416-385-1100, 1-877-688-1960 Greater Toronto Apartment Association (GTAA) www.gtaaonline.com P: 416-385-3435 Hamilton & District Apartment Association (HDAA) www.hamiltonapartmentassociation.ca P: 905-632-4435 Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS) www.ipoans.ns.ca P: 902-425-3572 LandlordBC www.landlordbc.ca P: 1-604-733-9440 Vancouver Office P: 604-733-9440 Victoria Office P: 250-382-6324 London Property Management Association (LPMA) www.lpma.ca P: 519-672-6999 Manufactured Home Park Owners Alliance of British Columbia (MHPOA) www.mhpo.com P: 1-877-222-4560
To subscribe to CFAA’s e-Newsletter, please send your email address to communication@cfaa-fcapi.org.
The Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations represents the owners and managers of close to one million residential rental suites in Canada, through 11 apartment associations and direct landlord memberships across Canada. CFAA is the sole national organization representing the interests of Canada’s $480 billion rental housing industry. For more information about CFAA itself, see www.cfaa-fcapi.org or telephone 613-235-0101.
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Professional Property Managers’ Association (of Manitoba) (PPMA) www.ppmamanitoba.com P: 204-957-1224 Saskatchewan Landlord Association Inc. (SKLA) www.skla.ca P: 306-653-7149 Waterloo Regional Apartment Management Association (WRAMA) www.wrama.com P: 519-748-0703
JUNE 2019
A modest income tax improvement By John Dickie, CFAA President While the federal government has long been reluctant to improve the tax position of rental housing, the government recently made a small improvement for some investors who acquire property after November 20, 2018. That is an accelerated Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) for depreciable capital property, including rental buildings. Instead of being able to claim 2 per cent CCA in the first year, a new owner can claim 6 per cent in certain circumstances. However, many owners cannot claim the full CCA in the first few years of owning a property because CCA cannot be used to create or increase a loss. In other words, while a property is losing money, CCA cannot be claimed at all. CFAA has long sought an increase in the CCA rate for rental buildings. Besides seeking a higher CCA rate, CFAA has also sought other measures which would make the CCA more useful, such as the ability to pool assets so that CCA on one property can apply against income from another property, or the elimination of the rule preventing CCA from creating or increasing a loss. In addition, we want to expand and clarify the ability to claim expensive building improvement work as repairs (rather than capital improvements), even though the work provides a better item for the building than the item that was replaced (e.g. replacing mid-efficiency boilers with high efficiency boilers). We received a positive reaction from the Department of Finance officials we met to make that pitch, and have acquired support from the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Natural Resources. The meetings were organized by Robert McCreight of the Capital Hill Group,
who is CFAA’s new lead external government relations person. We met the officials with Robert and with Len Farber, a consultant on tax policy, who was the General Director, Tax Policy Branch, at the Department of Finance from 1973 to 2005. Len’s unique insight has helped to hone our tax reform message, focusing on what stands the best chance of success. All CFAA’s proposals should benefit many landlords or developers directly, and benefit all landlords and developers indirectly by making rental housing a more attractive investment. All the proposals are pitched as ways of increasing housing supply in order to improve affordability. In doing so, CFAA is showing the government that by working with the rental industry through those measures, they will also be advancing their goals to address climate change, and to improve housing affordability conditions in Toronto, Vancouver and everywhere in Canada. With a Federal election set to occur in October 2019, now is the best time to influence the parties’ election platforms. If the on-going CFAA direct membership drive continues to raise the necessary funding, CFAA will continue with Robert’s work throughout this summer and into the future, to solidify and advance CFAA’s total lobbying efforts. JOIN CFAA as a direct member TODAY! Your support will help ensure our industry can achieve a better tax and regulatory environment, increase in professionalism, and continue to grow for years to come. Visit www.CFAA-FCAPI.org, or e-mail admin@cfaa-fcapi.org
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NATIONAL OUTLOOK Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan – a possible model By John Dickie
On May 2, Ontario Housing Minister Steve Clark released the Housing Supply Action Plan, More Homes, More Choice, and introduced legislation to enact it. Many of the changes involve the planning process for new development of single family homes, rental buildings and the “missing middle” (such as townhouses, stacked units, mid-rise condos or apartment buildings). The systems of land use control and development approval vary across Canada. They tend to be more onerous in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver, but there is considerable variation unrelated to city size. In January 2018, RHB Magazine wrote about the features of municipal planning and how planning and development charges can get in the way of much needed rental development. The Ontario reforms address three key areas which were identified in that article. Planning approvals The time limits for municipal decisions are being shortened. For example, for zoning changes, the current time limit of 150 days is to be cut to 90 days. Changes will be introduced to allow the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal to make decisions based on the best planning outcome, resurrecting the province’s power to overrule municipal decisions rejecting new development.
application, guaranteeing they will not increase as a project works its way through the planning approval process. Currently, DCs are payable when the building permit is issued. Under the Action Plan, DCs for purpose-built rentals and non-profit housing will be deferred until occupancy begins, and then be payable over five years. Section 37 impositions Section 37 of the Planning Act allows a municipality to authorize increases in height or density in exchange for the payment of a community benefit charge by the developer. Such charges apply in Greater Vancouver as well. In most municipalities, projects are subject to individual negotiations, creating a great uncertainty about what the municipality will demand, and unrealistic demands can kill a project. To developers, the negotiations often feel like extortion, as the city points to the value of gaining the extra density, and tries to extract a substantial piece of that value. The Action Plan will roll together s.37 impositions, parkland requirements and soft service DCs into one community benefit charge. A “community benefits authority” will be established to set a cap on the amount that each municipality can charge for those services, which will be a percentage of the value of each property. Some housing types will be exempt through regulation. Some or all purpose-built rental development could potentially be exempt from those charges entirely.
In the Action Plan, the government is creating a distinction between development charges (“DCs’) for hard services (like roads) and soft services (like new libraries).
The proposed system will also give the cities incentive to zone all properties at higher height and density limits. Higher pre-zoning can really enable redevelopment because the property owner can know that a certain height or density is available as of right, eliminating the need for a lengthy, costly and risky rezoning application.
DCs for hard services will continue to be set largely in the way they are now, with two major improvements. DC rates will be locked in at the earliest of the date of sub-division approval, zoning application or site plan
All of those are very helpful reforms to address Ontario’s housing crisis by expanding the supply of relatively affordable housing from the private sector. For more details, see page 49.
Development Charges
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JUNE 2019
Rental Housing Awards Finalists On Tuesday, May 14, CFAA will recognize the winners of its fourth annual Rental Housing Awards Program at the CFAA Awards Dinner 2019 in downtown Toronto. The winners will include leading rental housing providers, rental employees, and rental housing suppliers. All the finalists are great examples of excellence. Here are the finalists in the various categories.
New Product of the Year • The Snaile Automated Parcel & Smart Lockers by Snaile Canada automate the receiving and pickup of all inbound deliveries, allowing for autonomous 24/7 self-service. • SuiteSpot by SuiteSpot Technology is a software platform for operations and maintenance management for the multifamily real-estate industry, allowing users access to all necessary data, and providing them with dashboards and robust reporting capababilities. • The Sumpie Sump Pump Sensor by Alert Labs is an easy-to-install, commercial-grade sensor that monitors sump pit water levels and sends alerts in real-time, even in the event of a power outage.
New Service of the Year • My Portal by Payquad Solutions is resident-facing tenant portal which allows tenants access to many property services at their fingertips, while at the same time, management can control every aspect from their own manager portal. • Rental Inspection Service by Canadian Tenant Inspection Services Ltd. ensures that the owner’s investment is protected, and the owner’s insurance policy is validated, while alerting the investor to potential risks, deficiencies and misuse, and deterring criminal activity. • Rental Parking Management with iStall Pro by iStall.ca is a combination of three systems: world class visitor management system, an automated mapbased point-and-click reserved parking stall management, and a graduated white glove enforcement model which always puts the needs of the tenant first.
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NATIONAL OUTLOOK Rental Housing Provider of the Year • Hollyburn Properties Limited Hollyburn was nominated for their partnership with Covenant House, Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER), and their financial contributions to local hospitals and schools. As part of their partnership with Covenant House and SAFER, Hollyburn has dedicated ten rental units to youth and senior housing (in Vancouver and Toronto). For Covenant House, youth participants are given a dramatically subsidized rent for one full year. At the end of the year, they are eligible to keep all the furniture in the unit, and to a refund of all of the rent they paid. Hollyburn’s financial donations have totaled over six million dollars.
• Sifton Properties Limited Sifton is celebrating the Sifton Family Foundation 30th anniversary, and their commitment to “netzero” housing. Sifton has cultivated an office ethos that encourages employee volunteering and charitable donation. In 2018, Sifton employees exceeded their goal of 950 hours by providing 2,440 hours of volunteering! Two Sifton projects are on track to achieving a “netzero” effect on their local environment. “West 5”, the first net-zero community in Ontario, generated 601,300 KWh of solar energy. “Helio” will produce as much energy as it uses – a first for Canada’s high-rises.
• Skyline Living To help address Canada’s housing crisis, Skyline has developed a Tenant Relief Committee, which will assist tenants who have fallen on hard times and are at risk of losing their homes. The team at Skyline connects tenants with community and government resources, and offers financial assistance through their Tenant Relief Fund. The Tenant Relief Fund is $200,000 annually to help tenants who have exhausted all other options. These human and financial resources are Skyline’s way of supporting tenants who have, for 20 years, supported Skyline. See page 16 for more details.
CFAA Suppliers Council Member of the Year
Marketing Program Excellence of the Year Lease-Up • Carrington Ridge – Skyline Living • Cinque – Drewlo Holdings • The Livmore – Vertica Resident Services
Social Media • Selfie to End Youth Violence – Greenwin Inc. • Sifton Properties Limited • #WhyWeRent – Hollyburn Properties Limited
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JUNE 2019
Rental Development of the Year High-Rise • The Alexander – 5121 Bishop Street, Halifax by Killam Apartment REIT • The Livmore – 55 Gerrard Street West, Toronto by Vertica Resident Services • Vision at Pay Bayly Square – 73 Bayly Street West, Ajax by Medallion
The Alexander
The Livmore
Vision
Low-Rise • Carrington Ridge – 3615, 3625, 3635 Carrington Road, West Kelowna by Skyline Living • Cinque – 660-700 Garibaldi Avenue, London by Drewlo Holdings • Parkplace Towns – 5401 Beacon Drive, Regina by North Prairie Developments Ltd.
Carrington Ridge
Cinque
Parkplace Towns
Renovation of the Year Building Makeover • 411 Duplex Avenue, Toronto by CAPREIT • Lougheed Village – 9500 & 9502 Erickson Drive & 9303 & 9304 Salish Court, Burnaby by Starlight Investments • Malibu Apartments – 1979 Pandosy Street, Kelowna by Skyline Living Common Area • The Berkshire Club – 500 Berkshire Drive, London by Sifton Properties Limited • Minto High Park Village – 111 Pacific Avenue, Toronto by Minto Apartments • 77 Parkwoods Village Drive, Toronto by Starlight Investments Suite Renovation • 30 Clark Avenue, Thornhill by Starlight Investments • 450 Dallas Road, Victoria by Starlight Investments • 2160 Lakeshore Road, Burlington by Vertica Resident Services
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NATIONAL OUTLOOK Property Manager of the Year • Micheline AbouZeid, Property Manager at Skyline Living (Guelph) • Jennifer Bateman-Hatch, Senior Operations Manager at CAPREIT (Halifax) • Ashly Chamberlain, Property Manager at Greenwin Inc. (Toronto)
On-Site Employee of the Year • Elizabeth Ball, Resident Services Supervisor at Shiplake Properties (Toronto) • Line Poulin, Community Leader at Skyline Living (Gatineau) • Dwayne Whitford & Marshal De Souza, CoResident Apartment Superintendents at M&R Property Management (Toronto)
Off-Site Employee of the Year
• Jonathan Bursey, Maintenance Supervisor at Hollyburn Properties Limited (Toronto) • Danielle Cannon, Customer Service Coordinator at Skyline Living (Guelph) • Chris Jacobson, Maintenance Manager at Sifton Properties Limited (Guelph)
Conclusion
CFAA thanks the many applicants, and judges, who made the CFAA Awards Program possible. Check out the next issue of RHB Magazine, or visit www.cfaafcapi.org to find out the winners! For more information about CFAA or its Awards Program, contact Jeremy Newman at 613-235-0101 or at awards@cfaa-fcapi.org.
CFAA Rental Housing Compensation Survey 2019-2020 The only Canadian survey of rental housing employee compensation and benefits. Find out market compensation for all key positions in the sector, at the city or provincial level. Participate to receive discounted rates to purchase the survey. Email admin@cfaafcapi.org. Visit www.cfaa-fcapi.org for more information.
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