RHB Magazine May/June 2024

Skyline Group of Companies:

Leveraging technology for smarter, greener buildings

Learn how energy management solutions can help to address rising energy costs.

What you missed at the 2024 CFAA Rental Housing Conference

This year's RHC had seminars, networking opportunities, and so much more.

RENTT: Dealing with the LTB

Leaders of rental housing associations across Canada discuss their members' issues with the LTB.

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EDITOR’S NOTES

It’s that time of year

By the time you read this issue, CFAA’s Rental Housing Conference will have come and gone (unless you somehow got an advance copy). The conference, as well as other industry events, provides a great opportunity to catch up with your peers and learn more about what’s happening in the industry. You can also learn what’s new and interesting, especially in technology, and how you can take some of that knowledge and do something new with your buildings. Spring is the time for renewal and starting things fresh. We’ve recently completed a bathroom remodel at our house, and it’s made a huge difference. What can you do to freshen up your property to celebrate a new spring?

This issue of RHB Magazine features an interview with the founders of Skyline Group of Companies, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Vanessa Topple, Anchor and Producer of RHBTV and BoldTV, asked them about how they got involved in the business, their challenges, what keeps them motivated, the company’s future, and more.

The second article involves a RENTT panel, consisting of leaders of various apartment associations across Canada, discussing the issues their members are having with the Landlord and Tenant Board. They spoke about current backlogs for appointments or hearings, challenging regulations, how the LTB could improve its regulations, and (where applicable) the impact on the use of above guideline increases (AGIs). The third article provides a snapshot of what you missed at this year’s CFAA Rental Housing Conference, which took place on May 14 to 16 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Toronto.

Don't forget to read CFAA’s newsletter, National Outlook , as well as the Regional Association Voice. FRPO discusses some of the provisions included in Bill 185, Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act . Yardi Canada wraps up this issue by explaining how to leverage technology for smarter, greener buildings.

We enjoy hearing from our readers, and we want to support twoway communication. If you have any comments or questions, send them to david@rentalhousingbusiness.ca. I look forward to your emails.

Publisher Marc Côté marc@rentalhousingbusiness.ca

Associate Publisher Nishant Rai nishant@rentalhousingbusiness.ca

Editorial David Gargaro

david@rentalhousingbusiness.ca

Creative Director / Designer Scott Clark

Sales Executive Justin Kreslin justin@rentalhousingbusiness.ca

Office Manager

Geeta Lokhram

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Opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the CFAA Board or management. CFAA and RHB Inc. accept no liability for information contained herein. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without the written permission from the publisher.

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David Gargaro Senior Editor

Skyline Group of Companies: 25 years of growth and innovation

Skyline’s co-founders talk about how they met, their challenges, what keeps them motivated, the company’s future, and more.

PRESIDENT’S CORNER

This issue of National Outlook offers a review of our first Annual Hill Day on Parliament Hill. It also includes a partial transcript of my interview with RHBTV, where I spoke about the recent announcements in the Federal Budget with respect to the rental housing industry, and a summary of the recent CFAA Rental Housing Conference.

On April 29, CFAA members travelled to Ottawa for our first Annual Hill Day on Parliament Hill. During that time, we met with MPs, staff, and department officials to provide our feedback on the Federal Budget and to discuss key CFAA member priorities. See page 35 to read more about what how it turned out.

As discussed in the previous issue of National Outlook and RHB Magazine , Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a series of announcements on significant investments in rental housing, as part of Federal Budget 2024. During the recent LPMA conference, I sat down with Vanessa Topple, Anchor and Producer of RHBTV and BoldTV, to discuss my views on the recently announced initiatives. A lot of money and resources are being directed to build more housing and infrastructure, which is a positive move for rental housing providers and people who are in need of housing. Of course, there are other parts of the Budget that concern rental housing owners, such as the capital gains tax and the renters’ bill of rights. A lot still has to happen before initiatives announced in the Budget are put into practice, so stay tuned as we work through the legislative and regulatory process. See pages 37 - 38 to read more about my views on the federal budget.

CFAA is at the forefront of representing the people who work in rental housing. We will always advocate for the rental housing industry to ensure that rental property owners and managers can continue to provide safe, affordable housing while also earning a fair living. It’s important for everyone to have their voice heard. If you own or manage rental properties in Canada, then you should join your local association and add your

voice to help support the industry.

National Outlook also discusses the CFAA Rental Housing Conference, which took place from May 14 to 16 in Toronto. Revamped and refreshed this year, attendees were able to network with their peers, hear from experts in the industry, and discover useful services and technologies that could help with their business. Included is a quick summary of all the information sessions that were available at the conference. See pages 39 - 41 to learn more about the conference and sessions.

If you are not already a direct member of CFAA, please consider joining CFAA as a Direct Rental Housing Provider Member or a Suppliers Council Member. Visit www.cfaa-fcapi.org or email admin@cfaa-fcapi.org today.

Tony Irwin President and CEO, FRPO, and Interim President, CFAA

In this issue of... NATIONAL OUTLOOK

35. On April 29, CFAA members travelled to Ottawa for our first Annual Hill Day on Parliament Hill to provide our feedback regarding the Federal Budget.

37. Vanessa Topple, Anchor and Producer of RHBTV and BoldTV, interviewed Tony Irwin, President and CEO of FRPO and Interim President of CFAA, about the recent federal budget and its affect on the industry.

39. CFAA's Rental Housing Conference took place in Toronto from May 14 to 16. Check out some of what you missed, including the seminars.

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 1.5 million residential rental suites in Canada, through 13 apartment associations and direct landlord memberships across Canada.

CFAA is the sole national organization representing the interests of Canada’s $950 billion rental housing industry.

For more information about CFAA itself, see www.cfaa-fcapi.org or telephone 613-235-0101.

Member Associations

Corporation des Propriétaires Immobiliers du Québec (CORPIQ) www.corpiq.com P: 514-748-1921

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

New Brunswick Apartment Owners Association (NBAOA) www.nbaoa.ca jbrealsetate@nb.aibn.com

Manufactured Home Park Owners Alliance of British Columbia (MHPOA) www.mhpo.com P: 1-877-222-4560

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

CFAA

Highest Average Rent for a 2-bedroom by Province source: 2023

1 British Columbia - $1,867

2 Ontario - $1,697

3 Nova Scotia - $1,523

4 Alberta - $1,455

5 Manitoba - $1,368

6 Saskatchewan - $1,276

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Skyline Group

This year, Skyline Group of Companies (Skyline) is celebrating its 25th year in business. The company consists of multiple businesses within the apartment, industrial, and retail real estate industries, and acquires, develops, and manages real estate properties and clean energy assets. Skyline also manages four fund portfolios as private alternative investment products. Beyond its real estate assets and REITs, Skyline is known for building homes where they are most needed, focusing on sustainability, supporting residents in need, and giving back to the community.

Vanessa Topple, Anchor and Producer of RHBTV and BoldTV, spoke to Skyline’s co-founders about how they got involved in the business, their challenges, what keeps them motivated, the company’s future, and more. They included:

Jason Castellan, Chief Executive Officer

R. Jason Ashdown, Chief Sustainability Officer

Martin Castellan, Chief Administrative Officer

Wayne Byrd, Chief Financial Officer

of Companies: 25 years of growth and innovation

By David Gargaro

How they met

Vanessa: Roy, I understand your journey started off in university… you were watching a hockey game with your girlfriend, her roommate, and her boyfriend. Tell me about that day.

R. Jason Ashdown: Yeah, just to make things confusing, Jay and I both have the same name, and our girlfriends both had the same name as well. Our girlfriends lived together, and that’s my first memory of meeting JC. We hit it off right away. And then starting to learn he was into real estate. I had always been a young entrepreneur. I was always looking for a way to make extra money, just to be able to get the things I wanted. And whether it was… hosting parties or scavenger hunts or building things and selling picnic tables, building decks for my teachers… Meeting Jay and seeing somebody with similar spirit was pretty cool. I didn’t realize at the time I would marry my wife and we would have a long relationship. I’m still married to her today, but I’m also married to him.

Vanessa: Wayne, you also knew Roy in university, but your paths with the others didn’t cross right away. And you went an independent route when it came to business. Tell me about that.

Wayne Byrd: I had met Roy in my first year of university, through mutual acquaintances, at a party at the residence I was living in. And then a few years later, living off residence in house, I met Jason, and we didn’t realize we had met each other until many years after that. It’s interesting how things intertwine and where we meet back again. Unlike most kids in grade six, I knew I was going to be an accountant. I don’t know why. I was good at math. Numbers seemed interesting. And the floor hockey coach, who I got along well with, was an accountant. So that must be what I need to do. I enjoyed it and stayed focused in accounting and working the numbers.

Vanessa: It sounds like university was a start for all of you. I know, Marty, you had an entrepreneurial spirit from the beginning. Where did that come from? Who was your mentor?

Martin Castellan: I went to the University of Guelph and I was taking the economics program. We had dinner at my Uncle Rick's and he was always interested in our lives and education. He was a chartered accountant in the private sector, and I was about midway through university at the time, not knowing what I would do with my career. And I [asked], “Where’s the money?” And Uncle Rick said, “The money’s in sales.” And I’m thinking, “Okay, sales and houses.” I got my real estate license my last year of university… And we sold houses for a while. When we bought our own houses, we could earn commission on them. It was working well for us. It was those times we realized there’s a real passion, call it an addiction, for income-producing assets. And in that time during university we learned a lot, even outside of the classroom.

Vanessa: [Jason,] what ignited the passion that you had for business? Where did this all start?

Jason Castellan: I think we’re all from humble upbringings. We weren’t allowed to miss school. When we had jobs before we were 16, our mother made sure we got to our jobs and got home from our jobs. That was as integral as going to school. I was working and making money and paying our way. And then our dad helped us buy a student rental later on we could rent out. We lived in the basement and we rented the rooms upstairs, and that covered the place. Then going across the street and buying the next one and buying the next one and getting our real estate licenses. It was very addictive. One thing led to another to another. And then meeting Roy, it was just the evolution. I don’t think any of us thought it would be what it is today, but it was certainly something we could keep doing and could scale and grow indefinitely.

Dealing with challenges

Vanessa: You have been in this industry for 20 plus years now. I’m sure you’ve seen your fair share of challenges. Marty, what has been the biggest challenge for you in business?

left to right, Jason Castellan, Martin Castellan, R. Jason Ashdown

left to right, Andy Coutts, R. Jason Ashdown, Jason Castellan, Martin Castellan

Delivered to you by

Skyline Group of Companies: 25 years in the making

Skyline Group of Companies celebrated its 25th year in business on January 27, 2024. The Skyline co-founders started out by buying and managing student rental houses, their very first being a student house on Cole Road in Guelph, Ontario. Since then, Skyline has grown to:

• $8.23+ billion in assets under management

• 20,000+ apartment suites

• Nearly 10 million square feet of industrial space

• 5+ million square feet of retail space

• Enough clean energy generated annually to power over 5,700 homes

• 1,000+ employees from coast to coast

• Operating in 160+ communities across Canada

• More than 5,700 unique investors

Skyline has been named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 10 consecutive years (as of May 2024) and has been a member of the program’s Platinum Club for four years running.

Skyline’s co-founders remain true to their roots. Their first office was on Mont Street in Guelph and did not have washroom facilities… except a yellow pail. From there, the “Legend of the Golden Pail” was born, and each year, Skyline Golden Pails are awarded to employees who do an exceptional job of demonstrating Skyline’s P.R.I.D.E. values: Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Drive, and Efficiency.

Real estate investment trust (REIT) structure

In 2006, Skyline moved to a REIT investment structure for its portfolio of apartment buildings, naming the fund Skyline Apartment REIT. Several additional funds followed through the years:

• Skyline Industrial REIT (2012)

• Skyline Retail REIT (2013)

• Skyline Clean Energy Fund (2018)

Building more homes

Skyline aims to be part of the solution to Canada’s housing crisis. For example, it delivers new rental housing developments in communities where they are badly needed. SkyDev, the real estate development entity within the group of companies, has also expanded into condo development.

Additional Skyline initiatives to promote more housing include:

• Breaking ground at Residences at Silvercreek in Collingwood, Ontario; this new 187-suite rental development will increase the town’s rental supply by 33%

• Investing $1.5 million in a two-year Habitat for Humanity Guelph-Wellington community bond to help bring a 32-unit townhouse project to fruition in Fergus, Ontario

• Planning alongside Kindle Communities and other project partners to soon hold the grand opening of 10 Shelldale Crescent, a 32-unit Permanent Supportive Housing development in Guelph, Ontario

Protecting the planet and giving back

Skyline is a proponent of environmental and social sustainability. Its in-house Sustainability Department and Sustainability Taskforce are dedicated to ensuring the company’s sustainability activities are impactful, innovative, and aligned with its vision. This includes incorporating sustainable elements at Skyline properties, including (but not limited to) EV chargers, solar arrays, community gardens, honey bee hives, and water-saving and electricity-saving measures. Skyline upholds a culture of service, volunteerism, and giving back to the community. It supports its residential tenants through Skyline Living’s R.I.S.E. program, providing access to community resources and/or financial assistance. In 2023, Skyline saved 150+ tenancies and provided over 100 grocery gift cards to tenants requiring assistance. Skyline also holds major annual fundraisers and facilitates many other community initiatives throughout the year, all in an effort to help solve issues like housing insecurity, food insecurity, and mental health challenges. In 2023, Skyline donated $316,600 to 41 charitable initiatives across Canada.

Martin Castellan: We started off in property maintenance, like fixing stuff, and then we were the property managers, and then we were managing the property managers. Every time we replaced ourselves with people who thought [they] could do it better… Actually adapting to that transition with the needs of the company where, as we grew the company, it was very challenging at times because it wasn’t a perfect trajectory. I found that a challenge to continue to evolve as we grew the company.

Vanessa: I know there are some challenges you guys have had personally as well. Roy, I know you lost your father at a very young age and that was difficult for you. Tell me a little bit about your father and how that experience sort of helped shape you into the man you are today.

R. Jason Ashdown: My dad was, from what I understand, a very handy guy. Strangely, he was into real estate throughout his short life. He passed away when I was nine. At the time, I didn’t realize it as a challenge, but as you grow older, that situation probably made me very selfsufficient. I had to learn how to do things early on if I wanted those extra things out of life. I needed to find a way to get them, and I had to be creative. My mom was very blue collar. She worked at Goodyear Tire when she was 14 years old, born during the Depression. She was a hard worker. I saw it, so anytime there was an opportunity to leverage either making a deal or making a trade or building something and selling it, I was in there. I feel that challenge of growing up with just a mom who was awesome gave me a lot of the tools I needed to succeed in business.

Vanessa: Absolutely. It’s nice to see you’ve taken those challenges and the things you’ve learned and turned it into something so wonderful. I understand a few of you have also had some serious health issues. Tell me a little bit about that experience and how that affected you.

Jason Castellan: I was diagnosed with throat cancer and dealt with that in 2016. The guys were great supporting me as I dealt with that. My family rallied around me. It was a very trying time. It’s a shadow that hangs over you for the rest of your life, and you wonder all the time. It changes the way you think and your outlook on life. Being in a business where you have investors, where we’re trying to please them and trying to do that, it’s time to take a break from that from time to time because your health, both mentally and physically, is important if we want to be around for a long time.

Vanessa: Wayne, you also had a health challenge, it happened to you in the way of a stroke. How did that experience help shape your perspective on things going forward in life?

Wayne Byrd: For me, it was right after Jason got back from surgery in Philadelphia. April 5th, 2016. It’s around this time of year where I get a little reflective. I was home alone when it happened. My wife had dropped off our son at school, found me on the floor, and from there I was rushed to the hospital in Guelph. [There is a] critical four-hour window to get TPA, the blood clot buster… It made me be a little more reflective on the things that I have, I had, and what I need to spend a little more time on. I spent a little more time with the family, a little more time traveling. I’ll just say work-life balance... It did give me a bit of a different view on myself and on what was important.

Staying motivated

Vanessa: You have been business partners now for 20 odd years. What keeps you motivated? What keeps you going?

R. Jason Ashdown: I’m built in such a way that I need to get stuff done. I need to have productivity in my day to day. That keeps me motivated. I used to resist it and wonder why I was that way, but I found wrapping my arms around it and being productive I’m just happier. And in that, I’m a helper. I like to fix things. I like to get involved with situations when things go wrong.

Vanessa: Jason, what about you? What keeps you motivated in all this?

Jason Castellan: With these guys, we have a similar mindset, we have a similar motivation, and we can get through it together. If we can put our resources together, we can have a compounding effect on the outcomes of what we’re trying to achieve. That’s very motivating to pull together and do that kind of stuff. I’m also motivated by people who say, “You can’t.” If you tell me I can’t do something, I will go out of my way to prove you wrong. Not on silly things, but on the way business is done, on the way we raise our capital, on the way we own our real estate and the way we manage our things. We do things a little bit different. It’s a pretty basic business what we do. If we can tweak it, we do it a little bit different than what’s the norm and the standard that’s out there. I think that’s been a huge part of our success.

left to right, Jason Castellan, Martin Castellan, R. Jason Ashdown, Wayne Byrd,

Looking to the future

Vanessa: Wayne, you had mentioned you’d love to see Skyline a household name. How are you going to get there? What steps are you guys going to take to achieve that?

Wayne Byrd: From our humble beginnings, we didn’t think we would get to this size. We still meet weekly and talk about goals and ambitions and try to create strategies. We want to be the household name. We want to be the Advil, the Tylenol, the Coke, the Kleenex. If somebody wants to reach for an investment, Skyline has to be the investment they want. We want to differentiate ourselves. And in 25 years from now, I hope that all of the stakeholders, investors, suppliers, tenants, banks, they understand that Skyline will be first of mind as we continue to grow and push the envelope.

Vanessa: Marty, I know 25 years [is] hard to imagine. What would you say would be the ideal setup for Skyline in that time?

Martin Castellan: I have no problem imagining it. It’s how accurate we are. Starting today, we have a responsibility to build ourselves to be generation proof. That’s a goal here. I want to look and say, “Look what we’ve built.” We’ve built something here that is set up for success for the next generation and have it strong and stable and solve a problem for people that want to invest with us.

Advice for others

Vanessa: What do you think would be the best advice for somebody who’s thinking of getting into this industry? And why would that be the best advice?

Jason Castellan: An early investor I look up to told me once when we were walking together to shoot for the stars, and if you get the moon, that’s pretty good. Set your goals far. But I caution anybody

who wants to get in business for themselves. If you’re going to shoot for the stars, be prepared for the journey. Be prepared for the toughness. It’s not always going to be fun. There’s been tough days that we’ve all had to deal with. Your wins are great, but the losses hurt, and you have to lick your wounds and get on with things. But if you’re going to shoot for the stars, go for it and go for it hard... You learn more from your mistakes than you do from your wins, and we’ve done lots of learning.

Wayne Byrd: Be humble and stay humble. Humility has been a key to our success. We are real people and we are going to make our share of mistakes. We’re going to make some missteps. Augment, grow from it, and just pivot and own them. Just be right up front. We made that mistake, own it and have that strength of humility.

Vanessa: Your lasting business relationship is a testament to you. You are definitely an inspiration for a lot of people looking into business. I want to thank you again for sitting down and sharing your points of view with us.

Skyline celebrates its 10,000 suite milestone in Stratford, Ontario, in 2014.

left to right, R. Jason Ashdown, Wayne Byrd, Martin Castellan, Jason Castellan

Dealing with the LTB RENTT:

By David Gargaro

Rental property owners across Canada have long had issues with their version of the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) (also referred to as the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) or Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT)). There are numerous issues, such as increased delays in hearing times, more tenants (and tenant groups) taking advantage of the system, and unfavourable regulations.

In this month’s issue, we asked our esteemed RENTT (Rental Executives National Think Tank) panellists, who are leaders of rental housing associations across Canada, to comment on the issues their members are having at the LTB. They discussed current backlogs for appointments or hearings, challenging regulations, how the LTB could improve its regulations, and (where applicable) the impact on the use of above guideline increases (AGIs).

RENTT experts:

RHB: What type of backlog are you facing for appointments or hearings at the LTB?

Cameron Choquette: The most impactful backlog we are facing at ORT in Saskatchewan is related to decisions being rendered in a timely manner for more complex decisions, such as monetary and tenant breach claims. These decisions are often rendered four to seven months after the hearing, which leaves both tenants and rental housing providers in limbo and is not industry best practice.

David Hutniak: From our perspective, we need to see continuous improvement on the RTB timelines and dispute resolution process, public information and public education, internal policies/rules of procedure, and compliance and enforcement measures. We would especially like to see improvement in the compliance and enforcement measures for the bad actors, both tenants and landlords, who are responsible for creating the majority of the problems in the rental market.

David Hutniak, CEO, LandlordBC

Tony Irwin, President and CEO, FRPO (and Interim President, CFAA)

Cameron Choquette, CEO, SKLA

Kevin Russell, Executive Director, IPOANS

Kevin Russell: Nova Scotia’s Residential Tenancies process is flawed. Applicants must navigate through two tribunal hearings— Residential Tenancy and Small Claims Court appeals—just to obtain a final resolution. However, except for vacant possession orders, there is no enforcement of orders for other RTA Statutory Conditions breaches such as non-payment of rent or unit and property damages.

Tony Irwin: We have heard from some of our members that new applications seem to be prioritized over older ones, so we hope resources can be allocated to those older applications so they can be adjudicated and cleared. We also hear that applications to expedite a hearing, often for resident behaviour, aren’t being prioritized in a timely manner and applications regarding unauthorized occupancies are also taking a long time to process. Both of these applications appear to be on the rise post-pandemic, so this is something we are watching.

RHB: How has the situation improved or worsened over the last year?

Cameron Choquette: Over the past three to five months, the decision timelines have not improved. However, we are very pleased with the timelines to review and schedule hearings as they have improved significantly in 2024.

Tony Irwin: L1 applications are generally receiving a hearing after approximately four months, which is primarily due to the hiring of a significant number of new adjudicators. This is a significant improvement that FRPO has been advocating for with government for some time, but we would like to see this timeline reduced even further so we continue to work with the Ministry of the Attorney General and Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing, who are also committed to this as well.

David Hutniak: The RTB has significantly improved access to justice over the past year or so for both landlords and tenants largely due to the province’s $15 million funding boost. For example, the RTB has recently made improvements, such as expanding the direct request process and hiring additional staff to help bring down wait times, that are intended in part to ensure disputes involving problem tenants are resolved more quickly. They acknowledge that there’s more work to be done.

Kevin Russell: Final resolutions can take up to six to nine months, depending on hearing wait times and rescheduling.

RHB: What aspects of the LTB regulations are challenging or burdensome for landlords?

Cameron Choquette: ORT’s new online system is proving to be cumbersome for some members, but we remain committed to providing recommendations for improvement and walking our members through how best to use the system.

David Hutniak: In our experience, particularly in light of the improvement we’ve seen in access to arbitrators, for landlords who understand their rights and responsibilities and come into a hearing properly prepared, the system is largely working for them. In any tribunal system like the RTB, there will be occasional challenges with arbitrators, but we’ve even seen improvement in that area too, as the RTB has instituted better training and oversight/quality control measures for arbitrators.

Tony Irwin: One area of concern we have is the increased activity at the municipal level to enact bylaws that FRPO believe encroach on provincial jurisdiction. We saw this recently when the City of Hamilton passed a bylaw regarding renovations that require vacant possession even though provincial rules already exist. This is an additional cost and administrative burden on rental housing providers during a time when operating costs far outpace legislated rent increases.

Kevin Russell: A concerning trend is emerging. More tenants are seeking legal aid lawyers to represent them in residential tenancies hearings. This has transformed hearings from simple adjudications by third-party adjudicators to complex proceedings where lawyers employ legal tactics typically reserved for Supreme Court hearings. This prolongs tenancies, even in simple cases for non-payment of rent, at the expense of rental housing providers to endure months of lost revenue and property damages. Nova Scotia has witnessed an uptick in rental housing providers resorting to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia at a great expense to have Residential Tenancies and Small Claims Court orders overturned.

RHB: What could the LTB be doing (or what regulations could they change) to improve the balances between protecting tenants’ rights and ensuring landlords’ interests?

Cameron Choquette: It would be appreciated if tenants were held to the same conduct and evidence standards that rental housing providers are so that we can ensure fair hearings are taking place and that tenants have sufficient evidence for their claims, just like rental housing providers do. We would recommend that hearings be recorded so that appeal judges could have fulsome transcripts to rely on when rendering

their decisions and to ensure accountability for hearing officers. Reducing the period that rental housing providers need to wait to serve an immediate notice to vacate and notice of arrears is our primary recommendation. Currently the waiting period is 15 days. We recommend a waiting period of seven to ten days, after which point the notice can be served and legal proceedings can commence to ensure that chronic non-paying tenants are not skipping out on more than one month’s rent.

David Hutniak: The RTB is essentially an agent for the government responsible for administering the Residential Tenancy Act. In that role that means providing information, resources, and dispute resolution services. In that sense, it’s the government, not the RTB, that’s responsible for protecting tenants’ rights and ensuring landlords’ interests. In simple terms, the government needs to ensure that they create and maintain a legislative environment that is conducive to the successful operation of rental housing while encouraging robust growth of new supply. That means ensuring that in their desire to help tenants, they don’t keep harming landlords, which isn’t always the case in BC. Ironically, the unintended consequences are such that more often than not their policies are ultimately harming renters.

Tony Irwin: Last year, FRPO was successful in advocating for additional funds for the LTB when the government announced $6.5 million in annual funding to hire 40 additional full-time adjudicators and five back office staff. This is the single largest investment since the inception of the LTB and members tell us they are seeing an improvement in service times, which is encouraging. It is critical that both residents and rental housing providers have timely access to justice, so FRPO continues to call for the LTB meets its own service standards by streamlining decisions through tools such as Default Orders and continuing to address resourcing constraints.

Kevin Russell: Nova Scotia lacks a Compliance and Enforcement program to enforce orders, something IPOANS has been advocating for years.

RHV: How do LTB regulations support or hinder the use of AGIs?

David Hutniak: In BC, the process is called Additional Rent Increase (ARI) and the process is relatively new. It’s not utilized very broadly by the sector, even though it is structured in a rather straightforward manner and the turnaround times for hearings to have applications approved is quite reasonable. There were certainly issues at the beginning but notable improvements in the past year. LandlordBC continues to work with the

RTB to further refine processes, and we are doing more education for our members to help them take advantage of the ARI process.

Tony Irwin: Annual rent increases are determined by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing, and are subject to a 2.5 per cent cap. AGIs are the rules and regulations determined by the government that apply to major capital improvements and provide a process for rental housing owners to recover a portion of the expenditure through a rent increase above the annual guideline. To qualify, the rental property owner must have completed and paid for the work that is structural in nature for things like balcony or undergrounding parking garages, HVAC systems or energy retrofits that promote conservation. AGIs are capped at 3 per cent per year over three years and must be approved by the LTB.

RHB: Why is it necessary to increase rents via AGIs?

David Hutniak: Up until September 2018, the maximum allowable annual increase formula in BC was 2 per cent + CPI. This in our view was an intelligent approach to providing landlords with revenue certainty for capex and operational costs. Unfortunately, for what in our view was strictly a political decision by the BC NDP at the time, despite our strong objections and efforts to demonstrate the folly of their thinking, they decided to move to CPI only for the maximum allowable annual increase. Subsequently, they decided to work with LandlordBC to implement the ARI process, which took over three years because of initial delays at their end, and then the pandemic. So this is why we need ARIs.

Tony Irwin: Ontario’s rental housing stock is old with over 80 per cent of it built before 1980. These buildings are at a stage where significant capital investment is needed to modernize and bring them up to 21st century standards. This is the most affordable rental stock we have, so it is critical that these units be preserved so they can continue to be safe places to call home for many decades to come. Annual rent increases aren’t keeping pace with rising property taxes, utilities, maintenance or insurance costs let alone major structural investments, so rental housing providers apply for an above guideline rent increase to recover a portion of these costs.

RHB: Thank you for your time.

What you missed at the 2024 CFAA Rental Housing Conference

By David Gargaro

If you’re a regular reader of RHB Magazine, or a long-time member of the rental housing industry, then you’ve probably heard of the annual CFAA Rental Housing Conference. Maybe you’ve even attended the conference in the past. However, if you did not go to this year’s conference, which took place on May 14 to 16 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Toronto, then you missed out on great opportunities to network with and learn from industry experts and your peers.

A lot goes on at the CFAA Rental Housing Conference, and every year is a little bit different. Just because you went once doesn’t mean you’ve seen everything there is to offer. Some of the highlights of this year’s conference are described below. If you want to find out more about everything you missed, make sure to read National Outlook in this month’s issue for more details.

Seminars packed with great information

CFAA’s Rental Housing Conference is known for its informative seminars, and this year was no different. Attendees had the chance to learn about the latest market trends, industry developments, changes in regulatory requirements, and other topics. Had you attended the conference and these sessions, you could have learned how to take advantage of new strategies, capitalize on market opportunities, and improve your services to better meet tenants’ and clients’ needs.

Some of this year’s seminars discussed:

• The importance of prioritizing safety to protect staff and tenants, as well as boost satisfaction and retention

• Navigating the ever-changing rental housing landscape

• Exploring innovative collaborations to address the challenges of building more rental housing

• Redefining work culture and understanding its importance in fostering meaningful connections

• The strategic advantages of integrating ESG principles into rental housing operations

• Using proptech to accelerate the leasing process

• Prioritizing social impact and inspiring collaborative action

The Rental Housing Conference provides opportunities for everyone connected to the rental housing industry to elevate their knowledge and capabilities. Property managers can refine their skills, expand their professional networks, and gain insights into industry best practices. Developers can gain insights into evolving consumer preferences, regulatory requirements, and design innovations shaping the rental housing landscape. Contractors, suppliers, technology vendors, and other service providers can leverage the conference to showcase their offerings, establish industry partnerships, and foster client relationships. By engaging directly with property owners and industry professionals, service providers can gain invaluable market feedback, identify emerging needs, and tailor their offerings to better serve the rental housing sector. Real estate agents can get exposed to the latest market trends, investment opportunities, and industry

developments, which would help them to better serve their clients’ needs and take advantage of unique opportunities.

Networking with peers and providers

Many industry events offer invaluable opportunities to meet and network with your peers and industry experts, and CFAA’s Rental Housing Conference is no exception. The conference enabled attendees to chat with fellow rental property owners and managers, exchange knowledge, and gain fresh perspectives and insights from others’ experiences. Whether you attended the welcome reception and breakfasts, browsed through the supplier showcase, or had fun at one of the after-parties, you would have been able to engage in valuable collaborations, partnerships, and referral opportunities, which might have helped to uncover new business prospects and opportunities to build your network. This year also offered mentoring meetups, which provided those new to the rental housing industry with a forum to meet and learn from their more experienced counterparts. It is incredibly valuable to be able to access such a wide range of vendors, service providers, and companies connected to the rental housing sector. For example, you could have discovered new property management software, maintenance solutions, legal services, insurance providers, and other essential services that would have helped

you in your business. The conferences is truly a one-stop shop for exploring innovative products and services that could streamline your operations and improve the performance of your rental property.

And, of course, let’s not forget that the Rental Housing Conference provided attendees with the opportunities to meet key individuals connected to the rental housing industry and beyond. Benjamin Tal, Deputy Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets, always has valuable insights on how the economy is impacting the industry. Every information session panel includes experts and people you’d want to know and network with. There were also many special guests and a keynote speaker who you’d only get to meet if you attended the conference.

Conclusion

You didn't attend CFAA-RHC 2024, which is unfortunate, as you missed out on some great learning and networking opportunities. However, you have plenty of time to prepare for CFAA-RHC 2025, which has yet to be announced. Next year’s conference will cover a lot of what it’s known for, as well as some things that have never been seen at a previous show.

To stay informed about when to register for CFAARHC 2025, join CFAA’s e-Newsletter mailing list by sending an email to admin@cfaa-fcapi.org. Hope to see you there next year.

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Annual Hill Day

By Tony Irwin, Interim President, CFAA

On April 29, CFAA members travelled to Ottawa for our first Annual Hill Day on Parliament Hill, with the support of Crestview Strategy who put together a great program. Over the course of three days, CFAA members participated in 25 meetings with MPs, staff, and department officials to provide our feedback regarding the Federal Budget and to discuss key CFAA member priorities.

Our first meeting was with the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure & Communities, who encouraged an open dialogue with us and a willingness to collaborate with CFAA. We praised the Minister for several positive initiatives in the Budget, including $15 billion for the Apartment Construction Loan Program and program changes that will make it more efficient and accessible, the $6 billion Infrastructure Fund, increased funding for the Housing Accelerator Fund, funding for modular housing, accelerated capital cost allowance, and an exemption from new EIFEL rules regarding interest deductibility limitations for new purpose-built rental construction.

We also raised concerns regarding the proposed increase to the capital gains inclusion rate. We suggested either an exemption for rental construction or a deferral if the gain is reinvested in new rental construction. We discussed the proposal to tax vacant land and some provisions in the Renter’s Bill of Rights, to which the Minister encouraged us to provide our feedback through a written submission. It was a positive meeting focused on advancing solutions that support the building of more purpose-built rental construction right across Canada. Other highlights included meetings with MP Scott Aitchison, Conservative Housing Critic; MP Alexandre Boulerice, NDP Housing Critic; MP Chad Collins, Chair; Liberal Housing Caucus; and a rare opportunity to meet with the Saskatchewan Caucus. Everyone we met with was interested to learn about CFAA’s members and mandate, and to engage in constructive conversations about how the federal government can support rental construction.

Thanks to everyone who made to trip to Ottawa to participate in a very impactful three days that elevated CFAA’s profile with political Ottawa and opened the door to future conversation and collaboration with key decision makers. We look forward to our next Hill Day and encourage CFAA members to consider participating!

RHBTV interview with Tony Irwin

NATIONAL OUTLOOK

Vanessa Topple, Anchor and Producer of RHBTV and BoldTV, recently had an exclusive interview with Tony Irwin, President and CEO of FRPO and Interim President of CFAA. They discussed his thoughts on the recent federal budget and how it is likely to affect the industry. To follow is an edited transcript of the interview. To watch the interview in its entirety, please visit RHBTV.ca.

RHBTV: Recently, you were at an event in Belleville, Ontario, discussing the recent federal budget and how it might impact the industry. Let’s talk a little bit about the event, which was both in-person and virtual. How did it go?

Tony Irwin: It was a great opportunity to speak to many rental housing providers. It was QRLA who invited me, and they also extended the invitation to many other regional associations from the area and around the province to attend. And it was really a good opportunity to talk about the federal budget, lots to unpack there. I welcome the opportunity to come, as I always do, and talk directly to those in the front lines about government announcements. And in this case, a pretty significant one with respect to the federal budget.

RHBTV: Let’s dig right into the budget. What are some of the significant items and what should everybody know about it?

Tony Irwin: It was definitely a housingfocused budget. I think over $30 billion was announced… leading up to the budget. In terms of what specifically was announced that’s important for rental housing providers, lots of great initiatives. [There was an] additional $15 billion for the apartment loan construction program. We’ve been urging the federal government through CMHC to provide more funding through that program. Of course, we know it’s lower interest rate loans and to be able to get more rental housing built. Six billion dollars for infrastructure funding across Canada is also a big one. We hear consistently from our friends in the municipal sector about how important infrastructure is, and frankly, how old it is, not unlike our aging apartment stock, and the critical need for help from the federal government to be able to pay for the updated and modernized infrastructure that’s needed to support more rental housing construction… More money for the Housing Accelerator Fund is good news. More money for modular homes, for example, is good news. Certainly, the announcement with respect to capital cost allowance, the increase there is another measure we’ve been advocating for many years. All of these are good measures when you also add on the GST announcement from last year that removes GST from new proposal rental construction. All of those are good signs and good announcements by the Government of Canada that we hope will really start to help get more rental construction built. That said, there are some measures in the budget that we certainly are eager to follow up with the government on and that we’ve been hearing from many members about. And I would say in particular, the announcement with respect to capital gains, as well as the renter bill of rights. Those are two that CFAA will be in Ottawa next week. for three days of meetings with government officials. And we’ll certainly be addressing concerns we’re hearing from members on those two points.

RHBTV: Is there anything that landlords can do to protect their interests in a situation like this?

Tony Irwin: I think it’s important to note that this is budget making and the process of budgets is a long one. We certainly understand why rental housing providers are concerned with some of these items. There’s a lot still to happen here in terms of seeing this become reality. I would just say to

MAY/JUNE 2024

people watching: you are part of an association because of the work we do to advocate on your behalf. We are hearing loud and clear from members about why the concerns they have and impacts they could experience. There’s lots of work still to be done here before any of these measures are actually implemented. Capital gains is coming. There’s a date attached to that. We need to work quickly. Many people and many groups are expressing concern about that. With respect to the renters’ bill of rights, there’s a lot of work still to be done there. We’re a long way from it actually being realized. And we will certainly be doing a lot of work in the coming weeks and months… to really unpack the various provisions that were announced within that.

RHBTV: The CFAA is working really hard along with all the other associations. Is there anything that we can do as an entity, as an industry, to help out?

Tony Irwin: Whenever I speak, whether it was at IPOANS in Halifax last week or this event that I attended with the QRLA and all the other regional associations, I always convey the same message, which is it’s so important for rental housing providers to be involved. Join whatever association makes sense for you based on where you are and what you can manage. But it is so important that we work together, that we understand concerns of those who are working so hard day in and day out to provide rental housing that is so badly needed right across Canada. It’s critical that people do get involved, do support their associations, whether it’s at the municipal level, provincial level, or the federal level. And while we know there are a lot of challenges that we’re facing, that all Canadians are facing, and certainly rental housing providers are no exception to that, it is really important that we stand together and strength in numbers is important and that we support one another. And I think doing that positions us to be able to try to successfully advocate on behalf of our industry and continue to communicate those messages to government, urge them to make decisions and changes where we think they’re needed and bring forward policies that achieve what I have always said and believe is critically important, which is to support an industry that protects residents. We do need to have resident protections and we do have them, but also speak to those who provide rental housing that support an environment that is conducive to this industry providing such urgently needed housing. They need to provide a framework that allows for rental housing providers to operate their businesses and to do so in a way that is supportive of them. And we know that there’s always work to be done there and we’ll continue to do that. But having an industry that speaks to both ends is very important. And that’s our mandate. And we’ll just keep working toward that. And we appreciate the support of all those who are with us and also support that objective. Well, definitely one voice will always be heard louder and clearer than the clutter of many chattering away.

RHBTV: The upcoming CFAA show is going to be here in Toronto. Tell me more about it.

Tony Irwin: We are super excited about the CFAA Rental Housing Conference. The theme this year is building stronger communities. We think that is so appropriate given all the conversations we’re having about the shortage of housing we have right across Canada and the urgent role, the critical role, that rental housing providers play in providing housing that’s so needed. So that’s the theme. We have a great program lined up. I think people that have attended before are going to really like what they see, like some of the changes. And for those who are coming for the first time, we are super excited to welcome you to Toronto for three great days of sessions and speakers and a program that will both educate and entertain. We’ve got sessions on topics that are really topical, very top of mind for many in the industry, whether it’s ESG, AI, marketing all-stars, emerging leaders, our executive roundtable. We’ve got politicians from every level of government speaking to us and some fun social after-parties and networking experiences that our industry loves so much. Looking forward to bringing everyone together for a couple of days in Toronto. Really excited about it and hope to see you all there.

RHBTV: Thank you so much for your time. We always appreciate you coming in and sharing your thoughts. And I’m looking forward to seeing you at the CFAA show, RHBTV, crew and all.

Tony Irwin: My pleasure. Looking forward to seeing you too soon.

NATIONAL OUTLOOK

2024 CFAA Rental Housing Conference

CFAA held the 2024 Rental Housing Conference, from May 14 to 16, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Toronto, under the theme “Building Stronger Communities.” It was another successful event that brought together hundreds of members of the rental housing industry, including rental executives, property managers, apartment association leaders, rental housing suppliers, and more. They were able to engage in valuable networking opportunities, learn about new technologies and techniques, and gain valuable insights from industry leaders and experts.

As usual, Benjamin Tal, Deputy Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets, provided an update on the economy and its impact on Canada’s rental housing industry. Special guests included Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Paul Chalandra, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, Scott Aitchison, MP and Shadow Minister of Housing, and David Colettto, Abacus Data. Attendees enjoyed an exceptional Buildings Innovation Tour and had a great time at the Wyse and Rentals.ca after-parties. This year’s conference featured the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at the conference dinner on May 15 to Peter Altobelli, Vice President and General Manager at Yardi Canada Ltd.

CFAA’s Rental Housing Conference was packed with a number of informative educational sessions. Here’s a sample of what you missed.

Executive Insights Panel – Looking Forward

Sponsored by First National LP and moderated by Jeremy Wedgbury, the session featured leaders from diverse sectors of the rental ecosystem members, including Kerri Jackson (Concert Properties), Michael Tsourounis (Hazelview Investments), Adrian Rocca (Fitzrovia), and Dean Holmes (QuadReal Property Group). The panelists shared their expertise and offered unique perspectives on navigating the everchanging landscape.

Safe and Sound

The session, moderated by Sheena Keslick (Mainstreet Equity Corp.), featured BJ Santavy (Skyline Living), Kris Figurski (Weidner Homes), and Kristin Ley (Cohen Highley LLP). They discussed vital safety strategies for rental housing communities, and the importance of prioritizing safety to protect staff and tenants and to boost satisfaction and retention. Attendees learned about security protocols, safety inspections, communication channels, and training to mitigate risks and ensure a secure environment.

MAY/JUNE 2024

Partnering for a Better Future

Moderated by Tony Irwin and sponsored by CMHC, this session explored innovative collaborations aimed at addressing the challenges of building more rental housing. The panelists included Brad Bradford (Toronto Councillor, Ward 19), Mwarigha (WoodGreen), Joel Genest (CMHC), and Andrew Joyner (Tricon Residential). Attendees learned how strategic partnerships can drive positive change for enhanced availability and affordability.

The Next Gen: Emerging Leaders Panel

This session, hosted by Peter Altobelli and sponsored by Yardi Canada, featured a panel including Shannon Tullio (Tricon), Courtney Chisholm (Fitzrovia), Shubham Agarwal (Valour Group), and Nathania Dixon (RioCan). The panel of emerging leaders discussed the latest trends, strategies, and technologies shaping the next generation of rental housing leaders.

Redefining Work Culture and Meaningful Connection

This session was moderated by Brandi Mclivenny Clarke of Sifton Properties, and featured Kim Reid (Taeus Group), Randy Daiter (M&R), and Alicia Ross (Hazelview). They discussed the changing landscape of work culture and connections, from remote work to digital collaboration. Attendees learned about the pivotal role of company culture in fostering meaningful connections and purposeful work.

Driving Business Impact: ESG Initiatives

Moderated by Peter Mills and sponsored by Wyse, this session included Mairi McKinnon (Killam Apartment REIT), Jonathan Diamond (Well Grounded Real Estate), Kyle Hulme (Lankin Investments), and Ariel Feldman (Choice Properties REIT). They explored the strategic advantages of integrating ESG principles into rental housing operations. Attendees learned how this approach can elevate brand reputation, appeal to socially conscious investors, and cultivate positive tenant and community relations.

Accelerating Leases with Proptech

Sponsored by Rentsync and moderated by Max Steinman, this session included Ryan Funt (Fitzrovia), Jonathan Margel (BuildingStack), Meherzad Bakht (Yardi), and Josh Donen (GRYD). They discussed how technology is revolutionizing leasing, making tenant acquisition faster and more efficient. Attendees received insights into cutting-edge tools and strategies that automate tasks, lower vacancy rates, and improve tenant satisfaction, and learned how to transform their leasing approach with the latest innovations in the rental market.

Fostering Social Impact

This session was moderated by Renee Bourgon of RB Consulting, and included Ossana Ber (Greenwin Corp.), Jasmin Pirani (Hazelview), and Krish Vadivale (Skyline Living). The panel members discussed how today’s businesses are becoming key drivers of social change, and how it is particularly noticeable in rental housing communities, where new methods are revolutionizing old practices. They explored how companies are making a difference by prioritizing social impact, discussed successful strategies, and offered expert insights to inspire collaborative action.

Sign-up for CFAA’s National Outlook e-newsletter to receive up-to-date news on what is happening across Canada, as well as industry insights and insider information on CFAA happenings. Email communication@cfaa-fcapi.org to start receiving CFAA’s e-Newsletter today!

NATIONAL OUTLOOK

Labour and Innovation Panel

This panel, moderated by George Carras of R Labs, included Chris Spoke (Toronto Standard), Hon. Rob Flack (MPP Elgin-Middlesex-London), Richard Lyall (RESCON), and Dean Campbell (Parkbridge). They explored how Canada can attract and retain talent essential for the residential construction sector. They also discussed innovative tools and strategies for ensuring affordability, scalability, climate compatibility, and resilience in new rental homes.

President’s message

As a very wet spring (so far) moves toward summer, the temperatures continue to climb and more sunny days are on the way. If you haven’t already done so, it looks like a good time to plant your flowers and vegetables. As always, FRPO remains active in advocating for our members with the government, and there is a lot of news to share with our members.

As the president of FRPO, I’m delighted to have attended this year’s CFAA Rental Housing Conference in Toronto, which took place from May 14 to 16. The event will have concluded by the time you read this. However, if you haven’t attended the event in the past, then you are surely missing out. This conference brings together leaders, professionals, and stakeholders from across Canada’s rental housing community, providing everyone who attends with invaluable opportunities to network, exchange ideas, and stay on top of the latest trends and innovations in the industry. I’m sure that everyone benefited from all the sessions and great events at the conference, spent time with peers and friends at the after-parties, and took in some of the downtown restaurants and attractions.

Tony Irwin, President and CEO, FRPO, and Interim President, CFAA

Bill 185, Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act

On April 10, 2024, Housing Minister Paul Calandra tabled Bill 185, the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, in the Ontario Legislature. The goal of the legislation is to reduce red tape as it applies to building more homes.

Some of the provisions include the following:

• Building more student housing: Ontario plans to exempt publicly-assisted universities from the Planning Act to help them construct new student housing. This would speed up approvals, remove planning application fees, and eliminate barriers to building higher density student residences.

• “Use it or lose it”: Ontario is proposing a new “use it or lose it” process to help overcome stalled developments and support the allocation of housing-enabling infrastructure. Municipalities would be able to adopt policies on how water and wastewater servicing are allocated and reallocated, which will reduce barriers to developments and delays before construction. It would also impose a three-year timeframe for conditions to be met on pre1995 draft subdivision approvals; if existing conditions are not met within the timeframe, the approval would expire or lapse.

• Getting shovels in the ground faster for priority projects: Ontario is consulting on a new expedited approval process for community service facilities (e.g., K-12 public schools), which could be extended to long-term care and hospitals.

• Providing certainty for planning decisions and enhancing consultation tools: Municipalities will be able to give notice of new planning applications and community benefits charge by-laws and development charge matters on the municipal website. The province plans to enhance public engagement for new planning applications through new municipal best practices for public notice in partnership with municipalities. Ontario is also seeking to streamline third-party appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal to help communities get quicker planning approvals for housing projects, reduce building costs, and reduce project delays by up to 18 months.

• Eliminating parking minimums: Ontario is proposing to remove minimum parking requirements for developments in certain areas near most major transit stations. This would apply to lands, buildings or structures located within Protected Major Transit Station Areas or other areas around subway, rail, and rapid bus stations that are designated for higher density. Homebuyers and homebuilders would decide on parking spaces for new residential development near higher order transit. This could remove $2,000-$100,000 per parking space per project in construction costs, and could save up to $50 million for a 500-unit development.

• Provincial Planning Statement consultations: The government will be consulting on updating its proposed Provincial Planning Statement (PPS), which sets rules for land use planning. It covers policies about managing growth, natural resources, protecting

the environment, and public health and safety. Changes would focus on housing outcomes and making it easier to make land available for residential development, increasing intensification in areas close to transit and in strategic growth.

• Reducing barriers to building additional residential units: Proposed changes to the Planning Act would help create new residential units, such as garden, laneway or basement suites, by providing authority to eliminate practical barriers to these units being built (e.g., maximum lot coverage, limits on number of bedrooms)

• Reducing red tape in planning approvals: Ontario proposes to remove fee refund provisions from the Planning Act and City of Toronto Act, 2006. This should help speed up local decisions that support more housing.

• Standardizing housing designs to build more homes: Ontario is proposing a regulation-making authority to exempt certain standardized housing designs. This would allow the province to speed up approvals and allow Ontario to create a catalog of housing designs using modular construction

• Updating the Building Code: The next edition of Ontario’s Building Code will focus on increasing housing supply, supporting public safety and innovation. It will increase harmonization with the National Construction Codes to support greater consistency and streamline product manufacturing. This will support the increased use of advanced wood construction like mass timber.

• Development-related charges on housing: Ontario plans to eliminate the five-year phase-in of development charge rates, which would apply to development charge bylaws passed on and after January 1, 2022. It will also bring into force municipal development-related

charge exemptions and discounts for affordable residential units to provide incentives for the development of affordable housing.

• Consulting on financial tools to use in planning approvals: Ontario will be consulting on a regulation to enable landowners to specify the instruments to be used to secure municipal land-use planning approvals, including pay on demand surety bonds. This could help free up money for home builders to pursue additional home building projects and make some projects more viable.

• Exploring opportunities to cut red tape to build housing: Ontario will consult with sector experts to cut red tape and explore streamlining planning processes to enable more housing.

• Increasing the transparency of housing supply data: Ontario has begun reporting on the total number of homes created in municipalities with assigned housing targets. It is proposing to include another 21 municipalities and enhance municipal data points.

This legislation is a positive next step in helping to get more homes built faster in Ontario. We at FRPO look forward to continuing to work with MMAH on these types of policies to support greater density where it makes sense in the next Housing Supply Action Plan Bill.

Upcoming events

Annual Charity Golf Classic

Date and Time: July 23, 2024 9:00 am – 7:30 pm

Registration is now open for the 2024 FRPO Annual Charity Golf Classic in support of Interval House. This event will take place on Tuesday, July 23 at Lionhead Golf Club in Brampton. Join us for a fun-filled day of golf and networking. This event will sell out quickly, so please register as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Visit frpo.org for full details.

Past events

RTA Seminar

April 25, 2024

8:00 am – 12:00 pm

This session, which took place in-person at the Old Mill Inn in Toronto, was designed to equip rental housing providers with the knowledge and strategies needed to navigate the intricate landscape of the RTA with confidence. The seminar covered a range of topics such as extraordinary municipal property tax increases and recovery through Above Guideline Increases (AGIs), procedural updates including the latest changes at the LTB Portal, and insights into the current process and timelines for a hearing. There were also discussions of best practices to manage assignments, sublets, and avoid ‘unauthorized occupancies,’ which continues to be on the rise due to affordability issues. Our experts explored the impact of municipal encroachment on the Residential Tenancies Act and Landlord Tenant Board and what it means for rental housing providers.

FRPO Annual General Meeting (Virtual)

May 6, 2024

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

FRPO held this year’s Annual General Meeting on May 6. This meeting took place in a virtual format and included an overview of the past year, updates from our Chair of the Board and President, approval of the financials, appointment of auditors, and election of Directors.

Ontario’s leading advocate for strong and stable rental housing.

FRPO is the largest association in Ontario representing those who own, manage, build and finance residential rental properties.

For membership inquiries please contact Lynzi Michal, Director, Membership & Marketing

Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario

801-67 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1J8 416-309-8744

lmichal@frpo.org www.frpo.org

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Hot Topics:

LPMA describes how the tenantlandlord forum is improving renting conditions for Londoners, and announces the opening of the Cross Cultural Learner Centre. pg. 49

HDAA discusses the Vacant Home Tax and provides updates on the licensing pilot project and the LRT. pg. 53

EOLO provides details on the City of Ottawa's anti-renoviction by-law and updates the multi-res solid waste plan. pg. 57

SKLA provides details on the Association's key events, member services, and stakeholder relations. pg. 61

The Member Associations

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Springing toward change

As property managers and owners, let’s use the spring season to refresh our properties and enhance the rental experience for tenants. Creating positive change can be accomplished by sprucing up common areas, organizing community events or implementing eco-friendly initiatives.

LPMA’s annual trade show took place on April 9 and it was a great success. It was terrific to see industry experts gathered together to network. Attendees had an opportunity to visit exhibitor booths featuring cutting-edge technologies, sustainable solutions, and essential services tailored to the needs of property management professionals. We are already looking forward to next year.

Be sure to attend our AGM on May 7. On May 8, LPMA will hold its spring food drive in support of the London Food Bank.

Thinking of sponsoring events or meetings? LPMA is launching a new annual tier sponsorship program to provide maximum benefit and exposure for associates and members. If you’re interested, contact info@ lpma.ca for more information.

Warmest wishes,

- Richie Anand, President, LPMA

TENANT–LANDLORD FORUM IS IMPROVING RENTING CONDITIONS FOR LONDONERS

When London’s tenant-landlord forum was created at City Hall in 2022, it aimed to upgrade the quality of rental accommodations through collaboration. At that time, a local tenant advocacy group wanted the City to create a bylaw enforcement program similar to Toronto’s RentSafe. Lisa Smith, municipal affairs chair with LPMA and a forum member, said she fought that proposal on LPMA’s behalf. She was concerned about the costs of hiring more bylaw enforcement officers, which would ultimately reflect on property taxes. London also has a rental licensing system, which regulates and provides standards for buildings with four and fewer units. In addition, buildings owned and/ or managed by LPMA members tend to be well maintained.

Ethan Ling, a policy program analyst at City Hall, said forum members find commonality in an exchange of information and ideas. By contrast, groups represent their own positions when they advocate in council chambers.

“The forum provides a venue for participating organizations to collaborate with a view to improving information, processes, and systems,” Ling said. “We didn’t want to take away the different organizations’ ability to act politically if they wanted to at committee and council.”

Members, who represent legal aid and tenant advocacy groups as well as LPMA, meet regularly to discuss common problems in rental housing.

“We came up with the (idea of) building blitzes where bylaw officers do some blitzes throughout London in buildings of concern,” Smith said.

The buildings initially chosen were those with the most complaints followed by buildings in zones throughout the city. The City posts notices to inform tenants that a blitz will be carried out.

A bylaw officer can inspect tenants’ units if asked as well as common areas to determine the work that needs to be done. The officer then gives the landlord an order to fix the problem if warranted.

Richie Anand

Other forum initiatives include asking the City to provide a list of resources for tenants and landlords on its website. Ling said the work was completed eight months ago. For example, the landlord section includes links to City of London bylaws that relate to rental housing and to community supports, including landlord organizations. It can be accessed at https://london.ca/ living-london/community-services/ rental-housing-support/informationproperty-owners-landlords. The forum has also requested links on the home page, one for tenants and one for landlords, that will take visitors directly to those areas.

In addition, the forum has asked for an update to the City’s website to make it easier for individuals to navigate and locate the information they need. At a first-ever tenant support fair at City Hall in March, volunteers helped tenants navigate the website and register a total of 60 complaints.

The fair was organized by the forum and was represented by 17 organizations. Participating groups wanted to make the fair a positive experience so tenants would receive correct information, Smith noted. About 100 tenants attended the event.

“The people who came in had great questions,” Smith said. “There wasn’t a protest, they just needed information and they got the right information, which was the whole reason for this support on what to do with their concerns.”

Tenants, some of whom were homeless or couch surfing, were concerned that they weren’t able to find an affordable unit.

Representatives from the Housing Stability Bank gave them information about their program, which helps eligible low-income Londoners with interest-free loans for rent arrears.

Several tenants asked Smith why a landlord group like LPMA was there.

“My response was, ‘Well, why wouldn’t we be? Why wouldn’t we want to educate the public?’” she said. “We are not in the business to evict so why wouldn’t we want to give them the tools and resources that are out there to instruct or help them with their concerns.”

It’s expected that another tenant support fair will be held next year.

THE CROSS CULTURAL LEARNER CENTRE OPENS THE DOOR TO HOUSING NEWCOMERS

Since 1968, the Cross Cultural Learner Centre (CCLC) has been helping newcomers to Canada find a better life, starting with a place to live. The demand for its services is so great that it’s expanding its role as London’s leading resettlement agency to become a rental housing provider.

CCLC has purchased the land at 763-769 Dundas St. and expects to break ground in the next year on two apartment buildings. They include a 202-unit, 24-storey highrise and a 30-unit low-rise building, both with a mix of affordable and market rents. CCLC has also become an LPMA member.

“We want to learn as much as possible,” said Valerian Marochko, CCLC’s executive director. “Now that we will become a landlord, so to speak, in a position to perform our duties up to the standard, there’s a lot of learning that we expect from this association with the organization. We want to become as good as we can.”

Valerian Marochko Executive Director

The agency will also contribute its knowledge to aid LPMA members, Marochko said. For example, communication or cultural barriers can be obstacles when newcomers move into rental housing. CCLC’s staff members educate them about their rights and responsibilities as tenants and provide information to landlords about newcomers’ needs and what to expect.

“We are really appreciative of the landlords who make an extra effort to accommodate newcomer families,” Marochko said. “The newcomers are good tenants. If the landlord has an issue, they can call us so there's an assurance for them that it will be taken care of on a timely basis.”

Although some newcomers can be temporarily accommodated at two CCLC reception centres, others end up at Mission Services, a shelter and social service agency, and in other City shelters. Landlords and homeowners provide rental units and rooms in homes, but it isn’t enough to meet the need, particularly when London’s rental vacancy rate is just 1.7 per cent.

Marochko said the increase in demand for the agency’s services started a few years ago when Canada committed to resettling 40,000 Afghan refugees.

“That target was achieved and our resettlement assistance program has received 835 people from Afghanistan since August 2021,” he recalled.

Since 2022, CCLC has helped 7,000 newcomers to find employment, locate permanent housing, and have their documents translated.

The agency receives federal government money that funds a reception centre, Jeremiah‘s House, for government-assisted refugees. The government covers temporary accommodations there until rental housing is found, usually in just

35 days; hotels are used for the overflow. Last year, CCLC housed more than 1,000 refugees or about 300 families in the centre, which has a 30-person capacity.

Others, who are not funded by the federal government, make refugee claims when they arrive in Canada. A second reception centre for refugee claimants, Joseph’s House, has a 14-person capacity. Operated by fundraising alone, claimants stay there for two to three months on average.

“It‘s a safe place for refugee claimants,” Marochko said.

With the number of newcomers arriving in London, CCLC joined forces with Mission Services to request funding from the province. It was secured last December and CCLC is planning to hire three staff members, including a settlement counsellor, housing co-ordinator, and employment counsellor. That’s compared to just one staff person who provided settlement services to 700 people in the last year. Marochko said staff members are grateful for the advocacy of London mayor Josh Morgan and the support of councillor Corinne Rahman.

“The need is going on,” Marochko noted. “There are still people arriving from Ukraine and many Londoners open their homes. It’s like a match between an offer and the Ukrainian newcomer family. What they need could be a room or a second unit that people have and we‘ve been working to support the Ukrainian newcomers. I would say Canadians and Londoners have been generous and we really appreciate this welcome that newcomers have been receiving.”

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. Ph: 519-672-6999 Web: www.LPMA.ca

Sign up online or call Tina Potter.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The warmer months are slowly reaching us and the HDAA is busy preparing for our larger annual events. We will have our Annual Golf Tournament on June 4 and will be holding our Annual Trade Show a little later this year on October 8. There has been some more news from the City on the licensing pilot project. We also have some updates on the Vacant Home Tax, which had a final vote recently. We continue our fight against various bylaws targeting the rental housing industry, which are very detrimental to all housing providers.

- Daniel Chin, President, HDAA

Vacant Home Tax

The Vacant Home Tax, which was initially set to start this year but was struck down late last year, had another vote to decide whether it will be proceeding in 2025. The previous 9-6 vote struck down the tax with those opposed saying they were concerned residents would be wrongly taxed and equated the tax to negative billing. Those in support believe the tax would encourage residential property owners to keep their properties occupied, increasing supply in the city, while cracking down on investors who buy homes and let them sit empty. The revenue from the tax would go toward more affordable housing.

The HDAA had rallied the troops and sent countless emails to councillors on the negative effects the tax would have on housing providers and renters, as well as residents who may not realize they need to declare their home status on their tax bills. Headlines were made in Toronto of the disastrous rolling out of their vacant home tax, which resulted in over 120,000 complaints to the City and tens of thousands of Toronto residents contesting bills for thousands of dollars because they failed to declare whether their home was vacant.

On April 24, council voted again on the Vacant Home Tax and passed the tax with a 9-6 vote. An additional one per cent tax, on the assessed value of a home, will apply to residents’ property taxes in 2025 if they own a vacant property. The bylaw will require all property owners to formally declare their property’s status annually between January and March 31. The City will consider a unit to be vacant if it was unoccupied for more than 183 days in the previous calendar year, or if the

bylaw deems it so. Officials have said over 1,000 property owners will be taxed, generating over $4 million in revenue in the program’s first year.

Mayor Andrea Horwath commented, “In the face of a declared housing crisis, it is unacceptable for there to be units sitting vacant in the City of Hamilton, which is why I am so pleased to see council’s reconsideration and approval of the Vacant Unit Tax.” As we have argued in our submissions, leaving a property empty is not in the interest of a housing provider and speculative buying has decreased significantly. The money spent on this initiative would have been better spent on providing housing subsidies to those in need, as the effect of this tax will likely be very minimal in increasing rental housing supply.

Update on the licensing pilot project

The licensing pilot project in Hamilton is set to finish at the end of 2025, at which time we expect the City to want to continue with licensing and make it city-wide. The licensing pilot project requires a license for rental housing units and buildings or part of buildings with five or fewer self-contained units, detached homes or townhouses and includes annual fees, zoning verifications, site sketches or surveys, and fire and electrical inspections.

The project was approved after concerns from community members, property owners, and students regarding “illegal dwelling units,” “absentee landlords,” property standards, and yard maintenance complaints. Once the evaluation

of the pilot program is complete, City staff will provide a report for council to determine if the program should indeed be implemented city-wide. License fees are to reflect full cost recovery based on the assumption that approximately 2,000 rental units are licensed by the end of the pilot program and then annually moving forward. Should the program achieve the projected license numbers, there would be no cost to taxpayers.

In April, staff provided their fourth update, which focused on information from all zones included in the pilot and between April 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023. As of February 1, 2024, 821 applications were received and 247 licenses have been issued. Each zone within the pilot wards had an application intake period of three months. As of December 31, 2023, the proactive enforcement of the Rental Housing License Bylaw has begun in all seven zones.

Licensing Compliance Officers proactively investigated 1,289 properties in zones past their application period, resulting in an increase in zoning verification applications and license applications. Staff identified 55.2 per cent of all applications have been received as a direct result of proactive enforcement since the application period began.

Of the original 2000 suspected rental housing units

247 licenses have been issued

Although the application numbers seem much higher than the last update (223 applications and 69 licensed as of March 31, 2023), they are still less than half of the projected 2,000 suspected rental housing units. If this stays true, this will mean that the program will not be full cost recovery and taxpayers will need to make up the difference. As with many of the new bylaws directed at the rental industry, this is another waste of taxpayers’ money for little effect. Most landlords in Hamilton are good landlords and Hamilton would have been better off targeting the bad players directly.

LRT update

The Hamilton Light Rail Transit (LRT) is full steam ahead with recent discussions on who will be leading the operation of the rail.

The Hamilton LRT project will play a key role in the revitalization of Hamilton by transforming how residents travel across the heart of the city. The rail will connect key areas, destinations, and institutions with 17 stops along Main Street, King Street, and Queenston Road, creating a 14-kilometre multi-modal corridor and enhanced streetscape. It will also include a complete revitalization of both private and public utilities along the transit route, including water, gas, and telecommunications lines, setting the stage for sustainable growth for the future.

The City of Hamilton has been discussing and debating the best course of action with regard to the operation of the rail, mostly whether it should be privately or publicly run. The LRT line appears to be a step closer to being operated by a third party after councillors backed a staff recommendation suggesting the move would reduce the City’s liability. In a 9-6 vote, the General Issues committee opted to go for a proposed framework that would have a contractor launch the system and handle most operations for the first 10 years, after which the City would have an option to take it over.

Only customer service and fare enforcement would be in the City’s hands, allowing the province to take on riskier operations, like training staff, driving train cars, and conducting maintenance. The

decision still has to be ratified formally by council after which it will then be presented to provincial transit agency Metrolinx, which has the final say as the owner of the LRT.

Those who disagreed with a third party operating the rail believe the City has an obligation to run the LRT from the start; if the City is to be accountable for the transit service, it needs to have operational control. Many delegates spoke at the meeting who were in favour of fully public operations, saying a private operator would be less accountable to riders than the City, might not offer unionized jobs, and would involve the City relinquishing too much control. The public model would also be the most seamless customer experience and give the City the most control over implementing equity policies. A publicly operated option, however, is said to create the most risk for the City, which is partly the reason for wanting the rail to be operated privately.

Upcoming events

June 4, 2024 – HDAA Annual Golf Tournament

The HDAA is very excited to be hosting our next Golf Tournament on June 4! Our golf tournament is one of our more popular networking

Multi-Housing Specialist

opportunities and a great way to spend a day out of the office. As in previous years, you can look forward to a great day of golfing, an opportunity to win some great prizes, and meet other housing providers and suppliers. We will be bringing back our 50/50 draw, as well as our greatly anticipated wine cellar prize. You may find more details and register on our website.

September 11, 2024 – Dinner meeting

The HDAA will be holding our next dinner meeting on September 11. Make sure to mark your calendars and keep an eye out for our emails for more details.

October 8, 2024 – HDAA Annual Trade Show

The HDAA is excited to hold what we hope to be our biggest Trade Show this fall! Our Trade Show is attended by hundreds of rental housing providers and community members, as well as dozens of suppliers to the industry. Our keynote speaker event, which takes place before the Trade Show, will have some of the largest names in the rental housing industry. You may find more details on our website as well as our vendor registration form.

OneVoice,OneMessage,OneMagazine!

Chair’s message

Housing policy issues are back in the forefront of the news, with many federal and provincial announcements, as described in other sections of this issue (and the previous issue) of RHB Magazine . This section focuses on the City of Ottawa’s decision to direct City staff to study the new Hamilton antirenoviction by-law, and to provide advice on what steps, if any, the City should take to police tenancy terminations for major repairs or renovations. The section ends with a note about a small change to the multi-residential solid waste collection plan.

- John Dickie, Chair, Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization

City of Ottawa moves on an anti-renoviction by-law

As reported recently in Ottawa’s daily newspapers, the City has decided to have staff study Hamilton’s newly enacted anti-renoviction by-law, with a view to considering a similar by-law for Ottawa. Set out below are perspectives that came up in the public submissions and in the debate at both the City Committee and Council. The perspectives come up repeatedly in City debates on various specific housing policy issues.

Competing perspectives on current housing policy issues

Rental housing owners

Private providers tend to provide better quality rental housing at the least cost since the profit motive promotes efficiency. Non-profits can charge less only because of government subsidies or other charitable contributions.

More rental supply is the answer to rising market rents. Looser government restrictions and lower government charges will help to increase rental supply.

Owners have a right to move their rental units to market rent, at least when tenants turn over.

Building larger rental housing buildings on sites with existing housing is an important way to achieve more housing. Many sites do not permit staged developments with replacement units built before the main new buildings are built. Even when that is feasible, it would delay new development and raise its cost.

Rental regulations need to be reasonable to encourage investors to provide rental housing. To have a rental sector, you need people willing to invest money in rental housing.

Renters should be well-housed and affordably housed, and the cost of the affordability should be borne by society as a whole, just as the need for food and clothing is met by society as a whole, not by food retailers and clothing stores.

Housing advocates

Non-profit or publicly funded housing providers are generally as efficient at private providers. Since they do not need to earn profit, they provide a better use of tax money to subsidize rents in the long run.

New market rental supply is not affordable. The government might as well collect all it can from new supply, and force developers to replace all the affordable housing they demolish with replacement units, at a similar rent.

Society has a right to control rents even on turnover. That is an important and legitimate way to retain the affordable housing that low income and middle-income people need.

No existing affordable housing should be demolished unless the units are replaced with equivalent units at the same rents in the same neighbourhood, preferably before the existing units are demolished. This would enable existing tenants to move directly into the replacement units.

Renting out housing is highly profitable, and rental investors can tolerate strict regulations, which are needed to protect tenants.

Renters should be well-housed and affordably housed, and the cost of the affordability should be borne largely by rental housing providers because no one should make a profit at the expense of the human right to housing.

Some councillors hold one set of views firmly. Many councillors hold views somewhere in the middle, or on one side on some issues and on the other side on other issues.

EOLO works with many councillors to explain the rental industry’s positions, and to achieve compromises that enable the rental industry to succeed even though there are more controls and requirements than rental housing providers would like to see.

Ottawa’s Planning and Housing Committee

The main Ottawa debate on the study of Hamilton’s anti-renoviction by-law took place at the Planning and Housing Committee on April 24. Housing policy has been the responsibility of that committee since the responsibilities of the different City committees were set immediately after the election of 2022, when numerous housing responsibilities were added to the responsibilities of the Planning Committee.

The members of that committee are Councillors Leiper, Gower, Brockington, Curry, Dudas, Johnson, Kavanagh, Kelly, Kitts, Lo, Tierney, and Troster. Councillor Leiper is the Chair, while Councillor Gower is the Vice-Chair.

The Planning and Housing Committee is responsible for overseeing all development and planning within the urban boundary in accordance with the City’s Official Plan through the zoning by-law, community development plans, and site plan requirements. The committee also reviews and makes recommendations to council on all issues related to development charges (DCs) and community benefit charges.

On the housing side, the Planning and Housing Committee is responsible for making recommendations to council on:

• Housing policies in accordance with the City’s Official Plan, the 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Plan and related strategies, including those related to:

 Housing requirements and targets for the City of Ottawa including those related to affordability and inclusionary zoning

 Federal and provincial housing-related policy initiatives

 Capital asset management for the City’s community housing providers

 Reports on the housing situation in the City

 Implementation of the City of Ottawa Affordable Housing Strategy and all related housing policy initiatives

• How to adequately and affordably increase the supply of housing for Ottawa residents, and provide options for increasing the supply of affordable housing

• Capital funding of affordable housing programs and the Long-Range Financial Plan for Housing

• Capital funding opportunities from other levels of government or other sources, supporting projects along the spectrum of housing-related needs from new construction, to renovations of affordable, supportive, and transitional housing

You can see that for councillors with the view that society has the right to control rents, it is attractive for the City to become involved in controlling rents, even though other people would say that is a policy matter reserved for the province (since it affects economic development and property rights within the province).

Councillor Troster represents Somerset ward (Centretown), the ward that was represented by Catherine McKenney, and before that by Diane Holmes. Like her predecessors, Councillor Troster is a strong advocate of tenants’ rights. Early this year, she laid the groundwork to bring a motion to direct City staff to study Hamilton’s newly enacted anti-renoviction by-law.

The new Hamilton by-law

The new Hamilton by-law requires all landlords who give an N13 notice (to evict a tenant for major repairs or renovations) to apply for a City permit to proceed with the N13. The application to the City must be made within seven days, based on filing the City’s own building permit for the work to be done, and a report by a building professional that the work requires vacant possession. (Under current provincial law, the permit and the report are required if the issue proceeds to a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board, but they are not required before that time.)

To obtain Hamilton’s permit pursuant to the new by-law, the landlord will also have to agree to provide the tenant with alternate accommodation while the repairs or renovations are done, or to fund the tenant in alternate accommodation. (Hamilton sees the current provincial requirement of one to three month’s rent as insufficient).

Hamilton intends to use the landlord’s application as a trigger to send an information package to the affected tenants. The information package will ensure the tenant knows their right to an increased compensation package, and that they are allowed to move back into the renovated unit at the previous rent.

The budgeted cost for the Hamilton program is close to $1,000,000 per year, for eight full-time employees and three new cars (and electric charging stations), with a cost recovery of 10 per cent through permit application fees. The budget assumes 132 applications per year, so the cost to taxpayers will be close to $7,500 per tenant helped.

City of Ottawa deliberations

As noted above, Ottawa’s Planning and Housing Committee considered Councillor Troster’s motion on April 24. EOLO appeared to represent rental owners. We submitted that the rental housing industry needed less red tape, not more, and that

the issue was under provincial jurisdiction. Our submissions fell on deaf ears, as the motion was carried with no dissenting votes.

On May 1, City Council considered the motion. As at the committee, the discussion ranged over several issues including staff work priorities, “preserving existing affordable housing”, priorities for the use of limited City funding, education for tenants through existing support agencies, a possible rental replacement by-law, and the negative impact of more regulations on infill development. The motion was carried by 20 votes to 5.

Councillors Luloff, Hubley, Darouze, Brown, and Hill voted against the anti-renoviction study. All generally respect private property rights, and prefer the City to stay out of provincial affairs and avoid unnecessary expenditures. EOLO applauds their views and their position on this issue.

City staff are to prepare their report for the Planning and Housing Committee meeting in September or October of this year. EOLO will work with staff to minimize the negative consequences of their recommendations.

If Ottawa enacts an anti-renoviction by-law, EOLO may consider bringing a court challenge of the by-law on the basis that the by-law is outside the jurisdiction of the City to enact.

Change to the multi-res solid waste plan

The March/April 2024 Edition of EOLO’s Regional Association Voice reported that the City’s plan was to change the multi-residential solid waste collection contract to not collect waste on statutory holidays. That plan has since been changed to continue the current system in which multi-residential solid waste is collected on statutory holidays except for Christmas and New Year’s Day.

BECOME AN EOLO MEMBER NOW!

EOLO invites Ottawa area landlords to join the organization. Have your interests and concerns heard, and benefit from EOLO’s support. As an EOLO member, you will be able to:

• Receive prompt emails of relevant City rule changes

• Attend two networking receptions a year

• Attend two free education events a year

• Receive all 6 annual issues of RHB Magazine with current developments, City and provincial funding programs, and landlord-tenant laws.

To apply for membership, go to www.eolo.ca, download the membership application form and send it to us at the contact info on that website.

Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations

Canada’s voice for the rental housing industry at the federal level.

Join Canada’s leading rental housing providers, suppliers and industry associations. Become a direct member of CFAA today!

CEO’S MESSAGE

2024 has gotten off to a very busy start here at the Association –events, new resources, and a new team member!

The Association’s Board of Directors has adopted a new strategic plan for the next three years and as a staff team we’re hard at work to ensure that we meet the goals and objectives of the Board. Over the course of the year, our members will notice new programs and services that are intended to make their jobs easier as rental housing providers and improve our industry’s knowledge and professionalism.

If you or a colleague need assistance on rental housing matters, please call our office and we’d be happy to help.

Thank you to our members for their continued support – we are much stronger when we are united together as a team.

- Cameron Choquette, CEO

Events at a glance

CMHC Rental Market Report luncheons

Our events roster kicked off with CMHC’s annual rental market luncheons in both Regina and Saskatoon, where Lead Economist Taylor Pardy and Financing Specialist Kristina Johnson joined to share their insight and expertise on the rental market report and CMHC programs for rental housing providers.

Most notable in this year’s report is the dramatic decrease in vacancy rates across Saskatchewan. Most of our markets are now at their lowest levels in nearly a decade. Visit our blog to read more about the rental market report.

Death, Drugs, and Drama

Together with Saskatoon Police Services’ Crime Free Multi-Housing program, we hosted our Death, Drugs, and Drama Lunch N’ Learn where attendees heard from the Saskatchewan Coroner, Saskatoon Police, and other experts to learn more about dealing with tenant deaths, the current drugs present in Saskatoon, how to protect tenants and staff, and how to work with tenants who might be angry or upset. Attendees were also trained on how to administer naloxone if they encounter a tenant or guest who may be overdosing.

This training proved to be helpful and fun, and each attendee received a naloxone kit and a biohazard box to safely dispose of used needles.

Cameron Choquette, CEO

Critter Control: Pests and Pets

Our next Lunch N’ Learn will be May 29 in Regina and will focus on how rental housing providers can be proactive and professional in managing pests and pets in rental properties. We will be joined by the experts at Abell Pest Control, who will give us resources on managing cockroaches and bed bugs.

Association staff will also be on hand to talk about pet agreements, pet fees, and how to care for and manage pets and their owners.

Member services

Welcome, Landon!

Joining the Association as our new Program and Operations Coordinator is Landon Field from the Edwards School of Business. Landon was here in 2022 as our co-op student and he has now completed his Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Marketing and a Certificate in Global Studies. Landon will be responsible for event planning, membership sales and administration, and coordinating the creation of a legal education program for rental housing providers.

New Limited Legal Services program

We’re very excited to announce the launch of our new Limited Legal Services program, where our members can have us file ORT claims, prepare evidence, and represent them at ORT hearings. If any of our members need assistance with ORT matters such as evictions for rent arrears, security deposit claims, monetary claims, evictions for cause or other legal form preparation. We’re approved to provide the following services:

• Basic contracts related to residential tenancies

• Matters related to the ORT, including the provision of advice, negotiation and settlement, drafting of documents, and advocacy (attendance and representation)

• A proceeding with respect to the enforcement of orders through the Court of King’s Bench as permitted by the Queen’s Bench Rules

• Services of a Notary Public

New online store

To improve access to resources, we’ve launched a new online store for members to access. Whether they’re looking for ORT forms, sample warning letters or lease agreements, the online store will be a hub for all the resources that the Association has to offer. Be sure to visit regularly as we’re always uploading new items!

Stakeholder relations

Office of Residential Tenancies

We continue to have a strong working relationship with ORT. We met with them in late March to provide an update on our work and provide feedback on the ORT portal and the increasing delay in decisions being issued by hearing officers.

We were pleased to hear that the staff complement is nearly full and that the perdiem hearing officers will be appointed in the coming weeks to ensure any risk for delays in scheduling and hearings can be mitigated.

Housing Accelerator Fund

We’ve been carefully watching both Saskatoon and Regina and how they proceed through the various steps required in the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund. So far we’ve been pleased with amendments related to accessory dwelling units and open-option parking. It’s very

important that both cities prioritize purpose-built rental housing as a means to increase housing supply for a growing province.

2024-25 Provincial Budget

Unfortunately, the Provincial Budget did not contain any new investments in the housing sector. However, it did maintain investments in the province’s secondary suite incentive and PST rebate for new home construction. These two initiatives make it easier for homeowners to provide rental housing and save money on their mortgage at the same time, but they do not incentivize large-scale purpose-built rental development.

Legal education program

Thanks to a grant from the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan, the Association is working on developing an easy-to-use and relevant legal education program for rental housing providers. The program will use existing Public Legal Education Association information and complement with real-life legal examples that will be delivered through an online asynchronous program that will include dynamic content like videos, case studies, quizzes, and more.

We are very excited to announce the preliminary development of a program that will have a direct benefit to members, improve legal compliance and professionalism among the industry, and build awareness on legal rights and responsibilities. The project timeline is anticipated to evolve over the course of the upcoming year as work progresses.

Rental Housing Dashboard

BHP is building the Jansen Potash Mine, that will account for 10 per cent of global potash production. To facilitate construction and operation of the project, east-central

Saskatchewan will see a population increase of 800 full-time staff, and an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 population influx overall.

According to BHP data, 53 per cent of those surveyed said they would prefer to rent their home, which is welcome news for the rental housing industry.

There is an immediate need for housing supply in the area to support a growing community and industry. Our Association is excited to announce that we have partnered with BHP to develop a Rental Housing Dashboard over the next four months, which will provide much-needed data to BHP, local municipalities, and industry stakeholders in the region.

As the voice of landlords in Saskatchewan, we deliver knowledge, promote best practices, and advocate for a healthy and resilient rental housing industry. We are the leading community of industry professionals who are proud to provide safe, high-quality rental homes for the people of Saskatchewan.

We work to ensure Saskatchewan’s rental housing industry meets the needs of renters, owners, and managers. Our team is dedicating to serving our members in any way that we can.

Cameron Choquette, Chief Executive Officer

1705 McKercher Dr, Saskatoon, SK S7H 5N6

eo@skla.ca

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Leveraging technology for smarter, greener buildings: A guide to energy management solutions

By Peter Altobelli, Vice President, Yardi Canada Ltd.

The rising cost of energy demands smarter solutions

Real estate owners face a constant challenge: keeping operating costs down while maintaining a comfortable and sustainable environment for their tenants. Utilities are a major expense, and many companies rely on automated invoice processing to manage these costs. While this approach offers some efficiency, it doesn't leverage the full potential of technology available today. Advancements now allow us to move beyond relying on basic accounting information and gain data-driven insights that can revolutionize how we manage energy consumption.

The power of real-time data: Gaining insights for action

Many companies currently rely on historical data from monthly utility bills to make operational decisions. However, this approach is inherently reactive, addressing problems that have already occurred. Imagine the advantage of monitoring building performance in real-time, allowing you to catch issues as they arise or even before they happen. This proactive approach is possible through a combination of sub-metering and building automation systems (BAS), integrated into a property management solution.

Real-time data empowers you to:

• Save money: Optimize energy consumption and reduce unnecessary costs.

• Improve comfort: Sustain comfortable settings for your tenants.

• Boost efficiency: Quickly identify inefficiencies in building systems.

Sub-metering and BAS: The foundation for data collection

Two key components for gathering real-time data are smart utility meters and BAS. Both can be configured to transmit data directly to your technology provider's cloud or through a data logger. Sub-metering offers the additional benefit of tracking individual tenant consumption. Depending on lease agreements, these costs can be passed on to tenants, incentivizing them to conserve energy. BAS, on the other hand, provides baseline consumption data for critical building functions like lighting, heating/cooling, and hot water. This historical data serves as a benchmark for future comparisons. These solutions are designed to enhance energy sustainability, potentially leading to benefits like green financing, creating favourable outcomes for tenants, property managers, and investors.

Alerts, dashboards, and efficiency gains

Without a unified system, identifying maintenance issues often relies on individual staff or tenants reporting problems. This manual approach can

be slow and inefficient. However, an integrated system with real-time energy data can trigger alerts based on specific thresholds, such as unusually high consumption in a particular building. These systems can also provide energy load profile analysis and heat maps to easily pinpoint anomalies in energy use. Take advantage of drill-down capabilities, from the portfolio level, to identify specific equipment wasting energy. Additionally, the right system can be configured to trigger automated work orders, notifying technicians via your property management platform when an issue occurs. This saves time, improves efficiency, and ensures faster response times. Furthermore, proactive insights from the system can alert designated staff to potential problems before they become major issues, allowing preventive measures to be taken.

Engaging tenants for sustainability

Real-time energy information empowers tenants to become part of the solution. Providing an online dashboard allows them to visualize their consumption patterns over time. Analyzing this data can encourage tenants to adjust their behaviour, leading to long-term cost savings. Some systems even gamify energy conservation through features like online contests and social media integration, fostering friendly competition among tenants.

An affordable solution with big benefits

An integrated energy management platform isn’t just a cost-effective solution; it’s a strategic investment. It empowers you to make informed decisions, engage stakeholders, and create a positive impact on both your bottom line and the environment. By prioritizing energy efficiency through technology, you will future-proof your buildings, ensuring they remain competitive and attractive to tenants in an increasingly sustainability-focused market.

To learn more about your technology options, visit Yardibreeze.ca.