GTAA will need to work for the next four years. Arun (HDAA): We will continue to work with the City and improve relationships with Councillors new and old. Andrew (WRAMA): I spent a considerable amount of time speaking with candidates who were running for positions in the City of Waterloo. My takeaway from the conversations is that there is substantial misunderstanding about the City of Waterloo residential license program, the Residential Tenancies Act, Building Code, existing municipal by-laws, and how these rules relate to each other through the lens of affordable housing and the affordability of housing. Lisa (LPMA): No, we can expect the City Council members to be a great support for LPMA, as we continue to communicate any concerns from landlords in London. David (EOLO): No, I expect a few more fireworks, but little change in the results EOLO achieves at City Council. RHB: Are there issues coming up that you want the election winner to take a new approach on? Arun (HDAA): The only item on our agenda at the moment is the fight against licencing. We are expecting the planning committee to make a decision on the proposed pilot licencing program for wards 1 and 8 in the near future. We would like them to read our report and realize we are right. Andrew (WRAMA): Yes. WRAMA continues to build relationships and its offer to work with City of Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky and Council on its misguided rental licensing bylaw. Lisa (LPMA): We would like to re-open the doors again to discuss the current rental licensing program in London and possible changes to the process and costs associated with it.
Quebec RHB: What issues would you like the new CAQ government to address? Hans (CORPIQ): During the last Liberal mandate,
28 | November 2018
wait times for a first hearing at the rental board got longer for unpaid rent and rent setting, although they became shorter for urgent and general cases. The average total wait time for processing (from submission to ruling) went from 7.0 to 8.4 months. Despite damning reports from the Québec Ombudsman and the Auditor General, and several campaigns by CORPIQ, the Liberal Government had not adopted any legal measures to improve the processing delays at the rental board. CORPIQ hopes that the CAQ government will improve and speed up the process. RHB: What will the new government do about rent fixing? Hans (CORPIQ): For many years CORPIQ has sought improvement in the process for raising rents, but with little success. The CAQ’s Mario Laframboise agreed that building owners must be allowed to recover their investment in the time that their mortgage lasts (rather than 40 years). RHB: What are the issues with housing policy, and what do you see happening going forward? Hans (CORPIQ): Quebec’s housing assistance budget is mainly spent on two programs. AccèsLogis builds social housing at an average production cost of approximately $200,000 per unit. Under Supplément au loyer, tenants pay 25 per cent of their income on rent, and the municipal housing office pays the difference directly to the building owner, including those in apartments on the private market. The CAQ does not oppose the AccèsLogis program, but it did question the Government on the benefit of building social housing in cities with a high vacancy rate, when the Supplément au loyer program could meet the needs of low-income families at a much lower cost. CAQ’s Mario Laframboise stated that all new policies must include the private sector, and that excluding the private sector is an approach that’s destined to fail. The past statements make us optimistic that the new government will be more positive toward landlords than the past government.
New Brunswick RHB: Do you have any comments about the results of the NB election?