ONTARIO SECURES $357 MILLION BOOST FROM OTTAWA IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING AGREEMENT
On Tuesday, in what might be considered a breakthrough moment in Ontario’s housing crisis, the federal and provincial governments announced a $357-million agreement under Canada’s national housing strategy. The funding, which comes after months of intense negotiations, will help address critical housing shortages across the province. Initially announced In 2018 as part of the National Housing Strategy’s bilateral agreement, the proposed funding was contingent on Ontario building 19,660 new...
read moreWEEK OF MAY 27 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
Getting to the six month mark of 2024, the housing crisis as we’ve been covering, is still having major issues. One issue supposedly dealt with has not only continued but according to StatsCan is resurfacing as a problem especially for certain provinces.
read moreMANITOBA PLANS NEW RULES FOR RENT INCREASES AND INCENTIVES FOR NEW HOUSING
Some Manitoba landlords may have a harder time raising rents above inflation and could be ordered to phase-in increases over years if a bill introduced Thursday by the Manitoba government becomes law. The bill would set down conditions for landlords who want to raise rents above the annual provincial guideline, which is tied to inflation. Currently, landlords can apply to a residential tenancies director for a higher rent increase for any reason and make their argument. The bill would limit...
read moreIN DESPERATE NEED OF MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING MISSISSAUGA COUNCIL BACKS BOLD PLAN TO INCENTIVIZE DEVELOPERS
How can sky-high rents across Mississauga be lowered? Here is the dilemma: governments are not in the business of building rental units; and the companies that do are facing unprecedented cost barriers such as high interest and building material prices. Along with mounting demand these rapidly increasing costs continue to push rental rates far out of reach for most residents in the city. Mississauga City Council has developed a strategy to incentivize developers, helping lower their...
read moreCITIES ACROSS CANADA OFFER PROPERTY TAX BREAKS TO NON-PROFIT HOUSING. NOT MONTREAL
If the Yellow Door Housing Corp. were renting its rooms and apartments to low-income people in Toronto instead of Montreal, it would likely be exempted from property taxes. Same thing if it were in Edmonton, Calgary, Halifax and some communities on Vancouver Island. Instead, the non-profit corporation that houses vulnerable people in Plateau-Mont-Royal borough is spending what little money it has on lawyers’ fees to fight the City of Montreal in court to lower — not eliminate — its nearly...
read moreLAST DAYS OF THE NIMBY: HOW OTTAWA’S HOUSING PUSH IS REWRITING THE RULES OF DEVELOPMENT
Last month, city councillors in Calgary settled in for what would turn out to be the city’s longest-ever public hearing. Over the course of 12 days, more than 700 residents and stakeholders paraded through council chambers at city hall to share their views ahead of a vote on sweeping changes to the city’s zoning rules. The question was whether to implement blanket rezoning that would pave the way for more housing density in the 60 per cent of the city allocated to single-family dwellings. An...
read moreWEEK OF MAY 20 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
CMHC released its annual report. The report showed how its meeting the mandates of the NHS which is the 10-year plan launched in 2017 by the federal government. So, what are we to draw from their conclusions – well like the housing crisis we’re in – government intervention is having an impact on the results.
read moreLARGE HALIFAX LANDLORDS REPORT DOUBLE-DIGIT OPERATING INCOME GROWTH IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2024
Two landlords owning thousands of apartments in Halifax have reported strong growth for the first three months of 2024 in net operating income, or revenues after subtracting the expenses of operating a building. In its latest public financial reports released last week, Killam Apartment REIT reported about $15.24 million in net operating income for its Halifax apartments — an increase of nearly 12 per cent versus last year. Meanwhile, CAPREIT reported a nearly 14 per cent increase to about...
read moreONTARIO’S ECONOMY TO SEE WORST NON-RECESSION GROWTH SINCE EARLY 80S: FAO
Canada’s largest provincial economy is unlikely to be the driver of an economic boom any time soon. The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) of Ontario released its economic and budget outlook for 2024, and it was not very rosy. The non-partisan government agency, tasked with providing the public with independent analysis and forecasts of the economy, says the province has been significantly underperforming global growth. Ontario’s economy is forecast to expand at one of the slowest rates in...
read morePROVINCE GRANTS VANCOUVER’S REQUEST TO CAP RENT HIKES IN SROS
The B.C. government will grant the City of Vancouver’s request to implement so-called “vacancy control” on single-room occupancy buildings.The province’s move, which Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon called an “urgent action to reduce the displacement of vulnerable tenants” in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, was welcomed by both housing activists and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim. The City of Vancouver contacted the province earlier this year to make an urgent request, Kahlon said, raising “serious...
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