QUEBEC HOUSING BOARD ESTIMATES RENT INCREASE OF 4 PER CENT IN 2024
Quebec’s housing tribunal (TAL) estimates landlords will raise the rent of unheated dwellings by 4 per cent in 2024 — the highest single-year increase predicted by the board in over a decade. The TAL, formerly called the Régie du logement du Quebec, issued its new rent calculation guidelines on Wednesday. Landlords aren’t required to follow these guidelines, but tenants can refuse a rent increase deemed excessive or abusive. The TAL’s findings are based on several...
read moreBLACKSTONE BIDS $3.5 BILLION TO TAKE OVER RENTAL PROPERTY OWNER TRICON RESIDENTIAL
Blackstone Inc., one of the world’s largest real estate investors, is jumping into the Toronto apartment market by bidding US$3.5-billion for rental property owner Tricon Residential Inc. On Friday, New York-based Blackstone (BX-N) announced a friendly takeover offer for Tricon (TCN-T), which has US$2.5-billion of apartment buildings under development in Toronto and plans to spend US$1-billion on single-family homes in the U.S. Sun Belt. Founded in 1988, Tricon is one of Toronto’s largest...
read moreFEDS ANNOUNCE TWO-YEAR CAP ON INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ADMISSIONS
New visas for international students will be slashed by more than one-third this year as the federal government tries to slow a rapid increase in temporary residents that has put immense pressure on Canada’s housing system. Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the temporary cap on new student visas at a cabinet retreat in Montreal on Monday. Affordability and housing are top items on the agenda, with a growing focus on the role record immigration has been playing in both. Miller said the...
read moreA NEW REGISTRY OF BAD TENANTS – AND SOME LANDLORDS TOO – IS GAINING TRACTION IN ONTARIO
A new registry of delinquent Ontario tenants — and some unscrupulous landlords — is gaining traction among landlords and legal experts. Weiting Bollu founded the platform Openroom a little over a year ago after she had trouble ousting a tenant from the home she owned in Vaughan — even after the tenant stopped paying rent. “I thought I was the only one until I met other landlords. And I said, ‘Why isn’t anyone doing more about this?” she said. “That’s when I...
read moreWEEK OF JANUARY 15 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
We want our governments to succeed because their actions affect us all – which is why the news this week is even more troubling because it appears the government was warned years ago that their immigration policies would negatively impact all Canadians.
read morePIERRE POILIEVRE PLEDGES TO TIE IMMIGRATION LEVELS TO HOMEBUILDING
The Conservative politician who’s trying to take down Justin Trudeau said that if he’s elected, he would link Canada’s immigration levels to the number of homes being built. Pierre Poilievre took aim Friday at Trudeau’s housing minister, Sean Fraser, arguing that when Fraser was immigration minister, he oversaw soaring numbers of new arrivals without ensuring the country could properly accommodate them. “We need to make a link between the number of homes built and the number of people we...
read moreBRAMPTON TACKLING ILLEGAL RENTALS THROUGH NEW LICENSING PILOT
The City of Brampton says they are cracking down on illegal and problematic rental units by introducing a residential rental licensing pilot for five wards. The pilot project will be evaluated over the next two years by the city. Landlords in wards one, three, four, five and seven should expect to pay a hefty price to obtain the license. The pilot project requires owners of rental properties with one to four residential dwelling units to obtain a license from the City Clerk’s Office. Which...
read moreONTARIO’S RENTAL SUBSIDY CAN VARY BY HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS, DEPENDING ON YOUR MUNICIPALITY
The quirky design of Ontario’s portable rent subsidy means tenants with the same income and monthly rent may receive hundreds of dollars more or less a month depending on which municipality they live in. The Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) provides eligible low-income households that aren’t living in social housing with a monthly amount to help with rental costs. Unlike other housing benefits, the COHB, which was introduced in 2020, is tied to the household – rather than the rental unit...
read moreCOST OF METRO VANCOUVER RENTAL HOUSING PROJECTS NEARLY DOUBLES BEFORE CONSTRUCTION BEGINS
The cost of two affordable rental developments to be owned and operated by the Metro Vancouver Regional District has nearly doubled even before construction has even begun. Metro Vancouver’s Housing Committee will vote Friday to approve the updated budget for two projects in Burnaby: the Connection, a 174-unit redevelopment on a current townhouse site operated by Metro Vancouver, and the Steller, a 122-unit development on vacant land. According to committee agenda documents, the budget...
read moreWEEK OF JANUARY 8 2024 NEWSREEL WITH VANESSA TOPPLE
As we start the new year, we look at what the experts are predicting for 2024.
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