KRPOA

On April 20th, local authors Laura Southall and Melissa Baker-Cox will be giving a Zoom presentation through Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL.). Rental Properties for Canadian Women, a detailed guide for women buying and owning rental property in Canada, was published in 2020. https://www.kingstonist.com//kfpl-presents-rental-propert/

Moratorium on residential rental evictions in effect as of tomorrow, April 8. LTB hearings continue, but no evictions for at least 4 weeks.

Today, the provincial government announced it’s imposing a provincewide emergency brake that will take effective Saturday, April 3, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. and in place for at least four weeks across the province. At this time, the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) will continue to hold hearings for all types of applications and issue orders, including orders for evictions. This will help ensure that tenants and landlords seeking resolution from the LTB are provided access to justi...ce with minimal service delays. The LTB will continue to conduct hearings by videoconference, phone or in writing to protect the health and safety of Ontarians. We continue to encourage landlords and tenants to work together to resolve their disputes during this challenging time. The LTB is carefully monitoring the situation and operational changes, if any, will be posted to our website. Thank you for your ongoing patience and cooperation. We remain committed to providing fair, effective and timely access to justice. Sincerely, Karen Restoule Associate Chair Lynn Dicaire Registrar See more

Why tinkering with the capital gains exemption is the nuclear option for housing market intervention It will be an atom bomb on the retirement savings of Canada’s vast middle class, said Tim Hudak, chief executive of the Ontario Real Estate Association. Secondly, you think it’s hard to get a home now, imagine if they bring in a new tax on home equity. People will simply stay in their homes longer, maybe to the last parts of their lives, and that means that starter homes and move-up homes won’t come on the market. https://financialpost.com//why-tinkering-with-the-capital-

The City of London is considering expanding its rental licensing bylaw. "Councillors want the program, currently applied primarily to student housing, to cover most of the city’s rental stock. The issue is not about landlords, said Kayabaga. It’s specifically about the rights to tenants to have safer environments to live in. TVO article - the case for and against rental licensing in Ontario: https://www.tvo.org//the-case-for-and-against-rental-licen

The City of Ottawa is considering a Vacant Unit Tax on residential rentals. During a pandemic. While LTB delays are overwhelming. This is an interesting article on the new landlord association and the context of this quote is relevant everywhere in Ontario: What’s happening now is because of the Landlord and Tenant Board’s (LTB) nine-month hearings backlog and the eviction ban, 23% of small landlords left one or more units vacant in February, Miller said, quoting internal survey results. How will the city reconcile their vacant unit tax with the fact that small landlords are making tough decisions to leave their units vacant because of the LTB backlog and having no resources to evict bad tenants damaging property or not living up to the Residential Tenancies Act? https://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca//new-landlord-as

Rental housing providers across Ontario provide quality housing for millions of people, but they can’t solve the province’s housing crisis on their own. It will take a coordinated effort between providers, developers, government, and tenant associations to solve the problem and ensure everyone has access to safe and affordable housing. Learn more and join the campaign at https://letsbuildontario.ca/.

"The suspension of residential eviction enforcement is tied to the stay-at-home order (O. Reg. 11/21). In practical terms, this means that as of Wednesday February 10th, eviction enforcement will be suspended only in the areas where the order is still in effect. " https://frpo.informz.ca//bWFpbGluZ0luc3RhbmNlSWQ9MTI1MjY1N

The vacancy rate in Kingston jumps to 3.2%, which is also the same as the provincial average. It's considered to be a healthy rate --- and one that will discourage the city from pushing forward on plans for rental licensing. https://www.cityofkingston.ca/-/kingston-s-vacancy-rate-inc

A petition from Ontario Landlords Watch worth considering. Help good landlords help good tenants: https://www.change.org/p/doug-ford-stop-eviction-bans-and-i

While there is an eviction ban in Ontario, the LTB is still operational and has clarified that there are some exceptions to the ban. Section 84 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) says that the LTB must include such a request to the Sheriff in the order where the tenant is being evicted for certain types of very serious conduct, and the adjudicator has not delayed the enforcement date pursuant to section 83(1)(b) of the RTA. The grounds for eviction in section 84 ...are: Willfully damaging the rental unit Using the unit in a way which is inconsistent with residential use and caused, or is likely to cause, significant damage Committing an illegal act in the unit involving the production or trafficking of illegal drugs Seriously impairing someone’s safety Substantially interfering with the landlord’s reasonable enjoyment - in cases where the landlord and tenant live in the same building and the building has three or fewer residential units See more