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SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong><br />
President’s Perspective: Industry Under Siege
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Contents<br />
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER <strong>2009</strong><br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> OPA RENTAL<br />
HOUSING ENERGY<br />
CONSERVATION PILOT<br />
PROJECT<br />
By Mike Chopowick<br />
9<br />
PROPERTY TAX REDUCTIONS<br />
MAY MEAN RENT<br />
REDUCTIONS!<br />
What Can You Do About It<br />
By Joe Hoffer and Paul Cappa<br />
12<br />
CFAA RENTAL HOUSING<br />
COMPENSATION SURVEY<br />
15<br />
LIBERAL MPP’S RENT-CAP<br />
PROPOSAL WOULD HURT<br />
TENANTS<br />
28<br />
BONNIE HOY AND<br />
ASSOCIATES<br />
Celebrate 25 Years<br />
31<br />
Features<br />
THE MESSAGE IS ALWAYS<br />
YOUR BUSINESS<br />
By David Eisenstadt<br />
33<br />
CAPREIT APPOINTS NEW<br />
C.F.O.<br />
Company Commends Yazdi<br />
Bharucha for His Years of Service<br />
36<br />
KEVIN T. O’LEARY<br />
<strong>2009</strong> Awards Gala<br />
Key <strong>No</strong>te Speaker<br />
38<br />
Bonnie Hoy pg.<br />
31<br />
Cover:<br />
Jack Beaton<br />
and Marshall<br />
Bleiweis in<br />
front of<br />
Sterling<br />
Karamar's<br />
<strong>No</strong>rth York<br />
headquarters.<br />
Energy Conservation<br />
pg.<br />
9<br />
Departments<br />
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE<br />
Rental Industry Under Siege<br />
By Vince Brescia, President<br />
6<br />
CFAA REPORT<br />
Sales Tax Harmonization<br />
By John Dickie<br />
13<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> MEMBER PROFILE<br />
Sterling Karamar Property<br />
Management<br />
16<br />
READ THE FINE PRINT<br />
By Harry Fine<br />
This Landlord and Tenant War<br />
was Inevitable<br />
22<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> BULLETIN WRAP-UP<br />
Fire Marhsall's Orders<br />
Accessibility Standards<br />
Human Rights Policies<br />
40<br />
UPCOMING EVENTS<br />
42<br />
Fine Print<br />
pg.<br />
22<br />
Tax Reductions<br />
pg.<br />
12
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www.stratacon.ca<br />
Licensed by the OEB # EB-2007-0948
President’s Perspective<br />
Rental Industry Under Siege<br />
By Vince Brescia, President<br />
Ontario’s rental housing industry is under siege by government<br />
actions. At the moment, the industry is facing an onslaught of new<br />
regulatory actions by provincial and municipal government that has<br />
people’s heads spinning. This is not the first time that this has happened<br />
to our industry.<br />
Consider the following list of actions by government:<br />
• The province brings in the HST, and shows no interest (as of the writing of<br />
this column) in the unique negative impact on landlords who get stuck<br />
with a huge cost increase that cannot be passed on to customers<br />
Vince Brescia, <strong>FRPO</strong> President<br />
• The province, under a new minister, moves to retroactively declare all submetering<br />
activity since <strong>No</strong>vember 2005 illegal, after the previous minister<br />
praised the activity, and the industry must begin unwinding all those positive<br />
conservation efforts<br />
• Several municipalities are now sending out rent reduction notices to landlords<br />
and tenants, when in fact the landlord’s overall municipal taxes (basic<br />
tax, water and new levies) is increasing<br />
• Local fire inspectors are issuing orders requiring a new fire code retrofit for<br />
audibility which will be costly<br />
Part of the problem stems from the fact that the government often does not care<br />
about negative impacts on landlords. This is more the case with the HST harmonization.<br />
The government recognizes that our industry is in a unique situation in that we<br />
are in a small category of “GST exempt” services, and we are subject to rent controls.<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
The problem is that rectifying this situation would require one of two solutions.<br />
The first solution is to compensate the industry for the negative impact, which<br />
could be done through input tax credits or any other form of financial assistance.<br />
The problem from the government’s perspective is that this requires funding.<br />
And the political math comes down to the following: “do I care enough about<br />
negative impacts on landlords to use the government’s scarce financial resources<br />
to fix this” Add some deficit pressure to this in the current economy, and the<br />
answer so far is “<strong>No</strong>”.<br />
6
The second solution would require the government to fix the rent control guideline<br />
to allow the industry to pass on this cost. This would require the government<br />
to admit that the HST will increase rents, increase the guideline, and draw attention<br />
to this fact. Politically, they are not interested in doing that. So the bottom<br />
line is that, as usual, political math means that there will likely be no fix for our<br />
industry on this issue.<br />
the voice of the Federation of<br />
Rental-housing Providers<br />
of Ontario<br />
A PUBLICATION OF:<br />
Another part of the problem is that center and left leaning political parties feel it<br />
is necessary to attack landlords for political purposes. The attacks are designed to<br />
show that they are “pro-tenant”. And they are also designed to appease tenant<br />
activists, all of whom are more socialists that tenant activists 1 . The basic political<br />
model is that they want to foster class warfare, and pick the politically advantageous<br />
side in the war.<br />
This is more what is happening in the case of submetering. The tenant activists<br />
feel they must attack submetering, because it is something the industry is in<br />
favour of. Their default position is fighting us: if we are for something, they have<br />
to fight against us. And the government at the moment, lead by a Minister who<br />
has a high proportion of tenants in his riding, and who views the world very<br />
politically, is simply taking his cues from the tenant activists. The result is tenant<br />
activists are thrilled beyond their wildest dreams that the government has<br />
responded by doing more than they ever hoped for. Ironically, the average tenant<br />
is not even aware any of this is happening.<br />
This has been an ongoing problem with the political calculus of politicians. They<br />
constantly overestimate the importance of landlord-tenant regulation as a source<br />
of electoral success. In the end, none of this will matter much to the average<br />
tenants, so there will be no political gain, and unfortunately a lot of pain for landlords<br />
and submetering companies who were simply moving in the direction the<br />
government said it was going, and for which they were previously being praised<br />
by the government. F<br />
1 When I say that tenant activists are more socialists than tenant activists, this is based on years of observing their<br />
actions. For example, they show little interest and spend little effort trying to get unfair property taxes reduced.<br />
But they love to foment class warfare, whereby they make landlords responsible for poverty rather than society as<br />
a whole. They traditionally have supported social housing development rather than housing allowances, even<br />
thought the latter would help many more tenants, and prevent many more evictions resulting from people not<br />
being able to pay the rent – a purely ideological position, not a pro-tenant position. Overall, their focus in on the<br />
personal and political benefit that comes from attacking landlords and promoting class warfare rather than the<br />
best policies to help tenants in the long-run.<br />
EDITOR:<br />
Mike Chopowick • <strong>FRPO</strong><br />
e-mail: mchopowick@frpo.org<br />
toll free: 1-877-688-1960<br />
phone: 416-385-1100 x 21<br />
fax: 416-385-7112<br />
www.frpo.org<br />
20 Upjohn Rd., Suite 105<br />
Toronto, Ontario M3B 2V9<br />
ADVERTISING & SALES:<br />
Christine Tonus • Mediapeach<br />
email: christine@mediapeach.com<br />
phone: 905-952-2224 x32<br />
fax: 905-952-0826<br />
www.mediapeach.com/fe<br />
171 Main Street South, Suite 5,<br />
Newmarket, Ontario L3Y 3Y9<br />
SUBSCRIPTIONS &<br />
ADDRESS CHANGE:<br />
Lynzi Michal • <strong>FRPO</strong><br />
e-mail: lmichal@@frpo.org<br />
toll free: 1-877-688-1960<br />
phone: 416-385-1100 x 22<br />
fax: 416-385-7112<br />
DESIGNED AND PRINTED BY:<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> IS A MEMBER OF:<br />
Opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and<br />
do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> Board or Management. <strong>FRPO</strong> and Mediapeach<br />
accepts no liability for information contained herein. All rights<br />
reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without written<br />
permission from the publisher.
The town is talking...<br />
Congratulations to our members, whose buildings,<br />
have been awarded CRB Certification!<br />
1 877-688-1960 WWW.CRBPROGRAM.ORG
By Mike Chopowick<br />
Last year <strong>FRPO</strong> began a pilot project to measure energy use and test conservation<br />
methods in multi unit rental buildings. Funded and supported<br />
by the OPA and other partners, the project aims to provide detailed<br />
information on electricity consumption in apartment buildings and help<br />
provide solutions for improving conservation in the private rental housing sector.<br />
The first component of the project was the measurement and benchmarking of<br />
energy consumption in the pilot buildings. This was a critical phase of the project<br />
since, for Ontario, very little reliable data existed on the actual energy usage levels<br />
in rental buildings.<br />
continued...<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
9
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
The preliminary results were remarkable<br />
and at this point raise more questions<br />
than answers about energy usage<br />
in multi-unit buildings. A summary of<br />
the data is listed below, and ranks the<br />
12 pilot buildings based on energy<br />
usage intensity per unit area (square<br />
feet). Energy consumption is expressed<br />
as ekWh/ft 2 , a unit of measurement<br />
that converts electrical and thermal<br />
energy consumption into equivalent<br />
kilowatt hours and divides the total by<br />
the square footage of the building.<br />
The 12 buildings represent a diverse<br />
range of rental complexes based on<br />
location, age, number of housing units<br />
and average monthly rent. Energy usage<br />
was measured based on 36 months of<br />
utility data collected from 2005 to 2008.<br />
Some key findings include:<br />
• The building with the highest<br />
energy usage consumed double<br />
the ekWh/ft 2 as the building with<br />
the lowest energy usage.<br />
• The building with the lowest<br />
monthly rent had the lowest<br />
ekWh/ft 2 , while the building with<br />
the highest monthly rent has the<br />
highest ekWh/ft 2 .<br />
• Building age and size has<br />
very little apparent effect on<br />
energy consumption<br />
• Two buildings located in Ottawa<br />
(average high 10.9ºC; average low<br />
1.1 ºC) had some of the lowest<br />
levels of energy consumption,<br />
compared to buildings with the<br />
highest levels of energy consumption<br />
in Toronto(average high<br />
12.7ºC; average low 5.6 ºC).<br />
These preliminary results illustrate the<br />
important effect of tenant behaviour on a<br />
building’s energy usage levels. Since previous<br />
studies prepared for the OPA show<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong>-RONA tenant energy survey.<br />
that tenant behaviour is responsible for<br />
up to 80% of electricity consumption1,<br />
the impact of the usage of appliances,<br />
electronics, and lights by tenants are likely<br />
a significant factor behind variations in<br />
energy usage in apartment buildings.<br />
Next Steps<br />
As part of the <strong>FRPO</strong>-OPA pilot<br />
project, tenants in the pilot buildings<br />
will be surveyed on their usage<br />
of electricity and their patterns for<br />
using lights, appliances, laundry<br />
facilities as well as any other devices<br />
within their units. RONA helped by<br />
providing an energy-efficiency kit<br />
incentive for tenants who respond<br />
to the survey. The resulting responses<br />
will help us have a better understanding<br />
of ways to improve energy<br />
conservation in rental housing.<br />
Landlords and property managers<br />
have a big role to play in helping their<br />
tenants improve energy conservation<br />
in their buildings. In addition to<br />
physical measures to improve a building’s<br />
energy efficiency, which will also<br />
be tested in the <strong>FRPO</strong> OPA Pilot<br />
Project, providing education and<br />
awareness to tenants is equally if not<br />
more important.<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> OPA Rental Housing Conservation Pilot Project<br />
Benchmarking Report<br />
Building # of Year Average Energy<br />
Rental Built Monthly Consumption<br />
Units Rent (ekWh/ft 2 )<br />
(1) Ottawa 83 1973 $835 19.9<br />
(2) Mississauga 87 1970 $997 24.4<br />
(3) Ottawa 168 1973 $847 24.9<br />
(4) Burlington 119 1971 $1112 25.1<br />
(5) Brampton 287 1983 $1050 29.1<br />
(6) Brampton 271 1984 $1085 29.2<br />
BENCHMARK MEDIAN 29.6<br />
(7) Toronto 58 1969 $950 30.1<br />
(8) Brampton 270 1983 $1050 30.2<br />
(9) Brampton 287 1984 $1090 30.6<br />
(10) Toronto 180 1965 $910 30.7<br />
(11) Toronto 58 1969 $950 31.3<br />
(12) Toronto 139 1965 $1200 39.1<br />
<strong>No</strong>te: All buildings gas heated, bulk-metered.<br />
10
Some energy saving tips that can be<br />
provided to tenants include:<br />
• Cooking with smaller appliances<br />
such as a microwave, toaster<br />
oven or electric frying pan,<br />
which all use less power than an<br />
oven range.<br />
• <strong>No</strong>t opening the oven door while<br />
cooking. A lot of energy is used<br />
to reheat it.<br />
• Setting the temperature dial of<br />
refrigerators to the mid-range.<br />
• Cleaning out a fridge to increase<br />
air circulation, making it more<br />
energy efficient.<br />
• Replacing incandescent<br />
light bulbs with CFL's that use<br />
75 percent less energy and last<br />
up to 10 times longer.<br />
• Using a broom or brush instead<br />
of a vacuum on hard floors.<br />
• Turning off air conditioners<br />
when not at home.<br />
• Closing blinds and shades to<br />
block heat during the summer<br />
• Shutting down televisions and<br />
computers when not in use. A<br />
continuously running<br />
computer and monitor uses<br />
between $75 - $120 worth of<br />
electricity each year.<br />
Over the next 12 months, several<br />
tenant outreach initiatives and conservation<br />
measures will be tested<br />
on the pilot buildings. The objective<br />
is to achieve an average 20%<br />
reduction in energy usage for the<br />
pilot buildings. Once the tested<br />
measures are evaluated for success,<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> and the OPA’s Conservation<br />
Fund will work towards developing<br />
a multi-year template that all<br />
Ontario landlords can use to<br />
reduce energy consumption in<br />
their buildings. F<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> Rental Housing Conservation Pilot - 2008 Energy<br />
Benchmark Report (weather <strong>No</strong>rmalized to Toronto)<br />
Buildings<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
0 5 10 15 20 25<br />
Total Energy Consumption (ekWh/ft2)<br />
The experienced lawyers<br />
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From acquisitions, dispositions and financing, re-development and<br />
intensification, to tax and regulatory matters – Aird & Berlis LLP is<br />
actively engaged in all aspects of the rental housing industry.<br />
We have extensive expertise in the range of multifaceted legal issues that<br />
affect you. Rely on A&B to provide seamless, timely and cost-effective<br />
practical solutions to any multi-residential property issue.<br />
For more information, please contact:<br />
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E rdoumani@airdberlis.com<br />
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Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street, Suite 1800, Toronto, ON M5J 2T9<br />
T 416.863.1500 F 416.863.1515 W www.airdberlis.com<br />
Benchmark Median<br />
29.6 ekWh/ft2<br />
30 35 40<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
11
Property Tax Reductions<br />
May Mean Rent Reductions!<br />
What Can You Do About It<br />
By Joe Hoffer and Paul Cappa, Cohen Highley LLP<br />
If your property assessments and/or your local tax rates<br />
decreased this year or if you converted your multi-residential<br />
property to condo status last year, your property<br />
tax reduction may trigger a rent reduction under the RTA<br />
effective December 31, <strong>2009</strong>.<br />
Municipalities will issue Rent Reduction <strong>No</strong>tices (RRN’s) to<br />
Tenants this fall if their rent is reduced based on the<br />
Landlord’s property tax savings. Landlords should<br />
compare the tax figures on any RRN’s with their<br />
actual tax bills to ensure the local municipality has<br />
accounted for all of the taxes and municipal levies charged<br />
to the property.<br />
If the municipality charges separate levies for sewer, water,<br />
garbage or the Waste Levy, an application to the Landlord and<br />
Tenant Board (LTB) to reduce or eliminate the rent reduction<br />
may be justified. In Toronto, the Waste Levy is ignored in calculating<br />
property tax reductions and issuing RRN’s, but it is<br />
not ignored by the LTB in calculating whether the rent<br />
increase should varied or eliminated. The same applies to<br />
municipal sewer and water levies which, in London, are<br />
ignored in issuing rent reduction notices but which are taken<br />
into account by the LTB in varying the rent reductions.<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
It is absurd that landlords face rent reductions when their<br />
actual municipal charges are increasing, but if landlords do<br />
not file the variation applications, the rent reductions will<br />
take effect December 31, <strong>2009</strong> and will permanently impair<br />
income stream. Variation applications to the LTB are subject<br />
to strict timing, filing and notification requirements.<br />
Landlords who receive RRN’s based on property tax decreases<br />
should contact their legal or Rent Control advisor for<br />
advice on how fix the problem. F<br />
For information and advice concerning <strong>No</strong>tices of Rent Reduction and<br />
Variation applications to the LTB, contact Joe Hoffer or Paul Cappa:<br />
hoffer@cohenhighley.com or cappa@cohenhighley.com.<br />
12
CFAA Report<br />
Sales Tax Harmonization<br />
By John Dickie, President, Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations (CFAA)<br />
In the Spring of this year, both Ontario and British<br />
Columbia announced their decisions to harmonize<br />
their sales taxes with the GST on July 1, 2010. Those<br />
decisions will result in higher landlord costs and<br />
higher rents for tenants in both those provinces.<br />
Some Canadians have already gone through the harmonization<br />
process. Shortly after the GST was introduced in 1990,<br />
Quebec adopted the GST structure for its sales tax (and now<br />
collects the sales tax for the federal government at the same<br />
time as it collects its own provincial sales tax). New Brunswick,<br />
<strong>No</strong>va Scotia and Newfoundland harmonized their sales taxes<br />
with the GST in 1997. The experience in Atlantic Canada and<br />
Quebec was that harmonization quickly raised rents by about<br />
1.5%. The effect on rents will be slower in Ontario because of<br />
rent control, but inevitably cost pressures will force rents up.<br />
The impact of harmonization is to extend the provincial<br />
sales tax (PST) to a variety of new input costs that previously<br />
were exempt. In the rental housing sector this includes<br />
such costs as gas heat, electricity, maintenance contracts,<br />
property management services, renovation contracts, and so<br />
on, which make up a large part of the operating costs of<br />
most rental housing providers.<br />
However, the PST was to some extent embedded in those<br />
costs because of being paid by the suppliers, and that PST<br />
also flowed through into what they charged to landlords.<br />
<strong>No</strong>w those suppliers will receive the benefit of the input tax<br />
credits on the provincial sales tax component. Effective July<br />
1, 2010, landlords should be able to negotiate somewhat<br />
lower prices for contracts in industries which pay a lot of<br />
PST, such as construction contracts.<br />
Despite that, costs will certainly go up in most or all sectors<br />
where the new tax adds the provincial tax component to the<br />
GST. <strong>FRPO</strong> is working to obtain relief for Ontario landlords,<br />
whether permanent or temporary. The BC government<br />
has already announced that it will rebate the<br />
provincial tax on electricity and on energy for home<br />
heating, both for homeowners and for owners of rental<br />
properties. Obtaining that relief in Ontario would be a great<br />
help for landlords and tenants here.<br />
CFAA is working with the apartment associations in both<br />
Ontario and BC to make sure useful information is<br />
exchanged immediately, and to ramp up the grass roots<br />
input by landlords in the lobbying process. As an industry<br />
we badly need to improve the<br />
extent to which we are<br />
heard by government.<br />
In both Ontario and<br />
BC, the apartment<br />
associations do<br />
effective government<br />
relations<br />
work, but the<br />
lack of political<br />
involvement by<br />
most landlords constrains<br />
our influence.<br />
Time will tell what will result<br />
from the sales tax<br />
harmonization and<br />
the efforts to gain<br />
appropriate mitigation.<br />
Regardless of<br />
that outcome, more<br />
work needs to be<br />
done to gain more political involvement<br />
by ordinary landlords of all sizes,<br />
so that governments realize that imposing<br />
costs on landlords has a negative<br />
impact on them. F<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> is one of 17 members of the<br />
Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations,<br />
the sole national organization representing the<br />
interests of Canada’s $40 billion private rental<br />
housing industry, which provides homes more<br />
than seven million Canadians.<br />
13<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario
Associate<br />
Members<br />
<strong>2009</strong><br />
ADVERTISING<br />
AND PUBLISHING<br />
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gottarent.com<br />
Madhouse Advertising<br />
Mediapeach<br />
My Ideal Home Rental Network<br />
Renters News<br />
Toronto Star<br />
APPLIANCES<br />
Coinamatic<br />
Harco Leasing Inc<br />
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Phelps Apartment Laundries Ltd.<br />
Sparkle Solution<br />
APPRAISERS<br />
Altus Group<br />
Veritas Valuation Inc.<br />
ASSESSMENT AGENCY<br />
Municipal Property Assessment Corp.<br />
ASSET MANAGEMENT<br />
Institute of Housing Management<br />
Larma Management<br />
TMDL Property Management<br />
Yash Property Management<br />
CABLE/SATELLITE/TELECOM<br />
Rogers Cablesystems Ltd.<br />
CONSULTING<br />
A-Team Strategies<br />
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ENERGY SERVICES<br />
Carma Industries<br />
ECNG Limited Partnership<br />
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ENVIRONMENTAL AND<br />
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BUILDING ENVELOPE<br />
Efficiency Engineering Inc.<br />
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Mann Engineering Ltd<br />
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FINANCES;<br />
REAL ESTATE/<br />
MORTGAGE SERVICES<br />
BMO Capital Markets<br />
Brookfield Financial<br />
Canadian Mortgage Capital Corporation<br />
CMHC<br />
First National Financial Corp.<br />
LAWPRO<br />
MCAP Financial<br />
Morguard Investments Limited<br />
Murray & Company Limited<br />
Penmor Growth Capital<br />
Peoples Trust Company<br />
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FIRE SA<strong>FE</strong>TY SERVICES<br />
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INSURANCE<br />
Dan Lawrie Insurance Brokers Ltd.<br />
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LEASING PRO<strong>FE</strong>SSIONALS<br />
Bonnie Hoy and Associates<br />
DALA Group of Companies<br />
Renters News<br />
Sheryl Erenberg & Associates<br />
LEGAL SERVICES<br />
Aird & Berlis LLP<br />
Andrade Consulting Group Ltd.<br />
Blaney McMurtry LLP<br />
Cohen Highley LLP<br />
Debra Fine Barrister & Solicitor<br />
Dickie & Lyman Lawyers LLP<br />
Fuller Landau LLP<br />
Gardiner Roberts LLP<br />
Landlord Solutions<br />
Sandler, Gordon Barristers & Solicitors<br />
SPAR Property Consultants Ltd<br />
MARKET ANALYSIS & RESEARCH<br />
Altus Group<br />
Veritas Valuation Inc.<br />
PROPERTY MAINTENANCE/<br />
CONSTRUCTION & REPAIR<br />
Advantage Bathtubs Refinishing<br />
Byng Group of Companies<br />
Certified Clean Air<br />
C.G. Maintenance<br />
Cordeiro Roofing Ltd.<br />
Cosmos Electrical Company<br />
DAJ Painting<br />
Energex<br />
Enertec Contracting<br />
Gatemaster Inc.<br />
Giant Plumbing & Hardware Distributers<br />
Great <strong>No</strong>rthern Insulation<br />
HD Supply Canada Inc<br />
HSI Solutions<br />
ICI Canada Inc.<br />
KONE Inc. Elevators<br />
Magical Pest Control Inc.<br />
MJSI Inc<br />
Pascoal Painting & Decorating<br />
Precision Plus Floor Plans<br />
Rona<br />
Solid General Contractors<br />
Servicemaster Commercial<br />
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE<br />
Yardi Systems Inc.<br />
PROPERTY TAX CONSULTANTS<br />
Dickie & Lyman Lawyers LLP<br />
SPAR Property Consultants Ltd<br />
REAL ESTATE<br />
CB Richard Ellis<br />
Primecorp Commercial Realty Inc.<br />
Satco Realty Inc.<br />
Skyview Realty Ltd.<br />
Stonecap Realty Partners Inc.<br />
RENT CONTROL CONSULTANTS<br />
Andrade Consulting Group Ltd.<br />
Cohen Highley LLP<br />
Dharsee Professional Corp<br />
Dickie & Lyman Lawyers LLP<br />
SPAR Property Consultants Ltd<br />
RENTAL HISTORY, TENANT<br />
AND CREDIT REPORTING<br />
Canadian Credit Protection Corp<br />
GateMaster Inc.<br />
Rent Check Credit Bureau<br />
Ultra Collection Services<br />
TENANT SERVICES<br />
Coinamatic<br />
Parkingstalls.ca<br />
Phelps Apartment Laundries Ltd.<br />
TRAINING AND EDUCATION<br />
York Communications/MMPI
CFAA<br />
RENTAL HOUSING COMPENSATION<br />
Survey<br />
In early <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong>, the Canadian<br />
Federation of Apartment<br />
Associations (CFAA) released its<br />
professional survey of employee<br />
salaries and benefits in the rental<br />
housing industry for Greater Toronto<br />
and most other major cities across<br />
Ontario and Canada. Besides city by<br />
city reports, there is a National Report<br />
covering 14 of Canada’s largest cities.<br />
The survey reports should help<br />
human resources professionals, property<br />
managers and rental owners to<br />
manage compensation costs by providing<br />
evidence of the market salaries<br />
for building superintendents, maintenance<br />
technicians, cleaners, leasing<br />
agents, property managers and other<br />
rental housing employees. The reports<br />
show median and average salaries and<br />
total compensation. Where the data<br />
permits, the reports show the distribution<br />
by percentiles and a break out by<br />
building size.<br />
Also where the data permits (such as<br />
the GTA), the survey includes positions<br />
which are used in larger operations<br />
such as Property Administrator,<br />
Property Assistant Manager, Property<br />
Accountant, Regional Manager,<br />
Maintenance Manager, Legal<br />
Administrator/Paralegal, Marketing<br />
Manager, Security Guard and<br />
Doorman/Concierge.<br />
See the table for the survey prices for<br />
different Ontario centres.<br />
The Hamilton figures include<br />
Burlington. The rest of the 905 belt is<br />
reported in separate tables in both the<br />
GTA and the Waterloo Region reports.<br />
The London report includes separate<br />
tables on Southern Ontario apart<br />
from London. F<br />
The CFAA Compensation survey has<br />
been endorsed by <strong>FRPO</strong>, by other apartment<br />
associations and by Canada’s national<br />
landlords. For more information or to order the<br />
compensation survey, please go to CFAA’s<br />
website at cfaa-fcapi.org, or telephone<br />
Erin Wallace at 613-235-0101.<br />
CFAA compensation National Toronto & Ottawa Hamilton, London<br />
survey prices (14 cities) Mississauga and Waterloo<br />
(“GTA”)<br />
Region (each)<br />
Full report<br />
(compensation<br />
& benefit plans) $3000 $850 $650 $450<br />
Compensation data only $2400 $600 $450 $300<br />
<strong>No</strong>tes<br />
1. Lower prices are available to companies which provided data for the survey.<br />
2. “Compensation data only” includes bonuses and car and rent allowances;<br />
it excludes the benefit plan information.<br />
3. All prices subject to GST.<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
15
Vince Brescia (<strong>FRPO</strong>);<br />
Ted Whitehead (<strong>FRPO</strong>);<br />
Anthony Romano<br />
(SKPM); Jack Beaton<br />
(SKPM); Marshall<br />
Bleiweis (SKPM); Marvin<br />
Sadowski (SKPM), and<br />
David Horwood (<strong>FRPO</strong>),<br />
at the CRB unveiling for<br />
Sterling Karamar's Gates<br />
of Bayview community.<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
Sterling Karamar Property<br />
Management (SKPM) has<br />
always had a reputation of<br />
excellence within the property<br />
management industry. With over 25<br />
years experience in property development<br />
and management with responsibility<br />
for over five million square feet<br />
of residential, industrial, retail and<br />
office assets, it seems only natural that<br />
they be one of the first privatelyowned<br />
firms to initiate recognition<br />
under <strong>FRPO</strong>’s new Certified Rental<br />
Building Program (CRB).<br />
Marshall Bleiweis, President of SKPM<br />
set the standard for the organization. “It<br />
seemed only natural to me that Sterling<br />
Karamar Property Management move<br />
forward with certification. It was a ‘no<br />
brainer’ for a company with as strong<br />
an operations base and customer<br />
service orientation as SKPM. It’s true,<br />
some companies will find it a challenging<br />
process, but as an industry, we must<br />
all continue to raise the bar with respect<br />
to customer service and the way we are<br />
ultimately perceived by the general<br />
public. This program does just that!”<br />
Marvin Sadowski, Senior Vice<br />
President adds that “…it proved to be<br />
an absolutely terrific team building<br />
exercise. We weren’t sure how people<br />
would react, especially our residents<br />
but we were applauded at every turn.<br />
Residents came out in droves to celebrate<br />
every event at every site and<br />
many made it a point to praise the<br />
efforts of our team.”<br />
The CRB program is a win/win<br />
program for all and nobody knows it<br />
better then Jack Beaton, Vice President<br />
16
of Residential Operations and his dedicated<br />
residential team. Jack, who represents<br />
the driving force of the<br />
residential division stated, “What this<br />
program has done is show everybody<br />
that SKPM is passionate about good<br />
sound management.”<br />
SKPM have already been recognized as<br />
an organization able to fast track the<br />
program simply by virtue of their excellent<br />
systems and procedures. According<br />
to Barb McIntyre, SKPM Manager of<br />
Human Resources, “We did a full, systematic<br />
self-audit of our policies, procedures<br />
and practices and compared<br />
them to the 35 standards required by<br />
the CRB & made changes and enhancements<br />
where needed…it can only make<br />
us better. Our commitment to continuous<br />
improvement has allowed us to<br />
achieve Certification quickly.”<br />
David Medeiros, Maintenance Manager<br />
believes that “bringing every member of<br />
the SKPM team into the CRB process<br />
was essential to its success,” while Cedric<br />
Abreu, Maintenance Manager, maintains<br />
that “all staff had extensive training<br />
on the program, and now all the rights<br />
and responsibilities of residents and staff<br />
are transparent. Everyone has access to<br />
contact information and the process for<br />
making suggestions. I think all other<br />
property management companies<br />
should follow the CRB program.”<br />
Bonny Hoy who provides marketing<br />
consulting services for SKPM believes<br />
that CRB certified organizations will<br />
have a competitive advantage in the<br />
market place and residents will have a<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
17
SKPM has evolved to become a full<br />
service property management<br />
company via acquisitions and third<br />
party property management contracts.<br />
Our business focus includes<br />
residential, commercial and condominium<br />
property management. We<br />
are continuously looking for solid<br />
business opportunities.<br />
<strong>FE</strong>: How many residential buildings<br />
or units does the company<br />
own or manage in Ontario today<br />
Sterling Karamar Property<br />
Management manages over 20 residential<br />
properties consisting of<br />
approximately 3,500 suits.<br />
<strong>FE</strong>: How many staff work for the<br />
company What does Sterling<br />
Karamar Property Management<br />
do to ensure staff have the tools<br />
and resources necessary to do<br />
their jobs<br />
There are approximately 100<br />
employees working at SKPM.<br />
It's all smiles as proud staff show off the<br />
Gates of Bayview's new (and hard<br />
earned) CRB status.<br />
recognizable trademark to facilitate<br />
finding a quality product.<br />
We are continually reviewing our<br />
jobs and processes to ensure we<br />
are doing things efficiently and<br />
effectively and this includes<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
Sterling Karamar Property<br />
Management has made the commitment<br />
to do it’s best to bring greater<br />
awareness to the program. Every certified<br />
SKPM managed site has a<br />
Certified Building Program sign at<br />
street level. Given that their buildings<br />
are all on main arteries, it only helps to<br />
brand the program bringing added<br />
value benefits to sites and companies<br />
that achieve the designation, and to<br />
the <strong>FRPO</strong>-sponsored program overall.<br />
<strong>FE</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> met with the President<br />
of Sterling Karamar, Marshall<br />
Bleiweis, to learn more about the<br />
company and its approach to providing<br />
quality rental housing.<br />
<strong>FE</strong>: Who founded Sterling<br />
Karamar Property Management<br />
Sterling Karamar Property<br />
Management is a joint venture<br />
between Marshall Bleiweis and Sterling<br />
Silver Development Corporation.<br />
<strong>FE</strong>: How has the company evolved<br />
and grown over the past twenty<br />
five years<br />
18
Jack Beaton, V.P. of Residential<br />
Operations, and Marshall Bleiweis,<br />
President of Sterling Karamar<br />
ensuring our staff have the tools necessary<br />
to do their jobs. In addition,<br />
employees are provided opportunities<br />
to gain knowledge and expertise<br />
through on-the-job training, external<br />
and internal educational and<br />
professional development programs.<br />
Employees have access to a number<br />
of communication vehicles through<br />
which they can provide feedback and<br />
request support.<br />
<strong>FE</strong>: What are some of your key<br />
challenges in today’s rental<br />
housing market <br />
Some of the key challenges facing<br />
us today are: government intervention<br />
such as recent rulings on sub<br />
metering; the present economic<br />
environment; increased competition<br />
i.e. competing against the<br />
single condo owner.<br />
<strong>FE</strong>: What is Sterling Karamar<br />
Property Management’s<br />
outlook for the rental housing<br />
market in Toronto<br />
and/or Ontario<br />
The rental market today is a<br />
moving target that is continually<br />
reacting to fluctuating overall<br />
market conditions. We are constantly<br />
monitoring and evaluating<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
19
these changes to ensure we can<br />
respond quickly and appropriately.<br />
Rental Building Program is just<br />
another example of our commitment<br />
to provide the highest standard of<br />
service to our customers and we<br />
believe the return is excellent<br />
tenant relations, tenant satisfaction<br />
and retention.<br />
<strong>FE</strong>: What advice do you have<br />
for other property management<br />
companies who may<br />
be considering enrolling in<br />
the Certified Rental<br />
Building Program<br />
The entire industry should be on<br />
board with this program. It makes<br />
good business sense and strengthens<br />
the industry as a whole. It’s a “win”<br />
“win” proposition. F<br />
“...we strive to<br />
understand and<br />
respond to<br />
the needs of<br />
our customer.”<br />
<strong>FE</strong>: What does Sterling Karamar<br />
Property Management do to<br />
ensure high quality customer<br />
service and tenant retention<br />
Sterling Karamar staff at newly Certified 1200<br />
York Mills in <strong>No</strong>rth York.<br />
As past winner of the <strong>FRPO</strong>/MAC<br />
award of excellence in customer<br />
service, we strive to understand and<br />
respond to the needs of our customer.<br />
We keep the lines of communications<br />
open and we really listen to<br />
what our customers have to say.<br />
SKPM’s embracing of the Certified<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
Rain doesn't dampen the spirits of<br />
tenants celebrating the Certification of<br />
Sterling Karamar's 730 Dovercourt.<br />
20
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Read the Fine Print<br />
By Harry Fine<br />
The irony is unbelievable. Governments are rewarded when<br />
the trains run on time, when access to services is timely, and<br />
when their actions promote social justice and equality.<br />
Conversely, governments are punished when they are so<br />
detached from the average consumer of government services that they<br />
fail to see what’s broken.<br />
But it’s not often that the government is the one doing the breaking.<br />
Everyone in our industry recognizes that there is a war going on,<br />
minor skirmishes between the isolated small players, those being<br />
individual landlords and tenants small and large. And then the airwar,<br />
fought by the major players who lobby governments and seek<br />
media attention. I’ve been consulting colleagues in my business,<br />
those who have been doing this type of work far longer than I, asking<br />
if they perceive that the dispute resolution process is getting better or<br />
worse. They are unanimous in their opinions that they’ve never seen<br />
it so bad.<br />
It’s the Government’s job to resolve landlord and tenant disputes with<br />
certainty and finality, through the Courts but more often through the<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
22
administrative agency created by the Conservative government in<br />
June of 1998, once called the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal,<br />
renamed in 2007 as the Landlord and Tenant Board.<br />
So how can government tolerate the current legislation and the<br />
application of same that is remarkable in its naïveté, both from a<br />
distance and upon close examination of its many provisions We<br />
currently have a regulatory regime where the legislation is so<br />
badly conceived and at times drafted that even the Board<br />
Members and the appellate courts can’t agree on or find a consistent<br />
approach to everyday issues such as:<br />
• What is the proper format for notices of entry into the<br />
rental unit with respect to duration, arrival time etc I’ve<br />
asked the Chair for an Interpretation Guideline to resolve<br />
the confusion. We shall see if we get some clarification.<br />
• What constitutes a properly drafted N4 notice when there<br />
are “old arrears” going back over long periods, perhaps<br />
having credit balances along the way<br />
continued...<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
23
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
• Whether an N4 or other notice is<br />
fatally defective just because dates<br />
are reversed or a month is shown<br />
with the wrong number of days<br />
(<strong>No</strong>vember 31 st for instance).<br />
• What factors a landlord should consider<br />
after a tenant has moved out<br />
leaving some items behind before<br />
re-renting the unit, or filing an<br />
application to have the Board find<br />
that the unit has been abandoned<br />
• Whether a tenant who gives notice<br />
to terminate the tenancy orally has<br />
given proper notice, and whether<br />
the landlord should then be obliged<br />
to mitigate by attempting to rerent,<br />
despite the risks involved of<br />
having no written notice.<br />
• Whether a tenant is entitled to an<br />
opportunity to fix something<br />
they have damaged before being<br />
served with an N5 notice rather<br />
than have the landlord fix it to its<br />
standards and with its expertise.<br />
• Whether a single-shareholder<br />
corporate landlord with the<br />
human shareholder acting as the<br />
landlord can obtain his or her<br />
house back with a landlord’s own<br />
use application.<br />
• Whether a tenant who by way of<br />
a motion asks the Board to void<br />
an arrears order after a Sheriff<br />
filing, has to also have paid the<br />
new rent for the month in which<br />
the motion hearing takes place.<br />
• Whether supportive housing<br />
landlords funded through the<br />
Ministry of Health and Long-<br />
Term Care and not governed by<br />
the Social Housing Reform Act<br />
may evict a tenant who can no<br />
longer live independently and is<br />
at risk to themselves and others.<br />
• How should the Board handle<br />
utilities when the tenant is obligated<br />
under a tenancy agreement<br />
to pay them but doesn’t<br />
• How to avoid lease-breaking<br />
parties when the legislation<br />
allows a tenant with “remaining<br />
lease term” to simply act badly so<br />
that they are served with a termination<br />
notice, thereby ending<br />
their obligation to pay rent for<br />
the duration of the lease term<br />
• Whether on a no-fault application<br />
for demolition or landlord’s<br />
own use, the Board should consider<br />
the tenant’s circumstances<br />
prior to eviction, and if so, how<br />
to apply the findings.<br />
• How does one count the number<br />
of voiding days on an N5 notice,<br />
the most common of the conduct<br />
notices, and furthermore, how<br />
does one figure out what constitutes<br />
a breach during the voiding<br />
period, and finally why can’t a<br />
landlord serve a second N5 notice<br />
unless the first has been voided<br />
• Whether the tenant’s willful<br />
blindness should have a bearing<br />
on eviction resulting from<br />
serious illegal acts that were<br />
committed by others in the<br />
rental unit.<br />
• What constitutes persistent late<br />
payment of rent<br />
• What is the standard of proof<br />
required when the landlord’s allegations<br />
about a tenant relate to<br />
criminal activity or conduct that<br />
is morally blameworthy (F.H. v.<br />
McDougall, [2008] S.C.C.)<br />
• How do rentals in condominiums<br />
fit into the statutory regime when<br />
a dispute occurs Who is the landlord<br />
What if there is a conflict of<br />
laws How can the landlord be<br />
held responsible for the common<br />
areas and common elements over<br />
which it has no control<br />
• How does the Board handle rent<br />
increases when the parties agree<br />
to add a prescribed additional<br />
service or facility such as window<br />
air-conditioning, and what<br />
happens if the tenant adds them<br />
unilaterally without an agreement,<br />
and then refuses to pay<br />
• Electrical sub-metering and<br />
smart metering, need I say more.<br />
• How far back can a tenant go<br />
with claims about maintenance,<br />
harassment or illegal rent, and<br />
how far back can the Board order<br />
compensation for same<br />
• How should the Board deal with<br />
unpaid rent, or prospective rent,<br />
when ordering a rent application<br />
adjourned as a result of the<br />
tenant’s request or an action by<br />
the tenant, particularly now that<br />
return dates after an adjournment<br />
are becoming distant events<br />
• How should the Board deal<br />
with Board mediated agreements<br />
or consent orders when<br />
the tenant doesn’t fulfill its part<br />
of the agreement<br />
continued...<br />
24
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Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
I’d rather bet on red or black at a casino<br />
than try to guess how any given<br />
Member might decide an issue<br />
described above on any given day.<br />
Resulting from all this confusion and<br />
inconsistency is the mess we find ourselves<br />
in today. Parties shaking their<br />
heads in wonderment as their matters<br />
are dismissed for reasons they can’t<br />
fathom, too many adjournments<br />
causing delay, too many reviews and<br />
appeals, too many highly contested<br />
applications with complex issues<br />
causing delay and depleting Board<br />
resources, and a shocking growth in<br />
tenant claims raised either by filing a<br />
paper application, or simply raised<br />
without notice at a rent hearing thanks<br />
to s.82.<br />
The current government’s addition<br />
of s.82 acts as an invitation to tenants<br />
who fear that they will be homeless<br />
and who can’t pay the rent. It is just<br />
too easy to raise an issue that’s trivial<br />
and blow it out of proportion, or to<br />
manufacture an issue willfully and<br />
compound the problem by refusing<br />
the landlord entry to repair it.<br />
Relying on the honesty and pure<br />
motives of human beings wrapped<br />
up in litigation is just not good<br />
public policy.<br />
But now add in the impending<br />
increase to the monetary jurisdiction<br />
at the Board from $10,000 to $25,000<br />
which will take place on January 1 st ,<br />
2010. Under the Residential Tenancies<br />
Act, the Board’s jurisdiction will<br />
increase by operation of law effective<br />
that same day. Into this brew, we<br />
throw in for good measure:<br />
• A couple of recent decisions at<br />
Divisional Court and the Court of<br />
Appeal regarding entry and rent<br />
increases that are remarkable;<br />
• Another Divisional Court decision<br />
that allows tenants to be<br />
compensated at the Board for<br />
special and general damages in<br />
tort or in contract;<br />
• Another very recent Divisional<br />
Court decision seemingly erasing<br />
limitation periods for tenant<br />
claims and;<br />
• A faltering economy with<br />
employment not recovering<br />
with an ending recession;<br />
And voilà we have the ideal recipe to<br />
create the perfect storm.<br />
There are a number of implications<br />
for the Ministry, and my insiders<br />
suggest that nothing is being done to<br />
prepare. As it stands, the hearing<br />
blocks are too full and the schedule<br />
too crowded to allow adjudicators<br />
time to properly hear complex<br />
matters. When a tenant is making a<br />
claim for $10,000, and soon $25,000,<br />
the landlord or its agent has an obligation<br />
to vigorously defend the<br />
claim and to hold the tenant to strict<br />
proof of same. The current system,<br />
almost unchanged from 1997,<br />
doesn’t permit this. Some Members<br />
baulk when you try to present and<br />
discuss case law or thoroughly<br />
examine a witness. It wouldn’t be<br />
right at the Small Claims Court, and<br />
it’s not right at the Landlord and<br />
Tenant Board. The Board needs to<br />
consider a number of fixes in order<br />
to prevent the system from falling<br />
further into disarray:<br />
1. Revise the disclosure rules to<br />
mirror those in the Small Claims<br />
Courts. Respondents, landlords<br />
or tenants, should have a right to<br />
be aware of the case against them<br />
before they arrive at a hearing.<br />
2. Add adjudicators and hearing<br />
locations if necessary, and only<br />
appoint lawyers as the issues have<br />
become too complex.<br />
3. Consider revising the Rules about<br />
adjournments, costs and payments<br />
into the Board.<br />
4. Consider bringing back default<br />
judgments that were eliminated<br />
under the Residential Tenancies<br />
Act, perhaps extending the<br />
dispute period to 10 days in order<br />
to free up time for the hearing of<br />
other applications.<br />
5. A legislative change to s.82, scrapping<br />
it and requiring tenants to<br />
file applications, serve and disclose<br />
prior to the hearing of the<br />
landlord’s application, or at very<br />
least a requirement for notice and<br />
disclosure prior to the hearing.<br />
6. Put out real stats for the<br />
Minister and the industry,<br />
showing the average time from<br />
the filing of different types of<br />
applications, to the date the<br />
order is finally issued. The<br />
current stat which reveals only<br />
the time from application to the<br />
first appearance, is meaningless,<br />
masks the problem and frankly<br />
is deceptive.<br />
7. We need some common-sense<br />
clarifications and amendments to<br />
the legislation NOW, to fill some<br />
of the gaps and resolve some of<br />
the existing confusion. F<br />
26
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The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
27
Liberal MPP’s Rent-Cap Proposal<br />
Would Hurt Tenants<br />
The recent provincial by-election<br />
in the riding of St. Paul’s<br />
resulted in the election of<br />
Eric Hoskins as the new<br />
Member of Provincial Parliament<br />
(MPP). <strong>FRPO</strong> members should be<br />
interested to know that his very first<br />
question in the Legislature was on the<br />
topic of tenant protection, and his<br />
question was to the Minister of<br />
Municipal Affairs and Housing.<br />
HST will increase<br />
rental costs<br />
tax (PST) on July 1, 2010, these costs<br />
will all increase by 8%.<br />
The HST will increase rental housing<br />
costs in Ontario by an average 3.3%<br />
to 3.8%, or a new cost of $274 to $320<br />
per unit annually. New tenants and<br />
tenants who move will bear these<br />
higher costs immediately, as will<br />
tenants who live in buildings exempt<br />
from rent controls.<br />
HST Impact: Higher rent<br />
or reduced repairs<br />
impact of the 13% HST on rental<br />
housing providers and tenants.<br />
The harmful effect<br />
of rent controls<br />
Mr. Hoskins then goes on to convey<br />
his concern that “rents are going up”<br />
and “is a rent cap the best way to<br />
ensure affordable rents”. The<br />
Minister of Housing correctly<br />
answers that “Clearly a rent cap<br />
would have a negative impact on the<br />
supply of rental properties.”<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
In Mr. Hoskins’ two part question,<br />
he first asks about the impact of<br />
HST on rent. The answer from the<br />
Hon. Jim Watson, the housing minister<br />
is technically correct. The HST<br />
will not directly apply to rent. This<br />
is no surprise, as sales tax is never<br />
applied to rent.<br />
What the Minister fails to explain is<br />
that the Goods and Services Tax<br />
(GST) is currently applied to many<br />
items that are necessary for operating<br />
and maintaining an apartment building.<br />
Heat, hydro, property management,<br />
maintenance and repair<br />
contracts, and even legal and accounting<br />
costs, are currently subject to only<br />
the 5% GST. When the 5% GST is harmonized<br />
with the 8% provincial sales<br />
Other tenants will see HST-related<br />
rent increases in future years when<br />
the inflationary effect of the tax<br />
increase is partially factored into<br />
the CPI-based rent control guideline.<br />
Landlords who cannot afford<br />
to increase rents due to competitive<br />
market conditions and high<br />
vacancy rates will have to cut back<br />
on expenditures such as maintenance<br />
and capital repairs in order to<br />
afford the 8% increase in HSTimpacted<br />
costs.<br />
The HST will have a harmful impact<br />
on the affordability and quality of<br />
rental housing in Ontario. <strong>FRPO</strong><br />
would be more interested to see Liberal<br />
MPPs advocating for their government<br />
to act quickly to eliminate the negative<br />
The harmful effect of rent controls on<br />
rental housing supply and choice is<br />
very well documented. It should also be<br />
noted that rents in Ontario, and in Mr.<br />
Hoskins hometown of Toronto, are not<br />
going up when adjusted for inflation.<br />
“Clearly a rent cap<br />
would have a negative<br />
impact on the supply of<br />
rental properties.”<br />
The Hon. Jim Watson,<br />
Minister of Municipal<br />
Affairs and Housing,<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>tember 30, <strong>2009</strong><br />
Real rents are dropping<br />
From <strong>Oct</strong>ober 2002 to 2008, inflation-adjusted<br />
average 2-bedroom<br />
28
Tenant protection<br />
ONTARIO HANSARD<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>tember 30, <strong>2009</strong><br />
rents in Ontario dropped from $883<br />
to $834. In Toronto, real rents<br />
dropped from $1047 to $963 over the<br />
same period. Further data shows that<br />
from April 2008 to April <strong>2009</strong>,<br />
average 2-bedroom rents in Toronto<br />
only increased 1.6%, less than the<br />
1.8% rent guideline. Also, Toronto<br />
dropped from having the 2nd highest<br />
national average 2-bedroom rent last<br />
year to 3rd place, behind Calgary and<br />
now Vancouver.<br />
Most importantly, rents across Ontario<br />
fail to keep pace with the increasing<br />
costs of supplying rental housing. The<br />
costs of property tax, utilities and<br />
mortgage interest, to name a few, consistently<br />
go up faster than Ontario’s<br />
allowable rent guideline.<br />
To ensure a healthy supply of rental<br />
housing and increased investment in<br />
repairs and maintenance, rent controls<br />
should be eased, not tightened.<br />
Since vacancy-decontrol was introduced<br />
over a decade ago, there is no<br />
evidence that rents are increasing<br />
faster than inflation. On occupied<br />
rental units, having a British<br />
Columbia-style rent guideline (C.P.I.<br />
plus 2%), would be a good start for<br />
Ontario’s government to encourage<br />
investment in rental housing supply<br />
and quality. F<br />
Mr. Eric Hoskins: My question is for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and<br />
Housing. Minister, in my riding of St. Paul’s I’ve had the opportunity to<br />
speak with hundreds of renters who are concerned about the cost of living.<br />
With rising gas prices and a challenging economic outlook, they want to<br />
know that they will be protected. According to the most recent Statistics<br />
Canada data, nearly half of households in the city of Toronto are renters,<br />
many of whom live and work in St. Paul’s. My constituents are working hard<br />
and playing by the rules. They want their government to be working hard<br />
for them.<br />
Minister, under the previous government, the Ontario Rental Housing<br />
Tribunal was known as an eviction machine that had no concern for tenants. I<br />
know this government passed the Residential Tenancies Act in 2006, but rents<br />
are still going up. Would the minister tell us how the Residential Tenancies Act<br />
has helped tenants In addition, will the new HST coming into effect next July<br />
apply to rents<br />
Hon. Jim Watson: It’s a real honour to receive the inaugural question from<br />
the honourable member. I congratulate him and welcome him to this<br />
Legislature. I know he’s going to have a long and very productive future in<br />
Ontario politics.<br />
The new Residential Tenancies Act offers fair and balanced protection between<br />
the rights of tenants and landlords. It’s been in effect for over two years and I’m<br />
pleased to report there is no backlog of cases. Every tenant facing an eviction<br />
now is afforded the benefit of a hearing, which is something new.<br />
Landlords can evict problem tenants with more ease and tenants in buildings<br />
with serious maintenance problems may apply for a freeze on rent<br />
increases. Also, municipalities, such as the city of Toronto, have the power<br />
to licence landlords.<br />
I also want to note that the HST will not apply to rent. Despite misinformation<br />
that we heard in the member’s by-election, the HST will not apply to rent. We’re<br />
proud of the (interrupted)<br />
continued...<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
29
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you.<br />
Supplementary<br />
Mr. Eric Hoskins: These changes will no doubt benefit<br />
renters in my riding, but the reality is the majority of<br />
tenants and landlords never have to go to the landlord and<br />
tenant board. Most tenants pay their rent and most landlords<br />
take care of their properties.<br />
My concern is that rent continues to go up. I’ve been<br />
talking with young families and students who live on tight<br />
budgets. They rely on predictable expenses from year to<br />
year so that they can maintain their standard of living.<br />
With the price of gas and home heating fuels on the rise,<br />
my constituents are paying more attention than ever to<br />
their bottom line. The NDP wants to cap rent for two years<br />
to ensure that rent remains affordable.<br />
I want to know what the Residential Tenancies Act does to<br />
ensure rent does not skyrocket. Is a rent cap the best way to<br />
ensure affordable rents<br />
Hon. Jim Watson: Clearly a rent cap would have a negative<br />
impact on the supply of rental properties. Individuals<br />
who want to build rental properties would be discouraged<br />
to do so.<br />
We’ve brought a much more balanced approach which so far<br />
has kept rent increases low and vacancy rates healthy. The<br />
annual rent increase is now tied to the consumer price index.<br />
It’s fair, it’s transparent and the 2010 guideline of 2.1% protects<br />
tenants from rent increases above the rate of inflation<br />
while allowing landlords to recover increasing costs.<br />
Let’s take a look at the record and go back in history. Under<br />
the NDP, when they were in office, 27% increase in rents;<br />
under the Conservatives, 23.9%, under the McGuinty<br />
Liberal government, 14.4%.<br />
We will continue to take a balanced, practical approach to<br />
landlord and tenant relations. I know we have a great new<br />
defender of tenants in the honourable member from St.<br />
Paul’s and we welcome him to this House. F<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
30
Bonnie Hoy (1 st row, 4 th from<br />
left), celebrates her company's 25 th<br />
anniversary with current and past staff.<br />
On <strong>Sep</strong>tember 13, <strong>2009</strong>,<br />
Bonnie Hoy & Associates<br />
celebrated their 25 th<br />
anniversary. Sixty people<br />
joined the celebration, including 35<br />
people currently working for the<br />
company and 25 people that are now<br />
working full time within the industry<br />
but started with Bonnie Hoy &<br />
Associates. Sterling Karamar was kind<br />
enough allow use of their facilities at<br />
the Gates of Bayview for the event.<br />
Breno Horsth was the recipient<br />
of an education bursary for France.<br />
Breno Horsth was the recipient of an<br />
education bursary for France. Bonnie Hoy & Associates gave<br />
him $10,000 towards his expenses. Breno speaks five languages<br />
and has the distinction of<br />
being the most sought after university<br />
student leasing agent they have ever<br />
had. Breno will be going through a<br />
training program in France and will<br />
then move on to coordinate missions<br />
work in third world countries.<br />
”I was so thrilled that so many people<br />
chose to join us on a Sunday night”,<br />
said leasing and marketing consultant<br />
Bonnie Hoy. “What a terrific group of<br />
people - many came into the industry<br />
and developed careers for themselves<br />
and some like Breno took their chosen path of education<br />
and went into another direction”. F<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
31
Aird & Berlis LLP<br />
Brookfield Place, 181 Bay St.<br />
Suite 1800, Box 754, Toronto, ON M5J 2T9<br />
Attention: Robert Doumani<br />
Tel: 416 863 1500 • Fax: 416 863 1515<br />
BMO Capital Markets Real Estate Inc.<br />
1 First Canadian Place, 5th Floor, P.O. Box 150<br />
Toronto, ON M5X 1H3<br />
Attention: Drew Koivu MBA<br />
Tel: 416 359 6781 • Fax: 416 359 4639<br />
Brookfield Financial<br />
Brookfield Place, Bay Wellington Tower<br />
P.O. Box 762, 181 Bay Street, Suite 260<br />
Toronto, ON M5J 2T3<br />
Atention: Colin Catherwood<br />
Tel: 416 956 5212 • Fax: 416 956 5201<br />
Carma Industries Inc.<br />
494 The Parkway, Peterborough, ON K9J 7L9<br />
Attention: Rick Williams<br />
Tel: 888 298 3336 • Fax: 705 743 3575<br />
CMHC Ontario Business Centre<br />
100 Sheppard Ave. E, Suite 300,<br />
Toronto, ON, M2N 6Z1<br />
Tel: 416 221 2642 • Fax: 416 218 3310<br />
Coinamatic Canada Inc.<br />
301 Matheson Boulevard West<br />
Mississauga, ON L5R 3G3<br />
Tel: 905 755 1946 • Toll Free: 1 800 361 2646<br />
Fax: 905 755 8885<br />
Cordeiro Roofing Ltd.<br />
343 Olivewood Rd. Toronto, ON M8Z 2Z6<br />
Tel: 416 234 9901 • Fax: 416 234 9581<br />
info@cordeiroroofing.com<br />
Enbridge Electric Connections<br />
PO Box 650, Scarborough, ON M1K 5E3<br />
Attention: Wendy Mortson<br />
Tel: 905 747 5589 • Fax: 905 881 1732<br />
Enbridge Gas Distribution<br />
P.O. Box 650, Scarborough, ON M1K 5E3<br />
Attention: Rachit Bhambri<br />
Tel: 416 753 4663 • Fax: 416 495 8350<br />
Energex Inc<br />
105-6091 Dyke Rd. Richmond, BC<br />
Attention: Rami Belson, President<br />
Tel: 604 448-1899<br />
First National Financial LP<br />
100 University Ave., <strong>No</strong>rth Tower, Suite 700,<br />
Toronto, ON M5J 1V6<br />
Attention: Mr. Peter Cook<br />
Tel: 416 593 1100 • Fax: 416 593 1900<br />
Fuller Landau LLP<br />
151 Bloor Street West, 12th Floor<br />
Toronto, ON M5S 1S4<br />
Attention: Brenda Hadju<br />
Tel: 416 645 6500 • Fax: 416 645 6501<br />
Giant Plumbing & Hardware<br />
Distributors Ltd.<br />
14 Bentley Ave., Nepean ON, K2E 6T8<br />
Attention: Andy Brule<br />
Tel: 613 723 3190 • Fax: 613 723 5733<br />
Madhouse Advertising Inc.<br />
176 John St. Toronto ON, M5T 1X5<br />
Attention: Tami Kenwell<br />
Tel: 416 591-7770 • Fax: 416 596-9897<br />
Great <strong>No</strong>rthern Insulation<br />
935 Keyes Drive, Woodstock, ON N4V 1C3<br />
Attention: Cody Seagrist<br />
Tel: 1 800 265 1914 • cseagrist@gni.ca<br />
hsi solutions<br />
35 Carl Hall Road, Unit 3<br />
Toronto, ON M3K 2B6<br />
Attention: Reaud Singh, Business<br />
Tel: 416 891 6119 • Fax 416 981 4510<br />
<strong>2009</strong> CORPORATE<br />
MEMBERS<br />
J.D. Power and Associates<br />
2225 Sheppard Avenue East<br />
Toronto, ON M2J 5C2<br />
Attention: David Hanson<br />
Tel: 416 499 3033 • Fax: 416 499 6626<br />
Marsh Canada Limited<br />
70 University Ave, Suite 800<br />
Toronto, ON M5J 2M4<br />
Attention: Neil Gilbertson<br />
Tel: 416 349 6656<br />
MCAP Financial Corporation<br />
200 King Street West, Suite 200<br />
Toronto, ON M5H 3T4<br />
Attention: Leo St.Germain, Vice President<br />
Tel: 416 847 3870 • Fax: 416 368 8822<br />
Midnorthern Appliance<br />
137 Chrislea Drive<br />
Vaughan, ON L4L 8N6<br />
Attention: Michael Gnat<br />
Tel: 905 850 5335 • Toll-free: 1 877 353 2850<br />
Fax: 905 850 5348<br />
MMPI Canada/<br />
York Communications<br />
10 Alcorn Ave, Suite 100<br />
Toronto, ON M4V 3A9<br />
Tel: 416-512-3809<br />
Murray & Company Limited<br />
40 University Avenue, Suite 502,<br />
Toronto, ON M5J 1S3<br />
Attention: Mr. Robert Lynch, Vice-President<br />
Tel: 416 598 0950 • Fax: 416 597 8415<br />
Reliance Home Comfort<br />
Penmor Mortgage<br />
Capital Corporation<br />
36 Toronto St., Suite 510 Toronto, ON M5C 2C5<br />
Attention: David Scott<br />
Tel: 416 646 1005 • Fax: 416 646 1009<br />
Reliance Home Comfort<br />
2 Lansing Sq, 12th Floor<br />
Toronto ON M2J 4P8<br />
Attention: Joanne Druce<br />
Tel: 416 499 7245 • Fax: 416 499 7095<br />
Rogers Cable Communications<br />
855 York Mills Road, Toronto, ON M3B 1Z1<br />
Attention: Greg Stokes<br />
Tel: 416 446 6500 • Fax: 416 446 7416<br />
Rona<br />
220 chemin du Tremblay<br />
Boucherville PQ J4B 8H7<br />
Tel: 514 599 5900<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
SOLID General Contractors Inc.<br />
Attention: Carlos Munoz<br />
Tel: 905 475 0707<br />
info@solidgc.ca<br />
Commercial Mortgage Group<br />
TD Commercial Banking<br />
66 Wellington Street West 39th floor<br />
Toronto, ON M5K 1A2<br />
Attention: David Gale<br />
Tel: 416 944 6400 • Fax: 416 307 8423<br />
Sparkle Solutions<br />
2700 Steeles Avenue West, Unit 4<br />
Concord ON L4K 3C8<br />
Tel: 905 660 2282<br />
Toronto Star<br />
1 Yonge Street, 4th Floor Toronto<br />
ON M5E 1E6<br />
Attention: Grace Pastore<br />
Tel: 416 869 4248 • Fax: 416 865 3977<br />
GPastore@thestar.ca<br />
Jacques Whitford<br />
7271 Warden Avenue,<br />
Markham, ON L3R 5X5<br />
Attention: Chris Welch<br />
Tel: 905 474 7704 • Fax: 905 479 9326<br />
Wyse Meter Solutions Inc.<br />
31 Davisville Avenue<br />
Toronto, ON M4S 1G3<br />
Tel: 416 869 9900<br />
Stratacon<br />
641 Chrislea Road, Unit 8,<br />
Woodbridge, ON L4L 8A3<br />
Attention: Peter Mills<br />
Tel : 905 856 4001 • Fax: 905 856 1513<br />
Yardi Systems Inc.<br />
5925 Airport Road, Suite 510,<br />
Mississauga, ON L4V 1W1<br />
Attention: Mr. Peter Altobelli<br />
Tel: 905 671 0315 • Fax: 905 671 9424<br />
email: peter.altobelli@yardi.com<br />
32
T he Message<br />
is Always<br />
Your Business<br />
By David Eisenstadt, Founding Partner, The Communications Group Inc.<br />
Interviews with print, online, radio and TV<br />
reporters can be an uncomfortable experience<br />
for business leaders -- they interrupt hectic<br />
schedules and can result in coverage of events<br />
you may prefer were left in the background.<br />
Nevertheless, if you're a business leader you owe it<br />
to your shareholders, your employees, your customers<br />
and suppliers to enhance your organization's<br />
visibility in the marketplace.<br />
David Eisenstadt<br />
Remember that you are merely the subject of the<br />
interview. If you know what you are doing, you<br />
needn't become a journalist’s hit-and-run victim.<br />
Here are some recommendations to help you survive those tough interviews, whether<br />
live at a news conference, on the street, in a scrum or by phone:<br />
• Prepare for all major print, broadcast and online interviews. Don't assume your<br />
closeness to the situation means you've got all the answers. For example, it<br />
could matter very little to you to know how long your organization has been in<br />
its present location -- but it will seem obvious to a reader, listener or viewer that<br />
you should know.<br />
continued...<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
33
• Vocalize your responses in advance. Knowing a subject thoroughly and crafting a written<br />
response in the clearest, simplest terms are helpful. But you won't really know how clearly<br />
you can explain something vocally until you do just that. Start with a sympathetic listener<br />
on your home turf.<br />
• Supply background material beforehand. It helps an interviewer to have explanatory information<br />
on details he or she may not have known enough about to ask. Your function should<br />
be to comment on issues and situations, not to conduct a seminar on what those issues are<br />
for the interviewer.<br />
• Maintain some control from the beginning. In a face-to-face interview, begin if there's time<br />
by asking the interviewer about his or her background. It will make the following conversation<br />
sound less like the interrogation of a hostile witness. You can't do this effectively in a<br />
phone interview.<br />
• If the interviewer is a novice, it helps to reinforce your credentials<br />
as the expert in this matter. Don't treat the novice reporter<br />
with disdain because it will come back to haunt you. If the<br />
interviewer is highly knowledgeable, you've been forewarned.<br />
• Don't be misled by the apparent simplicity of questions. If<br />
you are worth being interviewed, there is news value in<br />
quoting you directly.<br />
• Don't answer hypothetical questions. You might turn them<br />
around by explaining what your organization's policy has<br />
been in the past, but there's nothing to be gained by locking<br />
yourself into a position based on a hypothetical situation.<br />
• Don't presume to redirect the story line. You may well prefer<br />
news coverage of something unrelated to what the editor or<br />
reporter wants to write or broadcast about. The interviewer<br />
may listen politely, but if what you say is considered a nonstory,<br />
you've wasted time -- yours and the interviewer's.<br />
...if you're a business<br />
leader you owe it to<br />
your shareholders,<br />
your employees, your<br />
customers and<br />
suppliers to enhance<br />
your organization's<br />
visibility in the<br />
marketplace.<br />
• Never buffalo a reporter, even a novice. You'll only get away with it as long as the interview<br />
itself lasts. Eventually, your comments will cross the desk of a much more worldly editor or<br />
producer, who will recognize bafflegab for what it is. Story killed!<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
A Final Thought:<br />
If you expect to be the subject of media attention on a regular basis, consider media training. Its<br />
personal development at its best and if you learn how to deal with the news media, you can deal<br />
with anyone. F<br />
David Eisenstadt, Fellow PRSA, Fellow CPRS, is Founding Partner with The Communications Group Inc.,<br />
a Toronto-based public relations consulting firm serving corporate clients across Canada… www. tcgpr.com<br />
34
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The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
35
CAPREIT<br />
Appoints New<br />
C.F.O.<br />
Company Commends Yazdi Bharucha for His Years of Service<br />
On <strong>Sep</strong>tember 29, <strong>2009</strong>, <strong>FRPO</strong> member Canadian Apartment Properties Real<br />
Estate Investment Trust (CAPREIT) announced that Mr. Richard Smith had<br />
been appointed Chief Financial Officer effective <strong>Oct</strong>ober 13, <strong>2009</strong> on the retirement<br />
of Mr. Yazdi Bharucha.<br />
"Yazdi has made an immeasurable contribution to our growth and performance since we<br />
entered the public capital markets in May 1997," commented Mr. Thomas Schwartz, President<br />
and CEO. "As a key member of our senior management team, he was instrumental in helping<br />
take CAPREIT from a value of $100 million at the time of our IPO to almost $1 billion today.<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
“He brings<br />
significant<br />
depth and<br />
experience<br />
to our senior<br />
management<br />
team...”<br />
Mr. Thomas<br />
Schwartz, President<br />
and CEO, CAPREIT<br />
During his tenure he secured more than $1 billion in financings to fund our growth, and<br />
was a key player in the successful and accretive acquisition of ResREIT. He has also put in<br />
place a strong financial management team and network of advisors that will stand us well<br />
as we move forward. His commitment and professionalism will be missed by everyone at<br />
CAPREIT, and we wish him every success in the future."<br />
"I am very proud of everything we have accomplished at CAPREIT, and thank my financial<br />
management team for their support and dedication over the last twelve years,'" Mr.<br />
Bharucha stated.<br />
Mr. Smith was formerly Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of MI<br />
Developments Inc., a publicly-traded real estate company focused on the ownership, leasing<br />
and management of a portfolio consisting of 105 income producing properties.<br />
Prior to joining MI Developments, he was Vice-President of Corporate Development at<br />
Magna International Inc., an Associate Director in the Mergers and Acquisitions group at<br />
Scotia Capital Inc., and a Senior Associate at Coopers and Lybrand (now<br />
PriceWaterhouseCoopers). He received his Juris Doctor and Master of Business<br />
Administration from the University of Toronto in 2001, and an Honours Bachelor of<br />
Commerce from the University of Ottawa in 1995. He is a Chartered Accountant, a U.S.<br />
Certified Public Accountant, and was called to the Bar in New York State.<br />
"We are very pleased and excited to have Richard join CAPREIT," Mr. Schwartz added. "He<br />
brings significant depth and experience to our senior management team, and we look forward<br />
to the contribution he will make as CAPREIT enters the next phase of its growth." F<br />
36
Kevin T. O’Leary<br />
<strong>2009</strong> Awards Gala Key <strong>No</strong>te Speaker<br />
He's opinionated, he's ruthless, he<br />
hungers for big deals and loves to<br />
take control yet he made his millions<br />
helping children learn how to read.<br />
company, O’Leary Funds. He raised hundreds of<br />
millions of dollars from investors who share his<br />
“get paid while you wait” yield oriented value<br />
investing philosophy.<br />
You have seen<br />
him on Dragons’<br />
Den and Shark<br />
Tank, now see<br />
him live at <strong>FRPO</strong>’s<br />
Awards Gala<br />
December 3,<br />
<strong>2009</strong>, at the<br />
Metro Toronto<br />
Convention<br />
Centre.<br />
Kevin's success story starts where most entrepreneurs<br />
begin: with a big idea and zero cash. From<br />
his basement, he launched SoftKey Software<br />
Products. As sales took off, Kevin moved to head<br />
quarters in Cambridge Massachusetts and went<br />
on an industry consolidating acquisition binge.<br />
From 1995 to 1999 he bought almost every one of<br />
his software competitors including, Mind scape,<br />
Broderbund and the Learning Company in the<br />
industry’s first vicious public hostile battle.<br />
Shareholders love his take no prisoners cost<br />
cutting style and fueled him with billions to do<br />
his deals. In 1999, Kevin sold his company to the<br />
Mattel Toy Company for a staggering 3.7 billion<br />
dollars, one of the largest deals ever done in the<br />
consumer software industry.<br />
To keep his money working hard, Kevin took<br />
control of his wealth from his lackluster money<br />
managers and founded his own mutual fund<br />
He shares his tips and tribulations with a national<br />
television audience and turns the Street upside<br />
down in the process. As a self-proclaimed<br />
“Eco-preneur” Kevin looks hardest for investments<br />
that make money – and are environmentally<br />
friendly. When he’s not squeezing the market<br />
from his office in West Palm Beach he travels the<br />
world looking for new opportunities to deploy his<br />
capital. He is a founding investor and director of<br />
Stream Global an international business out<br />
sourcing company. Kevin is on the investment<br />
committee of Boston's prestigious 200-year-old<br />
Hamilton Trust, and is the Chairman of O’Leary<br />
Funds. He also serves on the executive board of<br />
The Richard Ivey School of Business Kevin escapes<br />
on weekends with his family to his luxurious<br />
cottage that spreads over prime Canadian wilderness<br />
on the shore of an ancient glacial lake. Kevin<br />
was born in Montreal Canada on July 9 th 1954, he<br />
lives in West Palm Beach Florida. F<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
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Discover more at www.goodwithnumbers.net
<strong>FRPO</strong> Bulletin Wrap-Up<br />
Fire Marshall’s Alarm System Campaign:<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> to Challenge Orders<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> would like to advise its members that there<br />
appears to be a campaign by the Fire Marshall to have<br />
local Fire Inspectors throughout Ontario require<br />
testing and upgrades of alarm systems. Orders are<br />
being issues which require owners to make alterations<br />
to the building, notwithstanding Section 22 of the Fire<br />
Prevention Act which states that no order shall require<br />
alterations to the building if it complied with the<br />
Building Code in place at the time it was constructed,<br />
with the exception of Fire Retrofit Code. These new<br />
orders are not part of the retrofit code. At the moment,<br />
the activity by the Fire Marshall appears to be concentrated<br />
in Southwestern Ontario in Chatham, Windsor,<br />
London and Woodstock.<br />
obstacles related to interior and exterior building spaces<br />
and applies to housing (eg: doors, entrances, hallways, elevators,<br />
kitchens bathrooms, garbage chute rooms and<br />
parking spaces).<br />
FPRO is has submitted recommendations on behalf of<br />
landlords to the government. One of our key positions is<br />
that a retrofit requirement for rental housing would be costprohibitive<br />
and impractical.<br />
All new construction and<br />
major renovation affected<br />
The proposed standard focuses on preventing barriers on a<br />
go-forward basis. Under this proposed standard, all new<br />
buildings and buildings undergoing major renovations would<br />
need to meet the proposed requirements if passed as law.<br />
We believe that it is unlikely that many pre-1997 constructed<br />
suites can meet this standard. Cost estimates for the<br />
engineering, testing and installation of alternative measures<br />
(mini-horns) may be greater than $1,000 per suite.<br />
Members should know that <strong>FRPO</strong> intends to challenge<br />
this direction. Orders of this type are currently on appeal<br />
to the Fire Safety Commission. If there is not a satisfactory<br />
outcome of these appeals, <strong>FRPO</strong> will be appealing the<br />
decision to the Divisional Court. There is a long standing<br />
principle worth defending that new building and fire standards<br />
cannot be applied retroactively to the existing stock<br />
of buildings.<br />
The government does not plan to require that all existing<br />
buildings be retrofitted to meet accessibility requirements<br />
in the final accessible built environment standard at this<br />
time. Future consultations by the government will consider<br />
retrofit issues.<br />
So far, <strong>FRPO</strong> has advocated on behalf of the rental industry<br />
by meeting with:<br />
• Policy staff from the Office of the Minister of<br />
Community and Social Services<br />
• The Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ministry of<br />
Community and Social Services<br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
For additional information, please contact<br />
Vince Brescia at 416.385.1100 x 20<br />
Ontario Government Proposes New<br />
Accessibility Standards<br />
Ontario is seeking input on its proposed built environment<br />
accessibility standard. This proposed accessibility<br />
standard introduces new measures to prevent disability<br />
• The Independent Reviewer of the Accessibility for<br />
Ontarians with Disabilties Act<br />
• The Accessible Built Environment Public<br />
Consultation Panel<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> has also submitted written input directly to the<br />
Minister and the Chair of government’s Accessible Built<br />
Environment Standard Committee.<br />
40
What should landlords and<br />
property managers do<br />
The proposed standard is not yet law. For now, you should<br />
review the proposed accessibility standard (see below) and<br />
familiarize yourself with some of the requirements. As<br />
noted, the government says they do not plan to make the<br />
standards retroactive. If you are planning new projects or<br />
major renovations, you should consult with your contractors,<br />
architects and designers to ensure they are aware of the<br />
proposed standards.<br />
Key Points<br />
Human Rights Commission Releases<br />
Policies for Rental Housing<br />
The Human Rights Commission released new guidelines<br />
that review the rules, policies and procedures that help<br />
ensure the practices of private and public sector housing<br />
providers are non-discriminatory in nature.<br />
The Commission’s Policy on Human Rights and Rental<br />
Housing is a comprehensive look at how barriers to housing<br />
can be identified and eliminated. <strong>FRPO</strong> members can<br />
review the full report at: www.ohrc.on.ca/en/resources/<br />
Policies/housing<br />
Some key points <strong>FRPO</strong> is submitting include:<br />
• All existing rental housing buildings must remain exempt<br />
from the proposed standard’s retrofit requirement.<br />
• Requiring retrofit of existing housing would:<br />
• impose undue financial hardship on landlords<br />
• result in above guideline rent increase (AGI’s)<br />
applications with substantially increased rents<br />
for tenants<br />
• cause significant inconvenience for existing tenants<br />
• Landlords and property managers recognize the need<br />
for accessibility and already are responsible for accommodating<br />
disabled people under Ontario’s Human<br />
Rights Code<br />
• Deadlines for compliance for new construction (12<br />
months) and major renovations (12 to 36 months) are<br />
too short to be realistically implemented.<br />
• Requiring accessibility measures in every single new<br />
housing unit will increase the cost of housing, and<br />
have a disproportionate negative impact on lower<br />
income tenants.<br />
How you can learn more<br />
More information, including details of the proposed standard,<br />
can be found at www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/english/<br />
pillars/accessibilityOntario/accesson/business/environment<br />
For more information, contact:<br />
Mike Chopowick, Manager of Policy, 416-385-1100 x21<br />
The Commission’s report does not change any existing laws<br />
or regulations related to human rights and discrimination.<br />
Its purpose is to provide tools, practical scenarios and information<br />
that can be applied to everyday situations, so that<br />
human rights problems can be eliminated quickly or prevented<br />
from happening in the first place. The report<br />
includes information to help landlords take proactive steps<br />
to ensure their policies are not having an adverse impact<br />
based on Code grounds.<br />
Under Ontario’s Human Rights Code, tenants and housing<br />
providers have certain rights and obligations. But the Code<br />
does not spell out what these protections and duties mean.<br />
The Commission’s new policy document gives practical<br />
advice on how people can exercise their rights and fulfill<br />
their obligations.<br />
The Commission also released a separate document for<br />
housing providers, titled, “Human Rights in Housing – An<br />
Overview for Landlords”. It can be obtained from the<br />
Ontario Human Rights Commission at www.ohrc.on.ca.<br />
For more information, contact:<br />
Mike Chopowick, Manager of Policy, 416-385-1100 x21<br />
The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario<br />
41
Upcoming Events<br />
PM EXPO<br />
December 2-4, <strong>2009</strong><br />
Metro Toronto Convention Centre<br />
PM Expo is a property management trade exposition and conference held on December 2-4, <strong>2009</strong> at the Metro Toronto<br />
Convention Centre, South Building. Combining educational seminars and exposition, this Show will facilitate and accelerate<br />
the exchange of ideas, best practices, and product knowledge for this vital industry http://www.pmexpo.com<br />
<strong>FRPO</strong> M.A.C Awards Gala <strong>2009</strong><br />
December 3rd, <strong>2009</strong><br />
Metro Toronto Convention Centre<br />
The MAC Awards Gala is the most important annual event for our members, and is well attended by over 600 rental housing<br />
providers ranging from hands-on owners/managers to third party management and holding companies. We will be recognizing<br />
excellence in the residential rental housing industry and advancing the high standards that <strong>FRPO</strong> aims to promote.<br />
Get your ticket now! For more information and to register, please call <strong>FRPO</strong> at (416) 385-1100. Registration is required.<br />
For more information or to register, call <strong>FRPO</strong> at 416-385-1100 or info@frpo.org<br />
DEC 3, <strong>2009</strong><br />
Fair Exchange • <strong>Sep</strong>tember / <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2009</strong><br />
42<br />
GUEST SPEAKER: Kevin O’Leary<br />
Canadian entrepreneur and venture capitalist,<br />
as seen on CBC’s Dragons’ Den.<br />
RESERVE YOUR TABLE TODAY!<br />
Contact Laurie Cooper at 416-385-1100 ex. 23
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