FE Magazine 2011 No. 1 Jan-Feb - FRPO

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Fair Exchange • January • February 2011 

4 

Contents 

JANUARY • FEBRUARY 2011 

CFAA CANADIAN RENTAL 

HOUSING CONFERENCE 

Toronto 2011 

14 

BACKLOGS AT THE LTB 

CRUSHING THE SYSTEM 

By Harry Fine 

15 

FRPO’S 2010 

MAC AWARDS 

Recognizing Rental 

Housing Excellence 

18 

FRPO SEMINAR: 

New Suite Metering Rules 

30 

ONTARIO GOVERNMENT 

INVESTS IN BEDBUG 

PREVENTION PROGRAM 

31 

ALTUS GROUP RELEASES 

OCTOBER 2010 RENTAL 

HOUSING SURVEY 

GTA Rental Market Continues 

to Recover from the Recession 

32 

Features 

Cover: 

W. Bernard 

Herman, FRPO’s 

Lifetime 

Achievement 

Award Recipient 

pg. 

18 

BOARDWALK 

One of Canada's Most Admired 

Corporate Cultures 

34 

CMHC 2010 RENTAL 

MARKET SURVEY 

By Ted Tsiakopoulos 

35 

THE KEY TO 

ENHANCED PROFITABILITY… 

and “Delighted” Tenants. 

By Kim Reid 

38 

CFAA Report pg. 12 Legislative Report pg. 40 

MAC Awards 2010 pg. 18 

Departments 

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE 

Ontario’s Eviction Process 

is Broken 

By Vince Brescia 

6 

CFAA REPORT 

CMHC Data Supports Portable 

Housing Allowances 

By John Dickie 

12 

FRPO MEMBER PROFILE 

Enercare, Combining the 

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Sub-metering Businesses 

28 

LEGISLATIVE REPORT 

By Mike Chopowick 

40 

FRPO BULLETIN 

WRAP-UP 

45 

UPCOMING EVENTS 

46 

LTB Backlogs pg. 15

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President’s Perspective 

Ontario’s Eviction Process is Broken 

By Vince Brescia, President & CEO, FRPO 

FRPO has completed a paper which reviews Ontario’s current eviction 

process in some detail. Ontario’s eviction process is broken. It is excessively 

long, and it is unfair to tenants and landlords. Harry Fine also 

provides a related perspective when he discusses the growing backlog 

problem at the Landlord & Tenant Board. From Harry’s perspective, the problem 

is getting worse. I have heard the same from members. 

Currently the typical landlord has to wait 90 days before they can evict a nonpaying 

tenant. That’s just the average. For professional tenants, and those who 

exploit free legal aid, the process can be dragged out for many more months. This 

delay is an injustice. It costs the landlord a fortune. It results in higher costs for 

tenants who pay on time. And the system itself is fostering a culture whereby 

many tenants deliberately utilize the system to live for free, costing the landlord 

and the LTB precious time and resources. 

Vince Brescia, FRPO President 

Over the years, as FRPO has raised objections about the system, we are always given 

excuses wherever we go in government. The LTB will shrug and say they don’t have 

the resources. The government will say they don’t have the funds to properly 

resource the LTB. Government policy staff will say they can’t shorten the process, 

because then that will lead to more eviction applications and more pressure on the 

LTB. The sheriff’s office and the Attorney General will simply ignore our concerns 

that it takes 6-8 weeks to get a sheriff in Peel region, and refuse to even consider 

allowing private bailiffs. It’s a combination of disinterest (in any issue that helps 

landlords), and a paralyzing fear of making any change that any single advocate in 

the province could accuse of being unfair, regardless of its merits. 


6 

Put aside all the excuses and disinterest. There is no justification for this problem. 

Just look at how the process works in other provinces. In Alberta, the entire 

process takes 17 days, compared to 90 days in Ontario. In Saskatchewan, its 25 

days. Manitoba, 32 days. B.C., 35. Tenants make up roughly the same percentage 

of the population in all provinces – the differences are minor. 

In our paper, we outline each of the elements of Ontario’s system that contribute 

to the delays and dysfunction in our system. We also provide a number of recom- 

continued...

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the voice of the Federation of 

Rental-housing Providers 

of Ontario 

A PUBLICATION OF: 

mendations as to how the system 

could be made fairer. 

Over the coming year, FRPO plans to 

raise awareness of this problem 

amongst all MPPs. Many of the MPPs 

we have talked to recently recognize 

the problem. Some of them have been 

landlords in the past, and experienced 

how unfair the system treats a landlord. 

Others have relatives and friends 

in the business. And many have heard 

from landlords in their riding who 

reinforce how unfair the system is. As 

an industry, we have a strong case that 

the process is unfair, and in need of 

reform. Many of our recommendations 

could be implemented with little 

or no cost, and they would make the 

system fairer for all. And the reforms 

would be supported by the vast majority 

of tenants. F 

EDITOR: 

Mike Chopowick • FRPO 

e-mail: mchopowick@frpo.org 

toll free: 1-877-688-1960 

phone: 416-385-1100 x 21 

fax: 416-385-7112 

www.frpo.org 

20 Upjohn Rd., Suite 105 

Toronto, Ontario M3B 2V9 

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Lynzi Michal • FRPO 

e-mail: lmichal@frpo.org 

toll free: 1-877-688-1960 

phone: 416-385-1100 x 22 

fax: 416-385-7112 

DESIGNED AND PRINTED 

IN CANADA BY: 

FRPO IS A MEMBER OF: 

Opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors and 

do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the 

FRPO Board or Management. FRPO and Mediapeach 

accepts no liability for information contained herein. All rights 

reserved. Contents may not be reproduced without written 

permission from the publisher.

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10

Source: CMHC, 2010 

CMHC Data Supports Portable Housing Allowances 

By John Dickie, President, Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations 


In its flagship publication, 

Canadian Housing Observer, for 

2010, CMHC recently released 

more data which supports 

portable housing allowances as the 

cost-effective solution to most problems 

of housing need. 

CMHC considers a household to be in 

housing need if they need to pay more 

than 30% of their income to obtain 

suitable housing. To meet the needs of 

those in core housing need, many 

housing advocates promote the development 

of social housing. They take 

the position that housing affordability 

is not just an indicator of poverty; 

they say the private rental market does 

not respond adequately to the need for 

low-rent housing. 

This position of housing advocates 

appears to be based on the assumption 

that the households in core housing 

need stay constant over time. Do the 

same people stay in housing need 

every year Chapter 6 of the 2010 

Housing Observer shows that people 

move in and out of “housing need” at 

a rapid rate. 

The CMHC data shows the extent to 

which low-income households moved 

into and out of affordability over the 

six year period from 2002 to 2007. Of 

market renters, 42% paid more than 

30% of income for at least one of the 

six years, but only 11% paid more than 

30% of income for five or six years. 

15% of all renters were in housing 

need for only one year, 10% for only 

two years and 7.5% for three years (p. 

78 in CMHC's Housing Observer). 

Of female lone parents, 58% paid 

more than 30% of income for at least 

one of the six years, but 41% paid 

more than 30% of income for three or 

fewer years out of the six years under 

review (p. 78). 

Of the population of Canada as a 

whole, only 2.7% were in core housing 

need for five or six years out of the six 

year study period, yet social housing 

already makes up 4.8% of the housing 

stock across Canada. 

This data provides a powerful argument 

that the housing help most lowincome 

Canadians need is not more 

12

Persistence of People in Urban Households in Core 

Housing Need, Canada and Households in Lowest- 

Income Quintile, 2002 - 2007 

90% 

80% 

70% 

60% 

81.4 

Canada 

Individuals in households in the lowest-income quintile 

50% 

40% 

43.9 

30% 

20% 

10% 

0% 

13.8 

12.7 

6.7 

8.90 7.1 

4.8 

6.6 7.1 

2.6 1.7 1.3 1.4 

1 1 1 1 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 

Years in Core Housing Need, 2002 - 2007 

1 Not necessarily consecutive years. 

Components may not add to 100 percent due to rounding 

Source: CMHC (SLID-based housing indicators and data) 

social housing, but rather portable 

housing allowances, which can be 

available quickly, when and where 

people need the help. 

CHMC states that “to a significant 

extent, different people are in core 

housing need from year to year, 

although the annual rate of core 

housing need may remain little 

changed.” (p.79) 

Households may move in and out of 

core housing need for various reasons 

– it could be due to a temporary job 

loss or a decision to pursue higher 

education. Those people will not be 

helped by social housing; households 

are unlikely to obtain a social housing 

unit in that short time frame. As well, 

to incur the financial and social costs 

associated with moving for a temporary 

period seems unreasonable or 

even counter-productive. Those 

people will be best helped by a temporary 

income support that is available 

when they need it, and that will 

allow them to continue to live where 

they choose. 

CFAA is seeking to ensure that 

federal housing funds can continue 

to flow into housing allowances and 

other income-based programs (such 

as rent supplements) rather than 

being restricted to subsidies for 

building new housing. Rent supplements 

are paid to a landlord who 

agrees to rent certain units to tenants 

sent by the municipal or provincial 

housing authority. Portable housing 

allowances are paid to low-income 

tenants, who rent their units from 

any landlord willing to rent to them. 

Often that means their current landlord. 

Portable housing allowances 

can be used to pay the rent where the 

tenant lives now, or allow the tenant 

a broad choice of where to relocate. 

Portable housing allowances are 

sometimes called housing benefits. 

CFAA will continue to advocate for 

federal housing programs that 

allow or encourage portable 

housing allowances and rent supplements, 

since those policies 

provide the most effective benefits 

to low-income tenants, at the least 

cost to taxpayers. 

The 2010 Canadian Housing Observer 

is available on the CMHC website at 

www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca. F 

FRPO is one of 17 members of the Canadian 

Federation of Apartment Associations, the sole 

national organization representing the interests 

of Canada’s $40 billion rental housing industry, 

which houses seven million Canadians. 

The Voice of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario 

13

CFAA Canadian Rental 

Housing Conference 

Toronto 2011 

The CFAA 2011 conference 

(June 16-17) will be held at the 

Westin Prince Hotel in Toronto. 

The Canadian Federation of 

Apartment Associations (CFAA) 

is holding the 2011 Canadian 

Rental Housing Conference in 

Toronto, Ontario from June 15 to17, 2011. 

Rental housing executives, investors, property 

managers, individual landlords, maintenance 

managers, asset managers and 

realtors will all benefit from attending this 

year’s sessions, boat cruise and building 

tour. The conference will feature sessions 

on both facilities management, investment 

and tenant relations. 

The Investment & Tenant 

Relations Conference on 

June 17 will include: 

• Cross Canada reports 

• Economic update 

• Risks to industry profitability 

• Innovations in today’s markets and 

management 

• Tenant satisfaction and retention 

• Social media 

• Attracting good tenants 

• Website design & SEO 


The Facilities Management 

Conference on June 16 will 

include: 

• The Value proposition in 

building retrofits 

• Building envelope retrofits 

• Deferred maintenance – when does it 

cost you 

• Cost containment through green 

technologies 

• Bedbugs 

• Workforce issues 

• Waste diversion 

• Building accessibility & human rights 

The CFAA conference is the ideal place to 

network and share information with others in 

the rental housing industry. There are also many 

partnership opportunities available for those 

interested in promoting themselves to industry 

decision-makers nationwide. 

The CFAA 2011 conference will be held at 

the Westin Prince Hotel in Toronto. 

Register now and receive CFAA’s early bird 

rate! To register, online please visit our 

website at www.cfaa-fcapi.org or contact 

Erin Wallace with your registration or 

partnership inquires at events@cfaafcapi.org 

or (613) 235-0101. F 

14

Justice delayed is justice 

denied. It’s a cliché but it’s 

true in all sorts of law. But 

nowhere is delay more acute 

than in areas of law such as landlord 

and tenant where the status quo is 

not maintained during periods of 

delay, and where prejudice to the 

landlord increases with each day of 

delay. As landlords know, most debts 

are unrecoverable. 

By Harry Fine 

The Residential Tenancies Act mandates 

that the Board create processes 

that expedite the proceedings. This is 

not a suggestion to the Board, nor is it 

optional. The statute reads: 

Expeditious procedures 

183. The Board shall adopt 

the most expeditious 

method of determining the 

questions arising in a proceeding 

that affords to all 

persons directly affected by 

the proceeding an adequate 

opportunity to know the 

issues and be heard on the 

matter. 2006, c. 17, s. 183. 

In the Toronto area, the Board is 

slowing to a crawl. And often where it 

doesn’t, fairness is being sacrificed as 

swift proceedings take the place of 

thorough inquiry that at times is necessary. 

I can only imagine from my 

days at the Board what pressures the 

Members are going through to deal 

with the backlog while keeping their 

decisions out of the appeal courts. 

continued... 


15


I’m in Newmarket at the LTB about 

once a month, and it’s quite a show. 

Just this week, January 5 th , 2011, I was 

there for a rent arrears hearing. There 

were 40 files in the room, one adjudicator, 

and a hearing block that got 

started at 10:20. At the start of the 

block, every seat in the hotel meeting 

room was full, and I counted, 20 

people standing in the aisles. There 

was one adjudicator and one mediator. 

In this block of files were lots of 

rent cases plus tenant applications, 

reviews, conduct cases etc. During the 

preamble, the parties were warned, as 

often happens prior to the first case 

being called, that they might not get 

heard, and that they might be better 

off mediating their disputes. I find it 

entirely inappropriate to take a 

process like mediation that is not 

mandatory, and push people into 

using it and accepting an otherwise 

unacceptable compromise by suggesting 

that they may have to come back 

another day if they don’t come to a 

resolution on their own. The Board 

might as well just put up a sign saying 

“We are lacking the manpower. Work 

it out yourselves.” 

The Board attempts a number of 

strategies to deal with the backlog, 

bringing Members from other regions 

into Toronto to do an occasional 

hearing block, but it hardly makes a 

dent. The most commonly used strategy 

seems to be to over-book the 

blocks and hope. In my business I’ve 

never considered hope and prayer as 

much of a strategy, but maybe that’s 

just me. I have occasionally talked to 

Board Members in the hearing room 

at the end of a block about life at the 

Board today compared to my time 

from 2001 to 2004. They tell me that 

they are overworked, can’t find time to 

write orders and are tired of the specials. 

Oh yes, let’s talk about specials. 

A special is loosely defined as follows. 

When a complex matter cannot be 

completed on its first hearing day, the 

parties and the Member decide to have 

a dedicated hearing block on the 

return date so that the matter can be 

finished without delay. Toronto South 

at Yonge and St. Clair is the home of 

the specials. In my day at the ORHT, 

there might have been 2 specials per 

week at Toronto South. Nowadays 

there are probably 8 specials a week at 

Toronto South, but with no more 

adjudicators. These add to each 

Member’s load as in addition to their 

regular load of 4 or 5 blocks per week, 

they have full-block specials. But even 

if the Member grants a special, you 

may not get a phone call from the 

Board regarding a new date for a 

month, sometimes more. And the 

hearing date you get is another 4-6 

weeks off. Yes, it can be upwards of 10 

weeks between appearances. I have 

had a number of files in the past two 

years at Toronto South that have taken 

an entire year to be resolved. 

Some Members have simply stopped 

doing specials. As a practitioner, I find 

that terrible. But as a former Member, 

I can’t say that I blame them. In a nutshell, 

the government is underresourcing 

the Board and putting the 

added workload on the backs of staff 

and public appointees. 

It would take me a full column to 

detail what I believe are the reasons 

behind the backlog, but let me briefly 

mention a few. 

• The Residential Tenancies Act, has 

too much tension built into it. In 

other words, too much unsettled 

law, too much ambiguity and too 

many drafting errors or omissions 

that go uncorrected. When 

an area of law is not settled or 

clear, it creates litigation. 

• The Board has a reputation as 

being tenant-centred and slow. 

Tenants pick up on that, particularly 

in the age of the internet. It 

encourages litigation, frivolous 

claims and defences, and having 

no effective mechanism for 

meaningful costs, it’s like a free 

spin at the wheel in Las Vegas. 

Toronto South has a younger, 

downtown tenant clientele who 

are more internet savvy. I believe 

that this adds to the crush. 

• The number of adjournments, 

and the Board’s approach to 

adjournment requests is strikingly 

naïve. It’s like first appearance 

court in a criminal matter. 

Almost every request is granted. 

Tenant respondents receive documents 

in the mail from the landlord 

and from the Board advising 

them that they should come prepared 

to have their matter heard. 

It’s often 6 weeks between the 

filing of an application and the 

hearing, 8 to 10 weeks between 

service of an N4 notice and a rent 

hearing. Yet when a tenant comes 

seeking an adjournment for 

counsel, a right that is not 

absolute, particularly on simple 

summary matters and without 

even making out a prima facie 

case for the adjournment, it is 

almost always granted. Let’s 

remember that Board Members 

at administrative agencies are 

given a wide berth, enormous 

16

deference by the Courts to 

control their own process. They 

are assumed to have expert 

knowledge in the area. So when a 

Member clearly sets out in a 

written decision why the prejudice 

to the landlord outweighs 

the prejudice to the tenant with 

respect to severing off a tenant 

claim from a rent matter, or 

denying an adjournment, the 

Courts rarely disturb the decision. 

(See Rebecca Maxine Collins 

v. BCIMC Realty Corporation, 

[2009] Ontario Divisional Court) 

• The tenant duty counsel 

program funded by Legal Aid 

Ontario and run by the 

Advocacy Centre for Tenants, 

Ontario is not only expensive, 

but slams the brakes on Board 

proceedings. There are often 

three staff lawyers at Toronto 

South, holding up hearings while 

tenants wait for their turn in the 

duty counsel office. Aren’t 

parties supposed to have come 

prepared for their hearing 

Couldn’t tenants have sought out 

legal services, free or otherwise, 

before coming to the Board My 

experience on conduct 

cases....serious cases involving 

violence, rape, assaults etc. is 

that when a tenant comes out of 

the duty counsel office, they ask 

for and receive an adjournment. 

There are a number of ways the Board 

and the Ministry could bring realistic 

timelines back to the eviction process 

without spending a dime. 

1. Recognize that there is no policy 

basis, common law requirement 

or logical reason in giving a 

tenant 14 days to remedy a notice 

for breach of rental payment. It 

is a hold-over from a previous 

era before Part IV of the 

Landlord and Tenant Act was 

created in Ontario in 1969. Prior 

to that time, residential landlords 

were governed by the same rules 

as commercial landlords. 

Fourteen days was the amount of 

time a landlord had to wait 

before they could change the 

locks on an apartment when rent 

went into arrears. 

2. Put all three Toronto districts in 

one hearing location to maximize 

usage and minimize down time. 

And have Members load-share on 

hearing days for simple files. 

3. Revise the disclosure rules to 

mirror those in the Small Claims 

Courts. Respondents, landlords or 

tenants, should have a right to be 

aware of the case against them 

before they arrive at a hearing, 

preventing needless adjournments. 

4. Have the adjudicator do the preamble 

at 9:20, and start the first 

case at 9:30. Parties are told to be 

there at 9 am. As it is, and I’m 

sorry Members who may read this 

but this is the truth, about 80% of 

the time, Members come in about 

9:40 to begin their preamble. 

5. Consider revising the Rules about 

adjournments, costs and payments 

into the Board. 

6. Consider bringing back default 

judgments that were eliminated 

under the Residential Tenancies 

Act, perhaps extending the 

dispute period to 10 days in order 

to free up time for the hearing of 

other applications. 

7. A legislative change to s.82, 

scrapping it and requiring 

tenants to file applications, serve 

and disclose prior to the hearing 

of the landlord’s application, or 

at very least a requirement for 

notice and disclosure prior to the 

hearing. Frivolous section 82 

claims have become an easy path 

for an adjournment for a tenant 

who can’t pay his rent but may 

have a claim as simple as a stove 

element not working. 

8. We need some common-sense 

clarifications and amendments to 

the legislation NOW, to fill some 

of the gaps and resolve some of 

the existing confusion. 

9. Have the Attorney General look 

at Sheriff enforcement delay. Peel 

Region has been frightening, up 

to 6 weeks at times. Why not have 

commercial bailiffs enforce orders 

for possession Sheriff staff 

should be instructed to take any 

file where enforcement has been 

delayed once through a stay being 

imposed, to go to the very front 

of the line when the stay is lifted. 

This does not happen in Toronto. 

Tenants know this. A frivolous 

request for review where the 

tenant does not even show up at 

the review hearing gets the tenant 

between 4 and 8 weeks, depending 

on when the review is filed. 

10. Scrap the tenant duty counsel 

program and force tenants to do 

what landlords have always had to 

do, that is, get legal advice prior to 

coming to the hearing. F 


17

FRPO’S 2010 MAC AWARDS 

RECOGNIZE RENTAL HOUSING EXCELLENCE 

On December 2, 2010 

FRPO held its tenth 

annual awards gala in 

Toronto. FRPO’s MAC 

(Marketing, Achievement and 

Construction) Awards recognize 

success and quality in Ontario’s 

rental housing sector. 

FRPO’s awards gala continues to 

grow, with record attendance of over 

700 guests, and a record 120 award 

submissions. The keynote speaker 

was CBC’s “The National” host, 

Peter Mansbridge. 

Award Presenters included: Peter 

Friedmann (CMHC); Greg Stokes 

(Rogers Cable Communications); 

Gord Alderdice, (Coinamatic 

Canada Inc.); Frank Malone, (TD 

Business Banking); Peter Altobelli 

(Yardi Systems). 

FRPO Chair Alan Weinbaum 


18

All photos kindly sponsored 

by Metro Toronto 

FRPO would like to express gratitude to all sponsors 

for making this event a great success: 

Exclusive Event Sponsor 

• Yardi Systems 

White Wine Sponsor 

• Halsall Associates Ltd 

FRPO President & CEO Vince Brescia 

Event Sponsors 

• Coinamatic Canada Inc 

• Rogers Cable Communications 

• TD Commercial Banking 

Audio Visual Sponsors 

• The Toronto Star 

• Canadian Apartment Investment 

Conference 

• Enbridge Gas 

Speaker Sponsor 

• CRB Program 

Dinner Sponsors 

• Cohen Highley LLP 

• Renters Guide 

• My Ideal Home Rental Network 

• Ace Painting & Decorating 

Company 

• Suite Collections 

• HD Supply 

Award Sponsor 

• CMHC 

Red Wine Sponsor 

• Solid General Contractors Inc. 

Cocktail Sponsors 

• Gottarent.com 

• HSI Solutions 

• The Byng Group 

• Park Property Management Inc 

• Stratacon 

• Renters Classified 

• Union Gas 

Water Sponsor 

• Aird & Berlis LLP 

Centrepiece Sponsor 

• Sun Life Assurance Company of 

Canada 

Chocolate Sponsor 

• O'Shanter Property Management 

Photography Sponsor 

• Metro Toronto 

Coat Check Sponsor 

• SPAR Property Consultants Ltd 

Supporter Cards 

• Magical Pest Control Inc 


19

W. Bernard Herman (R) being 

congratulated by CBC's 

Peter Mansbridge 

Andrew Lowe, Kevan Gorrie, Jaclyn Lee 

(Oxford Properties Group) 

Lifetime Achievement Award 


W. Bernard Herman 

Bernie Herman was born in Toronto in 1911, and in the 1930’s 

founded Citicom Inc., a real estate development company that 

built significant residential and commercial projects throughout 

Canada and the U.S. Mr. Herman played a key role in the founding 

of York Finch General Hospital, and served as its inaugural 

chairman. He has also served on the board of the Holy Blossom 

Temple, and on University of Toronto’s Governing Council, 

where he provided a considerable gift to the Faculty of Arts and 

Science to help restore historic One Spadina Crescent. 

Mr. Herman has also made significant contributions to the 

Art Gallery of Ontario, Mount Sinai Hospital, and to the 

Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. Mr. Herman is also a world 

class sailor, winning the prestigious 1972 Southern Ocean 

Racing Championship, and has served as commodore of the 

Island Sailing Club and the Ontario Sailing Club. For all his 

contributions to the community and his success in the rental 

housing history, FRPO was honoured to recognize Mr. 

Herman as the 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. 

Property Management Advertising 

Award - Corporate Branding 

Oxford Properties Group 

Oxford’s corporate branding strategy complemented the 

core identity and values of Oxford – responsibility, community, 

innovation and ownership. Strict adherence to a newly 

developed brand guideline was instrumental to achieving 

the strategy. The use of Oxford’s corporate palette, typography, 

logos and image standards was consistent in all 

Oxford Residential marketing to effectively reflect Oxford 

values and culture and maximize brand awareness. 

Other Nominee: CAPREIT 

20

Trish MacPherson, Zahra Ladha, Susan Clark (CAPREIT) 

Andrew Coutts 

(Skyline Apartment REIT) 

Property Management Advertising 

Award – Single Project 

CAPREIT 

Curb Appeal Award 

Skyline Apartment REIT- Wyndamere 

Apartments, Guelph 

CAPREIT’s “Live on the Yonge Line” campaign targeted 

potential renters who wanted to live in a building close to 

the subway line. The strategy focused on commuters already 

taking the subway, and resulted in increased leads, traffic 

and brand recognition and reduced vacancy. The campaign 

used attractive visuals with a dedicated website, print ads 

and public transit posters. 

Other nominees: KG Oakburn Apartments; 

Timbercreek Asset Management 

The Curb Appeal award recognizes exterior property 

improvements, gardens, landscaping, structural design, 

functionality and aesthetics of the entrance to the building. 

Consideration is given to the overall curb appeal and it’s relevancy 

to residents and surrounding neighborhood. 

Skyline’s renovation of the exterior of this property reflected 

the quality of the interior high-end suites. It also 

improved resident satisfaction and enhanced loyalty, while 

positively impact the value of the property in the long-term 

and incorporated exceptional green space elements into the 

finished design. 

Other Nominees: Oxford Properties Group; 



21

Trish MacPherson, Steven Clarke (CAPREIT) 

Sheryl Erenberg (Sheryl Erenberg & Associates), 

Kevin Green (Greenwin) 

Property Management Website Award – 

Corporate Branding 

CAPREIT – www.caprent.mobi 

Property Management Website Award – 

Single Project 

Greenwin – www.renttheoaks.ca 


After the success of CAPREIT’s redesigned website in 2009, 

the company further enhanced its online presence by developing 

a mobile website. The goal of the mobile site was to 

promote its more than 27,000 suites to potential renters across 

the country who use web enabled mobile devices to increase 

rentals and inquiries. In April 2010, www.Caprent.mobi was 

launched and provided accurate and real time information on 

pricing and availability to mobile users and added social networking 

elements to the site to further increase its social 

media presence. The mobile browser-friendly platform is used 

efficiently on a number of mobile devices such as iPhone, 

Blackberry, Nokia, Android, iPod etc. 

Other Nominees: Williams and McDaniel Property 

Management; Realstar Management Partnership 

Greenwin’s website for The Oaks property provides a 

video tour of the community on the homepage and provides 

a macro view of the four-building complex and surrounding 

amenities. In the “Find an Apartment” section, 

each apartment size has a three-choice call to action at the 

bottom of the screen. An application can be downloaded, 

an appointment to view can be emailed or they can send 

the page to a friend. Behind the “Residents Only” page, 

tenants have the option to complete and submit a “Request 

for Maintenance”. 

Other Nominees: Minto Apartments Ltd; 

KG Oakburn Apartments 

22

Walter Pecnik, Corina Nica and Ken Hankinson 

(Greenrock Property Management Ltd) 

Cora Armstrong, Tina Schickedanz, 

Brett Stone, Anna Sandru and Sonia 

Kona (Schickedanz Bros. Ltd.) 

Lobby Renovation of the Year 

Suite Renovation Under $5,000 

Greenrock Property Management Limited 

- 45 Balliol 

Greenrock completely transformed the lobby of this 263 

unit building in a project that involved major work including 

removing exterior entrance doors and brick walls on 

either side. Careful coordination of all trades involved 

ensured that continued access and security were maintained 

throughout the project. There was great attention to detail 

by award winning architects Kohn Shnier and contractor 

Venture Construction Services Ltd. 

Other Nominees: Malen Capital Corp; 


Schickedanz - 505 Cummer Ave, North York 

The renovated suites at 505 Cummer successfully filled a niche 

in their portfolio offering high-end units (with fridge, stove & 

dishwasher) at very affordable rates. All renovations were 

completed quickly and Schickedanz realized a 20% increase in 

overall revenue. The suites look clean, modern and make the 

building remarkably competitive with the upscale condo-rich 

environment in North York – with considerably larger units 

than most condos currently available. Continued zero vacancy 

speaks to the success of these renovations. 

Other Nominees: Briarlane Rental Management; 

Schickedanz – 60 Ruddington Dr 


23

Martin Zegray, Peter Mansbridge 

and Bernie Herman 

Marv Sadowsky Honouring 

Lifetime Achievement Award 

Recipient Bernie Herman 

Connie Pappas, John Sirilas, Diana Bernier, Jeff Hutchison, Lucy 

Correia and Michael Hanak (Timbercreek Asset Management) 

Jason Ashdown and Martin Castellan 


Suite Renovation Over $5,000 

Rental Development of the Year 



- Manhattan Towers 

Timbercreek raised the bar for suite renovations with a 

modern, clean and classic redesign. The renovated suites 

cater to a discerning clientele who want the best. With 

limited resources and a limited timeline, Timbercreek was 

able to completely renovate units and deliver a high-end 

product with upscale finishes and design. In most bachelor 

suites, a full wall was removed and a modular island was put 

in place enabling the rearrangement of the kitchen to facilitate 

any lifestyle requirement. The quality of the suites in 

this 1962 building was significantly enhanced. 

Other Nominees: Brass Enterprises; 

Park Willow Management Ltd. 

Skyline Apartment REIT - Place Saint Marie 

Place Saint Marie was originally a 70,000 square foot 

Roman Catholic convent constructed in 1927, 134 km north 

of North Bay in central Temiskaming Shores. The Place 

Sainte Marie development introduced 48 apartments 

catered to senior citizens with a range of household 

incomes. The heritage attributes of Place Sainte Marie offer 

sentimental aspects to this development as many community 

members attended school, music lessons, dances or community 

events in this building. The project meets the 

demand of a major demographic shift in Temiskaming 

Shores which has seen more senior citizens on waiting lists 

for housing. 

Other Nominees: The Tricar Group; GWL Realty 

Advisors/Vertica Resident Services 

24

Perry Rose and Dan Rames 

(CAPREIT) 

Jason Ashdown, Marissa Morettin and Jason Castellan 


Environmental Award of Excellence 

CAPREIT 

Outstanding Community Service 

Skyline Apartment REIT 

CAPREIT accomplished many environmental sustainability 

objectives by establishing a new Energy Management 

Department and reduced energy consumptions through 

programs to reduce water, hydro and natural gas usage, and 

increased output of recycled materials and reduced waste 

picked up in buildings. CAPREIT also invested $2.22 

million in energy conservation projects for 60 buildings 

across Ontario and applied for rebate incentives in excess of 

$1 million. 

Other Nominees: Minto Apartments Ltd; 

Realstar Management Partnership 

Skyline continues to implement a team approach throughout 

the organization and within the communities where 

they operate. Skyline consistently works at building relationships 

with relevant community organizations and 

causes such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Guelph; Habitat 

for Humanity and Onward Willow, while also hosting a 

scholarship with the University of Guelph. Skyline is a chief 

sponsor of the Guelph Storm OHL Team, and donates 

space in many of its buildings to the Red Cross for on-site 

support services. 

Other Nominees: Greenwin; Vertica Resident Services 


25

London Landlord Harvey 

Katz Delivered Grace 

Peter Mansbridge and 

Bernie Herman 

Tracey Fisher (Greenwin) 

Janet Chamberlain (CAPREIT) 

Leasing Professional of the Year 

Tracey Fisher – Greenwin 

Property Manager of the Year 

Janet Chamberlain - CAPREIT 


Tracey has been extraordinarily successful at renting stigmatized 

properties at the lower end of the market under 

less-than-optimal conditions. The Oaks is a four-building 

complex with 1,215 apartments. When Tracey arrived in 

October 2009, the vacancy rate was almost 15%. The property 

had a history of violent crime and tragedy and was a 

haven for gangs and drugs. Tracey assembled a leasing team 

of two other agents and trained them intensively in qualifying, 

demonstrating and closing. She is a strong mentor to 

her staff and always leads by example. Tracey and her team 

rented 464 apartments in less than 12 months. 

Other Nominees: Anirudh Chakravarty (CAPREIT); 

Lily Bilrji (Metcap Living) 

Janet Chamberlain is the consummate team player and 

turnaround manager. She has taken her current portfolio 

in an extremely positive direction over the last few years 

and has successfully stabilized or improved performance 

and repositioned more than one property. The best 

example of her work is 1055 Bloor in Mississauga, where 

she has managed to keep the building consistently close to 

100% occupied over the last year, managed and improved 

the relationship with the tenant association to the point 

where they sing her praises and has increased the level of 

resident satisfaction. 

Other Nominees: - Hal Steinfeld (WJ Properties); 

Pat Crisolago (Sterling Karamar Property Management) 

26

FRPO Chair 

Allan Weinbaum 

Bianca Lankheit and 

Joyce Savoline MPP 

Stan Jacob (Skyline Apartment REIT) 

Deidre van Leyen, Carolyn Turnbull, Katie Billingsley 

(Morguard Residential) 

Resident Manager of the Year 

Stan Jacob – Skyline Apartment REIT 

Customer Service Award of Excellence 

Morguard Residential - 160 Chapel, Ottawa 

Stan Jacob has demonstrated genuine care and concern for 

residents and is responsible for a property that is home to 

more than 95 university students. He goes out of his way 

with special gestures such as cooking a large feast for all the 

residents on September 1st, knowing they won’t have time to 

cook while moving in. Stan consistently goes above and 

beyond for “his kids”, from driving them to school, helping 

move furniture, taking them to the hospital when they had 

no one else around, to making pots of spaghetti on the first 

of the month. He makes paying rent an enjoyable experience 

by offering a free dinner if they submit their rent on time 

and also makes meals for the students that are unable to 

travel home for Thanksgiving or Easter. 

Other Nominees: - Bob Renaud (Timbercreek Asset 

Management); Grace St. John (CAPREIT) 

This award recognizes high standards of resident care in 

rental housing. Countless testimonials from tenants praise 

the efforts of Morguard’s staff at 160 Chapel to go beyond 

just providing housing, from regular follow up calls to new 

tenants, to watering plants for tenants who are away for 

extended periods, to providing special care and services for 

tenants who are injured or ill. Coffee is provided to tenants 

every morning, and work orders are always fulfilled in a 

timely manner. 

Other Nominees: Vertica Resident Services; 

Metcap Living Management Inc. 


27

By Tom Cooper, VP of Sales & Marketing - Stratacon and EnerCare Connections 


EnerCare Inc. is a publicly 

traded company listed on 

the Toronto Stock 

Exchange that owns and 

operates the two leading names in 

sub-metering; Stratacon and 

EnerCare Connections (formerly 

Enbridge Electric Connections). 

EnerCare Inc. was established on 

January 1, 2010 with the conversion of 

the Consumers’ Waterheater Income 

Fund from an Income Trust to a corporation. 

This conversion presented a 

unique opportunity to rename the 

company to better reflect the nature of 

our evolving business focusing on 

energy conservation and intelligent 

energy solutions. 

EnerCare Inc. has the strength to 

compete with the Local Distribution 

Companies while still being able to 

offer no capital cost sub-metering 

solutions using a tenant turnover 

model where landlords do not pay 

fixed monthly fees on vacant units. 

Currently, both Stratacon and 

EnerCare Connections operate in the 

marketplace with their traditional 

business offerings. Later in 2011, the 

two will become fully integrated under 

the EnerCare Connections banner, 

providing solutions that combine the 

very best elements of both companies. 

With many years of expertise, 

renowned customer service and stateof-the-art 

technology, EnerCare’s 

intelligent energy solutions provide 

owners with greater control over their 

electricity costs and empower residents 

to manage their individual electricity 

use. Our comprehensive 

turnkey programs combine industry 

leading practices with flawless delivery 

and encourage the intelligent consumption 

of electricity. 

28

With the new sub-metering legislation 

in place, Stratacon and EnerCare 

Connections are ready to help you 

move forward with your sub-metering 

program allowing you to save 

money and to help the environment 

by lowering your building’s electricity 

consumption. 

Important Note: 

Recently Stratacon and EnerCare 

Connections sent important information 

to their current clients about new 

legal requirements when leasing to 

prospective tenants in a sub-metered 

building. If you did not receive the 

presentation please contact your 

client representative directly and they 

will explain our simple process for 

leasing to prospective tenants under 

the new rules as well as provide information 

regarding the assistance we 

offer should you or your staff have 

further questions. 

About EnerCare 

EnerCare and EnerCare Solutions 

own a portfolio of approximately 

1.3 million water heaters and other 

assets, rented primarily to residential 

customers in Ontario. EnerCare 

also owns Stratacon Inc. and 

EnerCare Connections Inc., leading 

"smart" sub-metering companies, 

with metering contracts for condominium 

and apartment suites in 

Ontario, Alberta and elsewhere in 

Canada. F 

For more information on 

the above companies 

please visit: 

www.enercare.ca 

www.stratacon.ca 

investors.enercare.ca 


29

FRPO Seminar: 

New Suite Metering Rules 

Peter Mills, 

Stratacon Inc. 

Matthew Hellin, 

Ministry of Energy 

On December 8 & 9, 2010, 

FRPO hosted a seminar 

and webinar on the new 

suite metering rules and 

regulations that took effect January 1 st , 

2011. Over 190 landlords and property 

managers attended the two sessions 

and learned about the important 

impact of new rules governing how 

tenants can gain control responsibility 

over their own electricity bills. 

FRPO’s Expert Panel Covered: 

• Review of Reg. 394/10, Section 137 of the RTA and new rules under the 

Energy Consumer Protection Act 

• Legal issues for landlords who sub-meter including transitional rules, contracts 

with metering companies, tenant consent and disclosures, energy efficiency 

issues and tenant applications to set aside sub-metering agreements 

• Communicating to tenants, explaining sub-metering, individual billing, rules 

about security deposits and non-payment policies 

Sonya Rolfe, Ministry 

of Municipal 

Affairs & Housing 

Joe Hoffer, 

Cohen Highley LLP 


30 

Proudly Sponsored by: 

Speakers Included: 

• Joe Hoffer, Cohen Highley LLP 

• Peter Mills, Stratacon Inc. 

• Sonya Rolfe, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing 

• Kaleb Ruch & Matthew Hellin, Ministry of Energy

Mike Colle 

(MPP-Eglinton 

Lawrence) submitted 

20 recommendations 

to the government 

on how to 

prevent and control 

bed bug infestations. 

Largely thanks to the efforts of Mike 

Colle (MPP-Eglinton Lawrence) to 

advocate for government action on 

bed bugs, Ontario is supporting local 

initiatives that are aimed at preventing and 

managing infestations of bed bugs. 

The province's 36 public health units will be 

able to apply for funding to support bed bugrelated 

programs that emphasize coordination 

with other local services, education and awareness 

and/or provide supports to vulnerable 

populations. A total of $5 million will be invested 

by the province to support these programs. 

The government’s announcement responds to 

recommendations from a Bed Bug Summit 

hosted by MPP Mike Colle on September 29, 

2010. FRPO participated in the Bed Bug 

Summit, and made funding for comprehensive, 

province-wide public education and awareness 

program a key recommendation. 

In addition, a new public education website 

(www.bedbugsinfo.ca) has been launched to 

give Ontarians a one-stop-shop to get accurate 

information and simple, easy-to-use tips 

to combat infestations. 

FRPO's Bed Bug Prevention 

Strategy can be downloaded 

at: www.frpo.org/submissions. 

The province is also distributing a guide, An 

Integrated Pest Management Program for 

Managing Bed Bugs, to stakeholders on how 

to identify bed bug infestations, perform 

inspections properly, prepare living areas 

for treatment and carry out pest treatments. 

The province and the public health units are 

also working to develop better ways to assess 

bed bug activity and infestations. The 

province’s new strategy reflects FRPO’s recommendation 

that anti-bed bug initiatives 

address all property types in all parts of the 

province, and provide better information on 

how tenants and landlords can more effectively 

help prevent infestations and better prepare 

units for inspections and treatments. F 


31

Altus Group Releases 

October 2010 

Rental Housing Survey 

GTA Rental Market Continues 

to Recover from the Recession 

Altus Group has completed its semi annual survey 

of the Toronto CMA rental market and finds 

that vacancy has decreased from 2.64% in 

October 2009 to 1.72% in October 2010. 

Availability has decreased from 4.26% to 2.59% over the 

same period. Coming out of the recession, Toronto has had 

one of the better-performing employment markets among 

the large metropolitan areas in Canada. In addition to an 

improving job market, immigration to the GTA remains 

strong while the recent slow down in the home ownership 

market has also resulted in greater demand in the rental 

market. The exception is Class A rental housing stock which 

competes with the increasing supply of condominium 

housing and continues to see a significant increase in both 

availability and vacant suites. Vacancy and availability for 

Class A product has historically been lower than the market 

but is now significantly higher. 

As expected in a tighter rental market, average asking rents have 

increased for all suites types year over year. However, despite the 

Altus Group Rental Housing, 

October Data Points 

7% 

6% 

5% 

4% 

3% 

2% 

1% 

0% 

Vacancy - All Classes 

Vacancy - Class A 

Availability - All Classes 

Availability - Class A 

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 

strong performance over the past year, rental growth still trails 

CPI over the past 8 years. The following table shows the average 

rents in Toronto compared to CPI since 2003. 


Average Rents Toronto, All Classes 

Oct. - ‘03 Oct. - ‘04 Oct. - ‘05 Oct. - ‘06 Oct. - ‘07 Oct. - ‘08 Oct. - ‘09 Oct. - ‘10 % Change 

since 

Oct. - ‘03 

Bachelor $791 $772 $773 $778 $792 $804 $809 $840 6.19% 

1 Bedroom $975 $943 $939 $949 $946 $1,010 $982 $1,032 5.85% 

2 Bedroom $1,169 $1,128 $1,119 $1,148 $1,118 $1,200 $1,192 $1,269 8.55% 

3 Bedroom $1,371 $1,336 $1,303 $1,395 $1,315 $1,423 $1,432 $1,512 10.28% 

CPI Toronto 103.3 104.9 107.4 108 110.7 113.7 114 117.7 13.94% 

32

Brockville 

The Altus Rental Housing Study is sourced directly from 

property managers and covers all suites in the Toronto 

CMA for buildings over 50 suites and has the following features 

for critical analysis: 

• Grading of buildings A, B C and G 

• Segmenting of the market into 26 nodes 

• Measurement of rental housing supply, “availability” in 

addition to vacant suites 

• Rental rates for each grade and suite type in each node 

• Performance benchmarking 

27,300 

The Altus RHS study is supported by industry groups FRPO 

(Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario), 

GTAA and RealPac and is sponsored by Toronto 

Community Housing. 

Peterborough 

For more information, please contact: 

Sylvia Tsoukalas, Senior Research Analyst, Research, 

Valuation & Advisory, Altus Group 

D: 416.227.7067 T: 416.221.1200 ext 1177 F: 416.221.1416 

Carey Poon, AACI, MBA, Manager, Multi Residential 

Valuations, Research, Valuation & Advisory, Altus Group 

D: 416.227.7048 T: 416.221.1200 ext 1164 F: 416.221.1416 

Paul Fish , AACI, MRICS, Senior Director, Research, 

Valuation & Advisory, Altus Group 

D: 416.229.7073 T: 416.221.1200 ext 1179 F: 416.221.1416 

Simcoe 

Windsor 


33

Boardwalk 

One of Canada's 

Most Admired Corporate Cultures 

FRPO Member Boardwalk 

Rental Communities was 

recently honoured as one of 

Canada's 10 Most Admired 

Corporate Cultures for 2010. This 

annual awards program recognizes 

leading Canadian organizations for 

having a culture that has helped them 

enhance performance and sustain a 

competitive advantage. 

Boardwalk prides itself on being a 

values-based organization focusing on 

integrity, teamwork and Customer 

Service. "We strive to provide a safe 

and respectful work environment that 

attracts, supports, develops and recognizes 

high-performing and innovative 

team members", said Sam Kolias, CEO 

and Chairman of the Board for 

Boardwalk. "Our Associates' commitment 

to our corporate culture, our 

Customers and their fellow Associates 

makes Boardwalk a great place to 

work and to live", Kolias adds. 

Boardwalk was chosen from 276 eligible 

nominated organizations and 

98 finalists. 

About Canada's 10 Most 

Admired Corporate 

Cultures: 

Since 2005, the Canada's 10 Most 

Admired Corporate Cultures 

program has recognized leading 

Canadian organizations for having a 

culture that has helped them enhance 

performance and sustain a competitive 

advantage. This popular program 

begins in the spring of each year with 

the Canadian Corporate Culture 

Study and culminates in regional 

and national awards events. Canada's 

10 Most Admired Corporate 

Cultures is founded and presented 

by Waterstone Human Capital, a 

leading professional recruitment, 

executive search and human resource 

consulting services firm based in 

Toronto. Additional information is at: 

www.canadasmostadmired.com 

About Boardwalk: 

Boardwalk Rental Communities is 

Canada's friendliest owner/operator 

of multi-family rental communities. 

Boardwalk currently owns and operates 

in excess of 230 properties with 

35,686 rental units totaling approximately 

30 million net rentable square 

feet, and employs over 1,500 

Associates. Boardwalk's portfolio is 

concentrated in the provinces of 

Alberta, British Columbia, 

Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. 

Additional information about 

Boardwalk Rental Communities can 

be found at: www.bwalk.com F 


34

CMHC 2010 Rental 

Market Survey 

By Ted Tsiakopoulos, Regional Economist, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) 

In 2010, Ontario saw a synchronized decline in vacancy 

rates throughout the majority of its urban centres. 

Overall, the vacancy rates fell to 2.9 per cent in 

October, down from 3.5 per cent recorded in fall of 

2009. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing 

Corporation’s Rental Market Report, this decline the 

vacancy rate is directly correlated with the current state of 

the recovering economy. 

Leading the economic recovery was Ontario’s goods sector 

– a development which benefitted both home ownership 

and rental housing. 

While local rental markets were impacted by the province’s 

general economic conditions, a variety of other factors were 

also increasing rental demand and exerting downward pressure 

on vacancy rates throughout many urban centres. 

In early 2010, first time home buyers were eager to buy in 

advance of the prospect of higher interest rates and the new 

mortgage rules before they could take effect. 

Another major contributor to the upward pressure on 

Ontario’s rental demand was its increase in immigration. 

Statistically, the majority of the nation’s immigrants are 

Vacancy Rates (%) 

Private Structures with 3 or more Apartments 

continued... 

Toronto CMA 

Ottawa-Gatineau CMA (ON part) 

OCT-’10 

OCT-’09 

Hamilton CMA 

London CMA 

Kitchener CMA 

St. Catharines-Niagara CMA 

Greater Sudbury CMA 

Source: CMHC 

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 


35

unable to immediately pursue homeownership upon their 

arrival in Canada, with approximately 75 per cent opting for 

rental accommodation. 

Demand for condominium ownership and rental accommodation 

slowed across the province last year. Higher rent 

increases led to lower condo occupancy – a trend that was 

contrasted by a decline in vacancy rates across all bedroom 

types, particularly among Ontario’s more expensive rental 

units. In contrast to the strong rent increases registered in 

the condo market, fixed sample two-bed apartment rents 

grew at a slower rate of 1.9 per cent in 2010. 

With a variety of factors decreasing vacancy rates, there were 

others at play which served to dampen rental demand. The 

low employment levels for young adults were a primary contributor 

to the decreasing rental demand throughout Ontario. 

The increase in purpose-built rental unit completions has also 

exerted considerable upward pressure on vacancy rates. 

In short, Ontario’s improving economic conditions, declining 

first-time buyer demand, stronger immigration, and less 

competition from the condominium sector all exerted downward 

pressure on the province’s vacancy rates. These factors 

more than offset the decrease in employment for young 

adults and the rise in purpose-build rental unit completions. 

The Ontario Picture: Vacancy Rates and 

Rents in Provincial Census Metropolitan 

Areas (CMAs) 

Barrie CMA 

( vacancy rate decreases; rent increases) 

Hamilton’s average rents rose modestly by 1.1 per cent and 

1.4 per cent in Brantford. An influx in residents moving to 

the area, combined with a reduction in homeownership culminated 

in a stronger rental demand in Hamilton last year. 

In contrast, a weaker economy in Brantford led to some outmigration 

by residents in order to find work. 

Kingston CMA 


Kingston’s apartment vacancy rates decreased from 1.3 per cent 

in 2009 to 1.0 per cent in 2010 – its lowest level since 2002. In 

response to the decrease in available vacancies, the city’s average 

two-bedroom rent for rental structures increased by 3.2 per 

cent from last year. Some of the factors exerting downward 

pressure on vacancies include strong youth employment, stable 

international migration, and fewer apartment completions. 

Kitchener and Guelph CMA 


In 2010, Kitchener’s apartment vacancy rates decreased to 2.6 

per cent from 2009’s average of 3.3 per cent. In Guelph, the 

average vacancy rent moved lower to 3.4 per cent. While weak 

youth employment and added apartment supply served to 

increase the average vacancy rate, the CMA’s rise in immigration 

and decline in renters pursuing homeownership ultimately 

contributed to the dip in apartment vacancy. While 

Kitchener’s two-bedroom average rent increased by 1.6 per 

cent, Guelph saw a more moderate increase of 0.9 per cent. 

London CMA 

( vacancy rate stabilizes; rent increases) 


In 2010, Barrie’s apartment vacancy rates decreased to 3.4 per 

cent – down from 3.8 per cent in 2009. An improving employment 

situation and an overall weaker pull to homeownership in 

the second half of 2010 helped maintain a strong rental demand. 

Average rent increased modestly by 0.7 per cent in 2010, based 

on structures common to both the 2009 and 2010 surveys. 

Hamilton and Brantford CMA 

Hamilton - ( vacancy rate decreases; rent increases) 

Brantford - ( vacancy rate increases; rent increases) 

While the apartment vacancy rates declined to 3.7 per cent 

in Hamilton, Brantford saw its rise to 3.7 per cent. 

London’s apartment vacancy rate remained unchanged from 

2009 at an average of five per cent. While weaker job prospects 

for youth and an increase in London’s rental apartment completions 

increased vacancies, a slowing first-time buyer 

demand, higher immigration, and minimal rent increases 

served to stabilize the vacancy rate. The average rent for twobedroom 

apartments increased slightly by 1.1 per cent. 

Ottawa CMA 


Rising modestly from the low levels of 2008, Ottawa’s apartment 

vacancy stabilized at 1.6 per cent in 2010. A softer 

36

youth job market and competition 

from the condominium sector were 

the driving factors behind the increase 

in vacancies. As a result of the 

increased demand in the rental 

market, the average fixed sample rent 

for two-bedroom apartments rose by 

3.7 per cent. 

Higher rent increases 

led to lower condo 

occupancy – a trend 

that was contrasted 

by a decline in 

vacancy rates 

Downward pressure on vacancies is 

attributed to a limited new rental 

supply and an improving economy 

with its subsequent in-migration. 

While not growing at the same level as 

2008-2009, the average two-bedroom 

rents increased 2.4 per cent for a 

fixed-sample. 

Peterborough CMA 


Greater Toronto Area (GTA) 


In 2010, Peterborough’s average vacancy rates dropped to 

4.1 per cent from a record high six per cent in October 2009. 

The increase in rental demand is largely attributed to a 

decline in renters moving to homeownership, an increase in 

student enrolment, and the influx of temporary workers 

hired for local major investment projects. In response to the 

decline in vacancies, Peterborough’s apartment average rent 

grew by 1.4 per cent. 

The GTA’s average vacancy rate for purpose-built apartment 

buildings decreased to 2.1 per cent in 2010 from 3.1 per cent 

in October 2009. Average rents calculated using last year’s 

survey showed a 1.8 per cent increase for two-bedroom 

apartments. A slower outflow of renters into homeownership, 

a rising influx of new renters from a growing immigrant 

population, and an improving job market all placed 

downward pressure on GTA’s vacancy rate in 2010. 

St. Catharines-Niagara CMA 


Windsor CMA 

( vacancy rate decreases; rent stabilizes) 

In 2010, the apartment vacancy rate in St. Catharines- 

Niagara remained unchanged at 4.4 per cent. Two-bedroom 

units within the CMA saw rent increases of 1.9 per cent. 

Early in 2010, the movement of renters towards homeownership 

contributed to a decrease in vacancies; however, the 

trend was reversed by the fall as prices began to rise. 

Greater Sudbury CMA 


Following a record-high 14.6 per cent vacancy rate in 2008 

and a 13 per cent rate in October 2009, the Windsor CMA’s 

average rate continued to decline in 2010 to 10.9 per cent. 

The decrease was the direct result of an improving job 

market, a rise in immigration, and a drop in outmigration 

of residents relocating for work. 2010 also saw fewer residents 

move from renting into homeownership. There was 

no significant change in the average rents for twobedroom 

apartments in Windsor CMA. 

Sudbury’s vacancy rate remained stable in 2010, moving 

up slightly to 3.0 per cent from 2.9 per cent in October 

2009. Factors contributing to the upward pressure on 

vacancies include weaker job markets, particularly for the 

youth population, and a general shift towards homeownership. 

Average two-bedroom rents also rose 2.6 per cent 

in 2010. 

Thunder Bay CMA 


Thunder Bay’s vacancy rate inched even lower in 2010 to 2.2 

per cent – down from 2.3 per cent in October 2009. 

*Fixed sample average rent increase: this is a measure that 

estimates the average rent on structures that were common 

to the survey sample for both the 2009 and 2010 CMHC 

Rental Market Surveys. 

CMHC conducts the Rental Market Survey twice a year April 

and October to determine the latest trends in the rental 

market. The next report will be issued in June 2011. F 

For complete 2010 CMHC Rental Market Survey, please visit www.cmhc.ca. 

For more information on CMHC`s rental housing mortgage loan insurance 

products, contact Vito Campisi, Ontario Regional Manager, Underwriting, 

CMHC, at vcampisi@cmhc.ca or 416-218-3430. 


37

The Key to 

Enhanced Profitability… 

and “Delighted” Tenants. 


By Kim Reid 

About the author: 

Kim Reid is the President 

of the Taeus Group and 

has been involved in 

enhancing profitability 

for landlords for more 

than 19 years. 

For more information, 

Kim can be reached at 

416.577.1233 or at 

www.taeusgroup.com 

No one can dispute that your front 

line team members know your 

buildings inside and out. They are 

the experts that represent your 

brand to your tenants each and every day. In 

fact, these individuals ARE your brand. 

With Canada Mortgage and Housing 

Corporation (CMHC) reporting a slight rise in 

vacancy rates in Ontario (from 3.3% in 2009 to 

3.4% in April 2010), choosing wisely in the 

selection of your Superintendents and Building 

Staff is a critical element to your success. 

Ensuring their job satisfaction and fulfillment 

is a necessary step in order to attain greater 

profitability and satisfied tenants. 

Here are five simple steps to help you fill 

vacancies and improve tenant retention: 

1. Communicate 

We all know the importance of communication. 

We must also be able to differentiate 

between good, productive, two-way communication 

and poor communication that lacks 

meaning. Today, more and more property 

managers see the need for engaged employees – 

we also know that front line team members 

want a job they feel is worthwhile. 

So how does one achieve an engaged workforce 

The answer is simple; through regular 

and meaningful communication. By creating a 

more engaged workforce through the power of 

communication, you will likely find front line 

staff more willing to seek greater involvement 

by offering valuable input into cost saving 

ideas and tenant service initiatives. Managers 

are encouraged to talk, listen, hear what front 

line team members have to say, document the 

challenges and celebrate successes with them. 

Good communication and ongoing employee 

engagement is also about consistency: people 

are more likely to listen if there is a regular flow 

of information that they trust. 

2. Mystery Shop 

It has been said many times before; you cannot 

manage what is not measured. Being able to attain 

a true snapshot of the environment your building 

staff have created is absolutely critical. Tenants 

pick up on the atmosphere created by your front 

line team. Grumpy staff lead to grumpy tenants 

and grumpy tenants don’t renew or refer. 

Mystery shopping is an ideal technique to 

obtain an unbiased and realistic view of what 

your tenants and prospective tenants experience. 

Best of all, you can arrange for various scenarios 

such as an angry shopper, rude shopper 

or even a badly dressed shopper, depending on 

what you think the weak points of your 

company staff are. Depending on how the 

prospective tenant is handled you can determine 

your need for retraining or even rehiring. 

38

After conducting mystery shops, companies 

typically notice a clear improvement 

after making the results of such 

an exercise known. This strategy also 

provides the opportunity to reward 

and recognize those team members 

providing exceptional service. Mystery 

shopping is an ideal strategy to 

measure the intangible aspects of your 

business and easily helps you to identify 

opportunities for improvement. 

3. Reward and Re-Evaluate 

We all respond to praise and encouragement. 

Reward and recognition 

play a valuable role in any organization 

as it can improve employee satisfaction, 

which has a direct influence 

on tenant retention. It also encourages 

the positive behaviours necessary 

to achieve organizational goals 

and objectives. 

Some research indicates that informal 

and no-cost rewards are most effective. 

These can include: 

• Write a personal note of congratulations 

on a job well-done 

• Use performance as a basis for 

wage increases 

• Publicly recognize good 

performance 

• Host a morale-building meeting 

to celebrate successes 

Just as positive reinforcement impacts 

performance, so does the sensitive 

nature of addressing poor performance. 

When poor performance arises, it 

is imperative for managers to quickly 

identify actionable items from the 

mystery shops and other measurement 

strategies and prioritize solutions 

based on the long-term. By facing 

these challenges in an urgent fashion, 

managers are delivering the critical 

message of the issue being unacceptable. 

Furthermore, allowing your front 

line team to be a part of the solution 

encourages engagement and a sense of 

ownership to the performance matter. 

4. Invest in your 

Employees via Training 

Investing in employees is key to ensuring 

your employees’ success and the 

organization’s success. By offering 

quality-learning programs, coaching 

and mentoring shows your front line 

team you are committed to 

them. This, in turn, commits them to 

the success of the organization. 

Benefits to the organization of continued 

investment in employees includes: 

• More highly engaged employees 

• Employees willing to go above 

and beyond to meet organizational 

goals 

• Improved teamwork 

• Increased ability to be competitive 

• Increased productivity 

• Decreased need for supervision 

It is loyalty that you are seeking and it 

goes both ways. Providing front line 

staff with the tools and skills to handle 

the everyday scheduling, questions, 

situations, conflicts and common situations 

in your buildings will free up 

valuable time needed by your property 

managers by decreasing the need 

for supervision. 

5. Motivate & Retain 

Staff turnover can prove to be extremely 

expensive in this industry. It can 

quickly change tenant perception from 

satisfied to questioning the stability of 

management and can cause an unexpected 

increase in vacancies. By keeping 

frontline staff motivated and satisfied, 

your tenants are more likely to move 

from “happy” to “delighted”, which, 

according to J.D. Power & Associates, 

can increase referrals by a staggering 

44% as well as increase retention; 

resulting in decreased vacancy by 36%. 

You know the stars on your team and it 

is important to ensure they feel valued 

and engaged, preventing any possible 

void of their role. Keeping your top 

performers is critical to the health of 

your organization and to the success of 

your business. Top performers invest 

quality and time into their job and they 

expect the same in return from their 

employer. They demand their role to be 

a source of fulfillment and prefer to 

work with companies that recognize 

and support their contributions. 

Each person’s motivations are unique 

and personal to them. By tapping into 

the driving forces behind their need 

for excellence you will uncover what 

factors influence their performance 

and how you can contribute to their 

continued success. 

In Conclusion 

The bottom line is; quality people 

programs and training programs do 

have an impact on profits. The end 

result for organizations willing to 

nurture and foster the development 

of its human asset can be seen 

through enhanced service delivery 

and better financial results. When 

management invests in its employees 

they become a real competitive 

advantage that will lead to 

maximum performance for your 

organization. F 


39


By Mike Chopowick 

Suite Meter Rules effective 

January 1, 2011 

Changes to Landlord Tenant Board's 

Rules and Guidelines effective 

January 4, 2011 

On January 1, 2011, the new suite 

meter provisions under the Residential 

Tenancies Act, 2006 became law. The 

“Suite Meters and Apportionment of 

Utility Costs” regulation (O. Reg. 

394/10) also became effective on this 

date. To help explain some of the key 

provisions, the Landlord Tenant 

Board has a new brochure called 

“Information for Landlords and 

Tenants about Suite Meters”. 

The Board has also developed the following 

forms for landlords to use 

related to suite meters: 

• “Tenant Agreement to Pay 

Directly for Electricity Costs” 

• “Landlord’s Notice to Terminate 

Obligation to Supply Electricity” 

• “Information to Prospective Tenant 

About Suite Meters or Meters” 

The brochure and new forms can be 

obtained from: www.ltb.gov.on.ca 

R E P O R T 

Bill 145, Residential 

Tenancies Amendment Act 

(Damage Deposits), 2010 

This bill, introduced by Joyce 

Savoline (MPP-Burlington) amends 

the Residential Tenancies Act by 

giving landlords the option of collecting 

a damage deposit of no more 

than 25% of one month’s rent from 

the tenants. The proposed law also 

requires landlords to pay interest to 

the tenant annually on the damage 

deposit at a rate equal to the annual 

guideline. If there is no cost of 

damage to the unit, the landlord 

would repay the damage deposit plus 

any interest no later than 15 days 

after a tenancy terminates. 

Damage deposits provide an incentive 

to tenants to ensure that housing units 

are in good condition for future 

renters, and ensure the cost of the 

repairing damaged units is on the 

current tenant and not an expense that 

would be borne by all the existing 

tenants in the building. While Bill 145 

is a private members bill, FRPO is 

encouraged to see a legislative provision 

introduced for permitting 

damage deposits to protect rental 

housing quality in Ontario. 

Bill 140, Strong Communities 

Through Affordable 

Housing Act, 2010 

2 nd Reading as of December 9, 2010 

The proposed legislation would 

repeal the Social Housing Reform 

Act, and makes changes to the 

administration of municipally delivered 

housing programs. Bill 140 also 

proposes the following amendments 

to the Residential Tenancies Act: 

1. LTB to Serve Notice of Hearing: 

the Landlord and Tenant Board 

(LTB) will now be responsible for 

serving these notices to all affected 

parties. This reform is not 

expected to make much difference 

in Ontario’s broken system. 

2. LTB Can Create a Registrar: the 

RTA will be amended to give the 

LTB the power to allow staff to 

undertake certain adjudicative 

duties to resolve straight forward 

and uncontested cases. This may 

have some potential to slightly 

reduce the massive delays now 

being experienced by FRPO 

members, in uncontested cases. 

FRPO will wait to get more information 

on this change before 

commenting further. 

40

Municipalities Must Allow 

Secondary Suites 

Amendments will be made to the 

Planning Act to require municipalities to 

establish policies allowing second units in 

new and existing developments. 

Secondary suites are an important source 

of affordable housing. It is interesting to 

note the contrast between the provincial 

objective to promote affordable housing, 

versus local municipalities who are 

looking at licensing schemes to curtail the 

provision of affordable housing. 

NDP Private Members 

Bill 112 

Preposterous amendments to the 

RTA for Tenants Rights, Rent Control 

and Licensing, Introduced October 

5, 2010 

This NDP private members bill proposes a 

number of blatantly anti-landlord measures 

affecting applications to the Landlord 

Tenant Board, stricter rent control, licensing 

and demolition and conversions. All of 

these changes would be damaging to 

rental housing in Ontario. 

FRPO has provided updates on this 

NDP private members bill in previous 

FRPO Facts bulletins and FE articles. 

Many landlords continue to ask if FRPO 

will take action to oppose Bill 140. 

FRPO members are reminded that this is 

a Private Members Bill, not a government 

bill. Since introduced on October 

5, 2010, this Bill has not progressed, will 

very likely never receive 3rd Reading and 

will die on the order paper upon prorogation 

of the current legislative session. 

The fact that Bill 112 “passed 1 st Reading” 

is inconsequential – this is a routine step 

for every bill introduced into the House. 

Before this bill was introduced, FRPO 

did meet with NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo 

(who wrote and introduced Bill 112), 

and even then we were not warned 

about many of the provisions in the bill. 

Since Bill 112 is simply so preposterous, 

and has no chance of ever passing, 

FRPO’s time and resources (and that of 

other landlords) is much better spent 

tackling real issues such as increasing 

the rent guideline, getting fairer changes 

to the eviction process, and addressing 

changes to housing policy made by the 

current Liberal government. F 

If you want to receive a copy of the bill, just 

email info@frpo.org and we will send you a copy. 


41

2011 

CORPORATE 

Ace Painting & Decorating Company 

39 Cranfield Road, 

Toronto ON M4B 3H6 

T: 416 285 5388 x.115 • F: 416 285 7088 

mail@acepainting.ca 

Aird & Berlis LLP 

Brookfield Place, 181 Bay St. Suite 1800, Box 754, 

Toronto, ON M5J 2T9 

Attention: Robert Doumani 

T: 416 863 1500 • F: 416 863 1515 

BMO Capital Markets Real Estate Inc. 

1 First Canadian Place, 5th Floor, P.O. Box 150, 

Toronto, ON M5X 1H3 

Attention: Drew Koivu MBA 

T: 416 359 6781 • F: 416 359 4639 

Bothwell-Accurate Co. Ltd. 

160 Symes Road, Toronto, ON M6N 3T4 

Attention: Mario Giraldi 

T: 416 762-8243 • F: 416 762-1070 

Brookfield Financial 

Brookfield Place, Bay Wellington Tower, P.O. Box 762, 181 

Bay Street, Suite 260, Toronto, ON M5J 2T3 

Atention: Colin Catherwood 

T: 416 956 5212 • F: 416 956 5201 

Leader in Apartment & Common Area Renovations 

The Byng Group 

511 Edgeley Blvd., Unit #2, Concord, Ontario L4K 4G4 

Attention: Charlsey Brunne 

T: 905 660 5454 ext. 2550 • F: 905 660 9229 

• charlsey.brunne@thebynggroup.com 

Canadian Riterate Energy 

5 Hazelton Ave., 4th Floor, Toronto ON M5R 2E1 

Attention: Steven Muzzo 

T: 416 972 1400 

robert@riterate.ca 

Carma Industries Inc. 

494 The Parkway, Peterborough, ON K9J 7L9 

Attention: Rick Williams 

T: 888 298 3336 • F: 705 743 3575 

Chase Paymentech Solutions 

One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Suite 200, 

Toronto, Ontario M1T 3V3 

Attention: Bruce Averill 

T: 866 642 0550 • F: 877 642 0660 

bruce.averill@chasepaymentech.com 

CMHC Ontario Business Centre 

100 Sheppard Ave. E, Suite 300, 

Toronto, ON, M2N 6Z1 

T: 416 221 2642 • F: 416 218 3310 


One London Place 

255 Queens Ave 11th floor, London, ON, N6A 5R8 

Attention: Joseph Hoffer 

T: 519 672 9330 • hoffer@cohenhighley.com 

Coinamatic Canada Inc. 

301 Matheson Boulevard West, Mississauga, ON L5R 3G3 

T: 905 755 1946 • TF: 1 800 361 2646 • F: 905 755 8885 

Cordeiro Roofing Ltd. 

343 Olivewood Rd. 

Toronto, ON M8Z 2Z6 

T: 416 234 9901 • F: 416 234 9581 

info@cordeiroroofing.com 

Enbridge Electric Connections 

PO Box 650, Scarborough, ON M1K 5E3 

Attention: Wendy Mortson 

T: 905 747 5589 • F: 905 881 1732 

Enbridge Gas Distribution 

P.O. Box 650, Scarborough, ON M1K 5E3 

Attention: Rachit Bhambri 

T: 416 753 4663 • F: 416 495 8350 


Eservus Online Concierge Services 

144 Front Street West Suite 450, Toronto, ON M5J 2L7 

Attention: Kirk Layton 

T: 416 598 8888 x 221 • klayton@eservus.com 

Goodbye Graffiti Toronto 

13-3595 St. Clair Ave East, Toronto, ON 

Attention: John Kalimeris 

T: 416 421 9008 • jkalimeris@goodbyegraffiti.com 

First National Financial LP 

100 University Ave., North Tower, 

Suite 700, Toronto, ON M5J 1V6 

Attention: Mr. Peter Cook 

T: 416 593 1100 • F: 416 593 1900 

Gottarent.com 

PO Box 20030 Thorold, ON, L2V 5B3 

Attention: Mike Bromstein 

T: 888 966 4966 • Mbromstein@gottarent.com 

Fuller Landau LLP 

151 Bloor Street West, 12th Floor, Toronto, ON M5S 1S4 

Attention: Brenda Hadju 

T: 416 645 6500 • F: 416 645 6501 

GreenPark Services 

3-35 Stone Church Road Suite 357, Ancaster ON L9K 1S5 

Attention: Henry Van De Kuyt 

T: 519 754 4156 • greenparkservices@hughes.net 

42

MEMBERS 

Great Northern Insulation 

935 Keyes Drive, Woodstock, ON N4V 1C3 

Attention: Cody Seagrist 

T: 1 800 265 1914 • cseagrist@gni.ca 

hsi solutions 

35 Carl Hall Rd, Unit 3, Toronto, ON M3K 2B6 

Attention: Reaud Singh 

T: 416 891 6119 • F: 416 981 4510 

J.D. Power and Associates 

2225 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 1501 

Toronto, ON M2J 5C2 

Attention: Adrian Chung 

T: 416 499 3033 • F: 416 499 6626 

Marsh Canada Limited 

70 University Ave, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5J 2M4 

Attention: Neil Gilbertson 

T: 416 349 6656 

MCAP Financial Corporation 

200 King Street West, Suite 200, Toronto, ON M5H 3T4 

Attention: Leo St.Germain, VP 

T: 416 847 3870 • F: 416 368 8822 

MediaEDGE Communications 

5255 Yonge St, Suite 1000, Toronto, ON M2N 6P4 

Attention: Michael Blanchard 

T: 416 512 8186 x 268 • mblanchard@mediaedge.ca 

Midnorthern Appliance 

137 Chrislea Drive, Vaughan, ON L4L 8N6 

Attention: Michael Gnat 

T: 905 850 5335 • TF: 1 877 353 2850 

F: 905 850 5348 

For more information on the 

benefits of Corporate 

Membership contact: 

MMPI Canada/York Communications 

10 Alcorn Ave, Suite 100, Toronto, ON M4V 3A9 

T: 416-512-3809 

Murray & Company Limited 

40 University Avenue, Suite 502, 

Toronto, ON M5J 1S3 

Attention: Mr. Robert Lynch, Vice-President 

T: 416 598 0950 • F: 416 597 8415 

Lynzi Michal 

e-mail: lmichal@frpo.org 

TF: 1 877 688 1960 

T: 416 385 1100 x 22 

fax: 416-385-7112 

Norstar Windows 

944 South Service Road, Stoney Creek ON L8E 6A2 

Attention: John Vacca 

T: 905 643 9333 • F: 905 643 3633 

jvacca@norstarwindows.com 

NRG Equipment Inc. 

1245 Maple Hill Court, Unit 1, Newmarket ON L3Y 938 

Attention: Jacqueline Pilling 

T: 905 853 0700 • jacqueline@nrgequipment.ca 

Penmor Mortgage Capital Corporation 

36 Toronto St., Suite 510, Toronto, ON M5C 2C5 

Attention: Chris Sharp 

T: 647 288 9313 • F: 416 646 1009 

Phelps Apartment Laundries Ltd 

8695 Escarpment Way, Unit 6, Milton, ON L9T 0J5 

Attention: Don Neufeld 

don@phelps.ca 

Reliance 

Home Comfort 

Reliance Home Comfort 

2 Lansing Sq, 12th Floor, Toronto ON M2J 4P8 

Attention: Joanne Druce 

T: 416 499 7245 • F: 416 499 7095 

Rent Ontario- My Ideal Home Rental Network 

Landmark Technology Center, Suite 106-1726 Dolphin Ave. 

Kelowna, BC V1Y 9R9 

Attention: Richard Brown 

T: 800 862 9874 • info@emg.ca 

Renters Classified 

3300 Highway 7, Suite 405, Vaughan, ON L4K 4M3 

Attention: Karin Rossi 

T: 416 518 0648 • Karin@mediaclassified.ca 

Rogers Cable Communications 

855 York Mills Road, Toronto, ON M3B 1Z1 

Attention: Greg Stokes 

T: 416 446 6500 • F: 416 446 7416 

Renters Guide 

405 The West Mall Suite 110, Etobicoke ON M9C 5J1 

Attention: Anne-Marie Breen 

Tel: 416 784 3311 • Fax: 416 784 5300 

anne-marie.breen@trader.ca 

Rona 

220 chemin du Tremblay, Boucherville PQ J4B 8H7 

T: 514 599 5900 


continued... 

43

2011 

CORPORATE MEMBERS 

SOLID General Contractors Inc. 

Attention: Carlos Munoz 

T: 905 475 0707 • info@solidgc.ca 

Sparkle Solutions 

2700 Steeles Avenue West, Unit 4, Concord ON L4K 3C8 

T: 905 660 2282 

Stantec 

300 - 675 Cochrane Drive West Tower, Markham ON L3R 0B8 

Attention: Martin Ling 

T: 905 415 6386 • F: 905 474 9889 

Cell: 416 435 1860 • martin.ling@stantec.com 

Stratacon 

2 East Beaver Creek, Building 2, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 2N3 

Attention: Tom Cooper 

T: 905 695 2178 

Superior Energy Management 

6860 Century Ave., E. Tower, Ste. 3000 Mississauga, ON L5N 2W5 

Attention: Steve Benmergui 

F: 905 285 2499 • sbenmergui@superiorenergy.ca 

Commercial Mortgage Group 

66 Wellington Street West 39th fl., Toronto, ON M5K 1A2 

Attention: David Gale 

T: 416 944 6400 • F: 416 307 8423 

Toronto Star 

1 Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M5E 1E6 

Attention: Grace Pastore 

T: 416 869 4248 • F: 416 865 3977 

GPastore@thestar.ca 

Union Gas Limited 

777 Bay Street, Suite 2801, Toronto, ON 

Attention: Joe Meriano 

T: 416 882 2639 • JMMeriano@uniongas.com 

Yardi Systems Inc. 

5925 Airport Road, Suite 510, Mississauga, ON L4V 1W1 

Attention: Mr. Peter Altobelli 

Tel: 905 671 0315 • F: 905 671 9424 

peter.altobelli@yardi.com 

2011 ASSOCIATE MEMBERS 


44 

ADVERTISING & PUBLISHING 

Epoch Times 

Find-A-Rental (Sun Media Corp) 

gottarent.com 

Madhouse Advertising Inc. 

Media Classified 

MediaEdge Communications 

Mediapeach Inc. 

Metro Toronto 

My Ideal Home Rental Network 

Renters Guide 

RentersPages.com 

Toronto Star 

APPLIANCES • LAUNDRY SERVICES 

Coinamatic 

Harco Leasing Inc. 

Midnorthern Appliance 

Phelps Apartment Laundries Ltd. 

Sparkle Solutions 

APPRAISERS MARKET ANALYSIS 

& RESEARCH 

Altus Group 

Veritas Valuation Inc 

ASSESSMENT AGENCY 

Municipal Property Assessment Corp. 

ASSET MANAGEMENT 

Institute of Housing Management 

Larma Management 

TMDL Property Management Inc. 

CABLE • SATELLITE • TELECOM 

Rogers Communications Inc. 

CONSULTING 

A-Team Strategies Inc. 

The Communications Group 

J.D. Power & Associates 

Robert Helyar Consulting 

WP Osborne Executive Search Inc. 

ENERGY SERVICES 

Canadian Riterate Energy 

Carma Industries Inc. 

Clarified Air Technologies 

ECNG Energy L.P. 

Enbridge Electric Connections 

Enbridge Gas Distribution 

Global Point Energy 

Novitherm Canada Inc. 

Reliance Home Comfort 

Stratacon Inc. 

Superior Energy Management 

Union Gas Ltd. 

ENVIRONMENTAL & 

ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS, 

BUILDING ENVELOPE 

Halsall Associates Limited 

Mann Engineering Ltd 

Maritime-Ontario Envionmental Inc. 

Stantec Consulting Ltd 47 

FINANCES: REAL ESTATE • 

MORTGAGE SERVICES 

BMO Capital Markets 

Brookfield Financial Real Estate Group 

Canadian Mortgage Capital Corporation 

CMHC 

Cyr Funding Inc. #11681 

Feigelson Kellar 

First National Financial Corp. 

LAWPRO 

MCAP Financial Corporation 

Morguard Investments Limited 

Murray & Company Limited 

Penmor Mortgage Capital 

Peoples Trust Company 

Scotiabank 

TD Commercial Banking 

TD Securities 

FIRE SAFETY SERVICES 

Firepoint Inc. 

INSURANCE 

Dan Lawrie Insurance Brokers Ltd. 

Marsh Canada Limited 

LEASING PROFESSIONALS 

Bonnie Hoy & Associates 

DALA Group of Companies 

Sheryl Erenberg & Associates 

Taeus Group Inc. 

LEGAL SERVICES • RENT CONTROL • 

PROPERTY TAX 

Aird & Berlis LLP 

Blaney McMurtry LLP 


Debra Fine Barrister & Solicitor 

Dickie & Lyman Lawyers LLP 

Fuller Landau LLP 

Gardiner Roberts LLP 

Landlord Solutions 

Sandler, Gordon Barristers & Solicitors 

SPAR Property Consultants Ltd 

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE • 

CONSTRUCTION & REPAIR • SUPPLIES 

Ace Painting 

Advantage Bathtubs Refinishing 

Boomerang Recycled Paint 

Bothwell Accurate 

Byng Group of Companies 

The Certified Group 

Cordeiro Roofing 

Cosmos Electrical Company 

D.A.J. Painting Ltd. 

Dal Glass Systems Inc 

Energex Inc. 

Goodbye Graffiti Toronto 

Great Northern Insulation 

GreenPark Services 

HD Supply Canada Inc. 

HSI solutions 

ICI Paints Canada Inc. 

Kone Inc. 

Lighting Solutions 

Magical Pest Control Inc. 

MJSI Inc 

Norstar Windows and Doors Ltd. 

NRG Equipment Inc. 

Pascoal Painting & Decorating Inc. 

Precision Plus Floor Plans Inc. 

Rona Inc. 

Servicemaster Commercial 

Solid General Contractors Inc. 

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE 

Yardi Systems Inc. 

REAL ESTATE 

CB Richard Ellis 

Primecorp Commercial Realty Inc. 

Satco Realty Inc. 

Skyview Realty Ltd. 

Stonecap Realty Partners Inc. 

RENTAL HISTORY • 

TENANT CREDIT REPORTING 

Canadian Credit Protection Corp 

Gatemaster Inc. 

Rent Check Credit Bureau 

TENANT SERVICES 

Chase Paymentech 

Eservus Online Concierge Services 

Parkingstalls.ca 

Two Men and a Truck 

TRAINING & EDUCATION 

MMPI Canada

FRPO Bulletin Wrap-Up 

10% Clean Energy Benefit Applies to 

Rental Housing 

On January 1st, the Ontario government affirmed that electricity 

bills for eligible customers will be reduced by 10% with 

the new Ontario Clean Energy Benefit. The 10% reduction 

will be in place for the next five years, and will appear as an 

adjustment to the total electricity bill, including delivery 

charges and taxes. A sample bill showing the change is below. 

The 10% reduction applies even if you have a contract 

with an energy retailer. The reduction applies to customer 

bills from a utility or suite-metering provider, or 

energy retailer. 

Sample Bill: 

FRPO has confirmed that rental housing buildings will be 

eligible for the Clean Energy Benefit. It should appear automatically 

on your hydro bills. 

Section 2. (1) of the new Ontario Clean Energy Benefit Act, 

2010 sets out what are eligible accounts for receiving 

the rebate, and this includes "a residential complex, whithin 

the meaning of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006". 

The 10% reduction took effect on January 1st, but due to the 

length of time required to amend bills, these price adjustments 

may not appear until May 2011, and would be 

retroactive to January 1st. The 10% reduction through the 

Clean Energy Benefit is intended to moderate future increases 

in the price of electricity, which the Ontario government 

estimates will increase by 46% over the next five years. 

Requirement to pass on benefit 

For sub-metered units, there is also a provision to ensure the 

person who pays the hydro bill receives the 10% reduction: 

4 (7) Despite subsections (1) and (5), the consumer 

and every unit sub-meter provider providing 

unit sub-metering for the consumer shall 

ensure that each person who is liable to pay an 

invoice referred to in clause (6) (b) receives a 

credit, determined in the manner prescribed by 

the regulations, in respect of the financial assistance 

to which the consumer is entitled with 

respect to electricity the consumer provides to 

the person. 2010, c. 26, Sched. 13, s. 4 (7). 

If you have a question related to the 

calculation of your hydro bill, 

contact your utility. 

If you have other questions, 

call the Ministry of Energy, 

toll-free at 1-888-668-4636. 

For more information, contact: 

Mike Chopowick, Manager of Policy, 416-385-1100 x21 


45

Upcoming Events 

Email info@frpo.org to Register 

CMHC Rental Survey Breakfast 

CMHC 

January 26, 2011 • 7:30am - 9:30am 

Old Mill Inn & Spa, 21 Old Mill Road, Toronto 

CMHC will be sharing some key findings from its 

October 2010 Rental Market Survey for the greater- 

Toronto area. Trends in other major Ontario centres will 

also be discussed. The presentation will conclude with 

an outlook of where rental markets are headed in 2011 

and beyond. 

Multi-Residential Investment 

Market Update 

February 23, 2011 • 8am-10:30am 

Join an insightful discussion with leading multi-family owners 

and apartment operators as they examine what challenges they 

are facing, and where they will be focusing their attention over 

the next 12 to 18 months. Where do they project cap rates will 

be heading over the next year What strategies do they feel can 

increase the net asset value of their buildings and portfolios Is 

it time to hold, to buy, to build, or to sell 


Debt Collection Lunch N'Learn 

February 2, 2011 • 11:30am - 01:00pm 

20 Upjohn Road, Toronto, ON 

This seminar is designed to provide those in the rental 

housing industry with a bird’s eye view of what happens 

when there is a debt owed by the current or former 

tenant. We will cover dealing with a non-paying tenant at 

the Landlord Tenant Board as well as what happens when 

a tenant leaves without paying what is owed. Our experts 

will provide valuable insight and helpful tips to minimize 

your risk and how to recover your money. 

Healthy Housing Forum - How can we 

Make our Apartment Buildings Healthier 

for Residents and Staff 

February 9, 2011 • 10am-12pm 

20 Upjohn Road, Toronto, ON 

Over the past year, GTAA and FRPO have been assisting 

the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation 

(CERA) to develop voluntary guidelines and associated 

educational resources to promote healthier apartment 

buildings. This FREE event is designed for property managers, 

maintenance staff, general contractors, suppliers, 

mechanical contractors, and anyone else involved in the 

maintenance, repair and renovation of apartment buildings 

but space is limited. 

Sleep Tight, Don’t let the bedbugs bite 

March 3, 2011 • 8am-1pm (half-day event) 

This event will provide an overview of the City of Toronto’s 

strategy to combat bedbugs, biology of the bedbug and 

common treatments presented by leading pest control companies 

as well as a keynote address by MPP Mike Colle. Stay 

tuned for more info! 

FRPO RTA Seminars 

April 28, 2011 – London • 8am-1:00pm 

May 3, 2011 – Kingston • 8am-1:00pm 

May 5, 2011 – Toronto • 8am-1:00pm 

Not knowing how to properly and effectively deal with cases 

of non-payment-of-rent, damage and disturbance, unauthorized 

occupants, interference with reasonable enjoyment, 

maintenance complaints and impaired safety can cost you 

lost rent and unnecessary expense. FRPO’s RTA seminars will 

assist property and building management staff in handling – 

and preventing - the most common tenant fault cases. 

CFAA Canadian Rental 

Housing Conference 

June 16-17, 2011 

The conference will be held at the Westin Prince Hotel in 

Toronto, with the support of the Federation of Rental- 

Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO), Greater Toronto 

Apartment Association (GTAA) and Multiple Dwelling 

Standards Association (MDSA). Delegates from across 

Canada are welcome to register for either or both days of 

the conference, registration will open at the end of January. 

For conference inquiries or partnership information please 

contact Erin Wallace, Membership & Event Coordinator at 

(613) 235-0101 x 227 or events@cfaa-fcapi.org. 

46

FE Magazine 2011 No. 1 Jan-Feb - FRPO

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