Speaking of Rent Control . . .

Among some of the issues facing Ontario landlords:

• evictions for non-payment of rent now require the landlord to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to have a hearing.  The Tenant is provided FREE legal representation, but the Landlord is NOT. (because, of course, all landlords are evil, greedy, rich, money grubbing little….) This is going to make it even harder and longer to get non-paying Tenants out;
• Rents can only be raised 2.6% per year, which is the equivalent of the current inflation rate (which is how the rent increase maximum is set).  To that in perspective, a $1,000 rent can only be increase $26 in a year;
• If a Tenant abandons a property, the Landlord must store anything the Tenant left, as the Tenant can later file a complaint against the Landlord that their belongings were not disposed of properly.  This means the Landlord must incur moving and storage costs for belongings to avoid getting a complaint later;
• A number of administration headaches for Landlords, including the requirement to issue rent receipts to former Tenants up to a year after the tenancy has ended.
• Fines for violating many of these rules are now carrying penalties of $25,000 up to $100,000!

I can’t believe what some governments think are fair and balanced rules in the marketplace. Having seen this, I’m sure glad that I’m in Alberta, and that the government continues to recognize that it’s simply not fair to force private investors to subsidize a terribly under-funded housing system.  Quite simply, it’s not the role of private investors who own rental properties to have to take losses on their investment as a result of the housing market not being ‘affordable’ to everyone in that market. Rent controls are NOT the solution to the problem.  The government taking it’s head out of the sand and committing funding to supporting affordable housing initiatives is the way to go.  Or, the government should be willing to help landlords make accommodations for those who need affordable housing. Instead of penalizing landlords for owning properties, why not give them an INCENTIVE?  Don’t dump millions of dollars into a black hole.. provide landlords subsidies for qualified tenants.  The landlord still gets paid, they get a cheque from the government which they love, and the tenant gets to live somewhere they can afford.  If you want to see what Ontario’s Residential Tenancy Act looks like, you can see the whole thing at the Landlord and Tenancy board website, located here:  http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/.  ]]>