OLA & Toronto Sun: "Ontario rent hike lowest in 35 years"

[LLC]

Ontario's rent hike lowest in 35 years

By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, Queen's Park Bureau Chief
Last Updated: January 2, 2011 5:20pm

Ontario rents will be allowed to edge up by only 0.7% in 2011.

It is the lowest increase in the 35-year history of the province’s rent guideline — the maximum annual rent increase allowable without seeking special approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board for a heftier hike.

“The McGuinty government is providing real protection for tenants by linking the rent increase guideline to the Ontario Consumer Price Index which prevents routine rent increases above the rate of inflation while ensuring landlords can recover increases in their costs,” said Liberal cabinet minister Jim Bradley.

Stuart Henderson, a moderator with the Ontario Landlords Association, which typically represents property owners with less than five units for rent, said the tiny increase has many of the group’s members wondering if they can afford to stay in the business.

“We’re the ones that are paying all these new costs — the price of gas, hydro, the HST — and then we kind of get kicked in the stomach with a 0.7% increase,” he said. “It leaves kind of the worst landlords in the market, people who are renting out fire traps, illegal places.”

The next provincial election will be held in October, and Henderson said the McGuinty government is clearly currying favour with tenants.

“It’s political opportunism,” he charged. “We feel that the McGuinty government is trying to protect against a backlash from tenants in Toronto.”

Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations, said landlords may be complaining now but they weren’t protesting when the province allowed yearly increases in the range of 5% in the 1990s.

The recession has been very hard on many tenants, and unemployment in Toronto continues to hover at about 10%, he said.

”It’s not renting out a movie at Blockbusters — it’s people’s housing,” Dent said. “Any increase right now during this difficult time is hard for any tenant.”

Also, Ontario does not have “real” rent control because the landlord is only obliged to follow the guideline for an existing tenant, he said.

“If you move into a unit, though, a landlord can charge you whatever he wants,” Dent said. “The last tenant could have been paying $500 a month and they can charge you $2,000.”


http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2 ... 34661.html

[helga]

“If you move into a unit, though, a landlord can charge you whatever he wants,” Dent said. “The last tenant could have been paying $500 a month and they can charge you $2,000.”

What a load of crap. If you want to rent your apt again, you will be charging fair market value.

Disappointed the journalist ended on this sensationalist propaganda and didn't buffer it with the reality of the situation.

[New]

Dent is a typical NDP type who is doing what he does because he gets a pay check each month. Don't expect brilliance out of him any time soon.

[Skitter]

-more misinformation from a tax payer paid group that is supposed to represent Toronto tenants.

“If you move into a unit, though, a landlord can charge you whatever he wants,” Dent said. “The last tenant could have been paying $500 a month and they can charge you $2,000.”

The reality is a property will only rent for its fair market value, that is conveniently omitted.

Is it unreasonable that a property owner be paid fair market value for the service they are providing???

Should any business be forced to sell their services for less than their value?

Of course not! Obviously the business would go under.

Yet this is EXACTLY what this fmta spokesperson wants landlords to do.

Using the FMTA's reps logic, the landlord could also charge $200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 for the apt, therefore we need rent control!!!!

Now some common sense, when a 5% rent hike was allowed:

1) Inflation was in the double digits. Therefore the costs of operating a rental property were rising MUCH faster than even a 5% rent hike.

2)There were vacant rentals everywhere! This meant that if a landlord dared increase a rent by 5%, the tenants simply moved out to a cheaper place. I know this for a fact because i had rental properties then.


Ontario landlords have been punished by the mcguinty govt with not only the smallest allowable rent increase in 35 years, but ALSO one of the biggest tax grabs in history! The HST.

Combine that with smart meter surcharges and double hydro costs due to time of day premiums and one can see why its not a good idea to invest in ontario rentals at this time.

Mcguinty..................wake up!!

You have driven out the manufacturing jobs and turned ontario into a have not province................dont drive out affordable housing too!!!