Here are two pieces of info that will be of interest to Real Estate Investors in the Greater Toronto Area, right now.
Who’s Responsible for Snow Removal in Residential Properties, the Landlord? Or the Tenant?
By the letter of the law, apparently….the Landlord is responsible. Under section 26 of Ontario Regulation 517, “exterior common areas must be maintained by the landlord and this includes removing noxious weeds and any unsafe accumulation of ice and snow.”
Most landlords, and indeed, most tenants I’ve spoken with, are surprised by this. Tenants are responsible for cleaning the inside of their homes, why not the outside too? I don’t know. I don’t make up these rules. I just try and keep our clients informed, protected, and offer solutions.
Going forward, we will be advising our Landlord clients to factor snow removal into their operating budget. Then they can either hire the tenant to manage snow removal (and we recommend this be documented in a separate contract between landlord and tenant-come-snow-removal-contractor). Or Landlords can hire a snow removal service.
Contact Us and we can connect you with a paralegal to guide you through the process…..or…..recommend a snow removal company 🙂
How will the Cap on Student Visas Effect the GTA Rental Market?
In the headlines this week, the Federal Government announced a 2-year cap on international student visas. This measure was taken to ease the pressure on our housing and healthcare system. In 2015, there were 352,325 foreign students in Canada. By the end of 2023, there were $1,028,850. So for the next two years, there will be no further growth in the number of international students here, meaning that the government will grant visas equal to the number that expire.
For 2024 that means Ottawa will reduce the number of new international study permits it issues by more than one-third compared with last year.
The cap will be applied equally across provinces on a per capita basis. Because some provinces (ahem, Ontario) accepts disproportionately more foreign students than others, Ontario will have to cut intake by about 50 per cent.
I anticipate that this will ease the strain on entry level housing, for example rooming houses and basement apartments. It’s doubtful this will have much impact on the demand for condo apartments and single family homes as fair market rental prices for this categories were not manageable for most foreign students to begin with.
Contact Us to discuss your investment strategy and we can put together a plan!
- SusanTaylorGroup.com/investment <– want to invest? We can help. We have helped countless individuals and holding companies purchase residential properties, and they have all benefited from positive cashflow, appreciation, or both. We are investors ourselves. We know what to buy and when to buy it.
- Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing <—go here for general info about rental rights, rent increase guidelines, and rental housing enforcement guidelines.
- Ontario Landlord & Tenant Board. <—go here to access forms for landlords and tenants to use for starting/modifying/ending tenancies.