Housing

Rent Increase Guideline as of January 1, 2022

January 14th, 2022 by Hunter Stone

The province set the rent increase guideline at 1.2 per cent as of January 1, 2022. The rent increase guideline is determined by the Ontario Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation calculated by Statistics Canada using information reflected on economic conditions during the year. This year’s guideline increase is lower than 2020’s 2.2 per cent increase and comes after a year‑long rent freeze in 2021 in response to the pandemic. Continue reading “Rent Increase Guideline as of January 1, 2022”

Client Profile: IFH Rebrands as Birch Housing

January 12th, 2022 by Iler Campbell

Birch Housing is a private nonprofit community housing provider with over 45 years of experience. In line with the organization’s vision that every person has a safe and quality space to live, Birch Housing has remained steadfast in its commitment to fostering social equity and providing affordable housing to those who need it.  

Before rebranding as Birch Housing in 2020, the organization was known as Inter Faith Homes, operating through four separate corporations. Its complicated corporate structure reflects both its regional nature and its evolution. Each of the four was formed with the overall goal of developing new community housing, coming together at various times in the 80s and early 90s, together providing quality housing for low and moderate-income homes.  Continue reading “Client Profile: IFH Rebrands as Birch Housing”

Jon Harstone, champion of affordable housing development

January 7th, 2022 by Iler Campbell LLP

We were saddened, as with all of Toronto’s housing sector, to learn that Jon Harstone, champion of affordable housing development, died suddenly on January 1, 2022. What follows is a tribute Brian Iler delivered at Jon’s retirement party in early 2019. Continue reading “Jon Harstone, champion of affordable housing development”

GHCHF Winter Workshop 2022

January 5th, 2022 by Iler Campbell LLP

Iler Campbell is proud to provide workshops for the Golden Horseshoe Co‑operative Housing Federation Winter Workshops 2022 conference. Workshops are Saturday, January 29, 2022 from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM, registration is available here.  And be sure not to miss the Thursday night AGM followed by a Special Guest Presentation and social mixer! Continue reading “GHCHF Winter Workshop 2022”

Housing affordability: rethinking single-family homes

November 26th, 2021 by Safia Lakhani

While the idea of co-buying has gained popularity in the past five years, there continues to be some trepidation about taking the leap to co-purchase property. This is because our existing systems are not structured to accommodate the model.

Given the housing crisis in Toronto, its surrounding cities, and in some places across the country, we need to consider fundamentally changing how we trade single-family homes.

There is no shortage of articles on Toronto’s housing crisis. Indeed, this catch-all term seems to encompass the lack of affordable rental housing, to the steadily increasing rates of homelessness, to the sky-rocketing price of property in the GTA. There is reason for all the discussion: as of October 2021, the average cost of a single-family home in Toronto is up to $1.16 million, a whopping 19.3 per cent more than it was in 2020, a rate of increase approximately four times that of the average income. Despite a promising national housing strategy that purports to incentivize first time home buyers and increase the stock of affordable rentals, one wonders how we — and other cities struggling to keep up with the demand for housing – can adapt current legal infrastructure to allow more people to access home ownership. Continue reading “Housing affordability: rethinking single-family homes”

Emotional Support Dog Evicted After Condo Tribunal Hearing

October 27th, 2021 by Maggie Fleming

Emotional support animals can provide vital supports to those living with disabilities. We have explored this subject in previous blog posts, which can be found here: “Service animals for mental health” & “Could Air Canada’s ban on emotional support animals be challenged?”

We were interested to read a recent case, Halton Standard Condominium Corporation No.490 v Paikin 2021, in which the Ontario Condo Authority Tribunal (CAT) issued a decision to evict an emotional support dog from a condo in Oakville.

The owner had consistently allowed the dog to urinate and defecate on the second-floor balcony, which dripped down onto the patio below. There was extensive evidence, including photos, of this behaviour. The condo had not tried to resolve the issue directly with the owner, and instead sent the matter to the condo’s lawyer to deal with. After the lawyer sent an initial warning letter to the owner, the condo board declared the dog a nuisance and the lawyer sent a subsequent letter giving the owner two weeks to remove the dog. The CAT decision‑maker decided that the behaviour was sufficiently severe enough to require removal of the dog, only after the condo board “considered communicating” with the owner to come to a resolution. Continue reading “Emotional Support Dog Evicted After Condo Tribunal Hearing”