Ontario apartment owners are facing a slew of changes from recent federal, provincial and municipal initiatives. At the federal level, CMHC has changed a number of their policies. Provincially we’ve been introduced to Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan. Toronto is examining a landlord licensing system. Are they positive or negative for apartment investors and builders? We asked Jim Murphy of the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) to join us and try to answer that question. In this episode we discuss:
CMHC policy changes
- Higher LTV and recourse.
- Construction and rental achievement hold backs.
- The new insurance premium structure.
- Accepting bulk leases.
- Furnished suites.
- Allowable retail component in an apartment building.
Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan
- The history of the 1991 rent control exemption, starting with Bob Rae and the NDP.
- The media sensationalizing dramatic rent increases.
- Alternative solutions to work within the new changes.
- The difference between a speculation tax and a foreign buyers tax.
- The impact on builders and investor certainty.
- How this impacts the condo rental market.
- Standard lease agreements for apartments .
- Building condos vs apartments from the developers perspective.
- Development charge rebates.
- Taxation of vacant land to encourage development.
- The dangers of vacancy control.
- The balance between protecting tenant’s rights and incentivizing developers and apartment owners.
We end off the show discussing the proposed Toronto landlord licensing system.
In the News we discuss the stabilization of the damage to the Calgary office market.
A bit about our guest…
Jim Murphy is the President and CEO of 3,200 member Federation of Rental-housing providers of Ontario (FRPO). FRPO’s members include owners, builders and mangers of over 350,000 rental homes in Ontario.
Prior to joining FRPO, Jim was CEO of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) and President and CEO of the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) now Mortgage Professionals Canada.
Jim also served as Director of Government Relations for the greater Toronto Home Builders Association (GTHBA) now Building Industry Land Development (BILD). Jim also served at Queen’s Park serving the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (Hon Al Leach) and the Minister of Economic Development Trade and Tourism (Hon Al Paladini)
Jim holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Urban and Regional Planning form the University of Waterloo and a Masters of Arts in Public Policy and Public Administration from the University of Toronto.
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