The GTA needs to add 300,000 new rental homes in the next decade to close supply gap.

A new report co-authored by the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario, the Building Industry and Land Development Association, Urbanation, and Finnegan Marshall found that while rental households have grown at more than three times the pace of owner households in the past decade, currently available and projected supply of rental housing in the GTA is not enough to accommodate demand now and in the future. As population increases are expected to continue, the number of rental households is expected to increase by 400,000, reaching 1.3 million by 2031. That means that the GTA will need more than 300,000 new rental homes in the next ten years to close the supply gap, equating to approximately 8,000 units per year higher than the current supply of new units.

While new purpose-built rental starts reached a 28-year high in 2020 with 5,958 units, the number of new starts has begun to stall since then. This is due to challenges like rapidly rising construction costs and the less favourable business case for building purpose-built rentals compared to other forms of housing developments. While condominium projects can count on quick profitability, it takes purpose-built rental projects 7 years or more to reach the break even point.

The report calls on all levels of government to take the steps necessary to make building more purpose-built rental housing easier and cheaper. This includes updating zoning rules and bylaws, accelerating approval processes, changing the fees and tax structures, and providing more assistance to make purpose-built rental developments more attractive to investors.

How Hazelview Properties transformed West Lodge towers into community-oriented, quality housing.

Prior to Hazelview Properties taking over in 2018, the apartment buildings at 103 and 105 West Lodge Avenue had a troubled history. But since Hazelview Properties took over the buildings in 2018 the company has spent more than $23 million and transformed the properties “into sustainable and resilient apartment buildings.

Hazelview renovated the buildings, added modern systems and technology geared toward eco-consciousness, and plans to plant more than 1000 trees and shrubs around the properties. Additionally, Hazelview is putting a lot of emphasis on rebuilding a sense of community at West Lodge, adding facilities like libraries, play areas for children, and other communal areas designed to empower and improve the lives of residents. This is complemented by the work of a dedicated Community Liaison for the West Lodge Community.

The work was undertaken hand in hand with tenants, some of whom participated in the rebranding and revitalization of their community. West Lodge is a great example of how tenant-rental-housing provider collaborations can create better housing for residents.

Thorncliffe Park Urban Farmers - Drawdown Toronto - TUG Urban Ag Week 2021

Thorncliffe Park Urban Farmers’ community garden at 53, 75, 77 & 79 Thorncliffe Park Drive.

New rental suites with a luxurious twist in Toronto’s Forest Hill South neighbourhood

It’s all about the brick.

Handmade in Denmark, hand-picked there by the developer himself, the “very expensive” brickwork at upwards of $7 apiece sets the tone for a 20-storey luxury rental building in its final months of construction at Lonsdale and Avenue Rds., in Toronto.

“When people come around that corner and see the building with this beautiful brick, it really should make an impact,” predicts developer Bryan Levy.

He has high hopes for the head-turning highrise named 2Fifteen after its number on Lonsdale.

“It’s gonna be a big deal,” he says. “We realized there really wasn’t anything like this in Toronto.”

‘It’s not all about the bottom line, all of the time’: As many in Ontario struggle to make rent under COVID-19, one landlord is actually offering its tenants relief

Last fall, like many tenants across Ontario, Kayla Lemieux was struggling to make rent.

Money had been tight for a few years — since her daughter was diagnosed with cancer and she’d gone on social assistance. She’d hoped to return to work as a personal support worker shortly before COVID-19 hit, but the threat of bringing the virus home brought those plans to a halt.

By fall, Lemieux’s finances jeopardized her roughly $940 rent payments.

“Things were just going wrong for me, and I’d been trying to fill out budgets and get a payment plan going,” she said.

That’s when she was told of a program her landlord offers for renters in a pinch. Soon after she applied, her phone rang: her arrears had been wiped clean, and she wouldn’t be charged for any rent the following month. “I actually cried on the phone.”

Ontario-based property management organization announces rent relief program

Hazelview Properties announced today the creation of the Hazelview Cares Rent Relief Program to support their residents facing economic hardships due to COVID-19. The rent relief program is the latest initiative put forth in a series of actions focused on helping residents and community members since the onset of the pandemic. With the launch of the Hazelview Cares Rent Relief Program, Hazelview's contribution to residents and community members will top $1 million in 2021.

Perth renters seeking relief with landlords during coronavirus crisis

Satinka Schilling has dodged the proverbial bullet on her rent, for now.

The former New Democratic Party candidate in last year’s federal election, has just come out of a two-week self-isolation with her partner.

“We wanted to be safer than sorry,” she said. But as rent day approached, with money tight after two weeks of not working, they were faced with a daunting decision — pay “rent or ... other bills like hydro or food.”

One week before the rent was due, she approached her landlord, and asked if their first month’s rent deposit could be used to cover her rent for April.

However, her landlord needed that money to cover her own mortgage payments. But, her landlord spoke with her husband and came back to Schilling.

In exchange for not having to pay rent on April 1, the couple would then pay one-and-a-half times their rent in May and June.

“Thankfully, I was able to do that,” she said.

Three Toronto renters affected by COVID-19 ‘surprised’ to get relief from landlord

The COVID-19 outbreak has student Madison Cleary worried she won’t be able to pay her $770 a month rent for the Bloordale Village apartment she shares.

When the virus hit, Cleary, 26, a part-time student in her final year of paralegal studies at George Brown College, lost hours at her two part-time jobs — including one at a skateboard shop — that help pay her rent while in school, jobs that earned her about $340 a week.

Another roommate in the unit held a job in a café, but it closed amid COVID-19, so she is unable to work too.

The two and their third roommate affected by the fallout from the virus got together to talk about what to do about paying the rent at the end of this month.

They decided to ask their landlord, Islington Village Corp., the owner of several private buildings across the city, for a deferral. To their astonishment a representative for the company was understanding and is giving them a break for the time being.

Toronto rental company puts landlords to shame with incredible COVID-19 supports.

A letter posted by one such tenant to Reddit this week shows that Greenrock Real Estate Advisors is not only being flexible with upcoming rent payments, it's giving each of its residents a $100 grocery card — and donating another $300,000 to local charities to assist those affected by COVID-19.

The company quietly revealed a new $500K COVID-19 Relief Fund on its website Friday morning, noting that rent increases for current tenants would be deferred and that all residents could use their last month's rent deposit as a credit towards their April rent payments.

Fitting for a company that bills itself as "a third-generation family business with a proud tradition of giving back to the community" and actually has a long history of giving back to the community.

Why Toronto has among the slowest housing development approval times in GTA

The City of Toronto has among the fewest planners and some of the longest approval timelines for residential development applications of 18 regional municipalities — factors that contribute to the high cost of housing, according to a new benchmarking study by the home construction industry.

It shows that only Innisfil and Aurora had fewer planners on their municipal staff when measured per 1,000 housing starts. Only Bradford-West Gwillimbury and Caledon surpassed Toronto’s 21-month average approval time. Other municipalities such as Oshawa, Innisfil, Burlington, Oakville and Barrie had average development approvals of nine to 12 months.

Studies suggest Toronto’s rental shortage will skyrocket in coming years

A new report suggesting the Greater Toronto Area could be facing a shortage of 200,000 rental apartments within a decade is highlighting the conundrum of a region that is building more high-rise apartment buildings than anywhere else in North America but still has a stubbornly unaffordable housing market.

The report – prepared by real estate research firm Urbanation Inc. for the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario – says rapid population growth in Ontario means the rental market needs to expand faster than its current capacity: “42,000 units [need] to be built annually during the 15-year period from 2017 to 2031, but will be delivering approximately 21,000 units per year, resulting in a shortfall of over 20,000 units per year.”

2019 Ontario Rental Market Study: Revisiting the Supply Gap & Opportunities for Development

The rental housing supply gap in Ontario has quickly grown to a level that is twice as high as originally projected a few years ago. Factors such as outsized economic growth in the province, reduced homeownership rates, and much stronger than anticipated increases in the population pushed the demand for rental housing well above 40,000 units per year as the decade came to a close. Net migration to Ontario has been a particularly large contributor to the upward adjustment, having reached over 200,000 persons in each of the past two years — doubling the annual average recorded during the preceding five-year period.