Toronto has officially approved a set of new rules implemented to protect residential tenants and discipline crumby landlords for their bad behavior.
Recently, Toronto city staff was asked to consider implementing a licensing system for landlords, hoping that this would ensure renters were only in the hands of certified professionals. Instead, the city has compiled a new list of rules all landlords must follow. These new guidelines should be put into place by Summer 2017.
So what exactly are these new rules, and how will you need to change your rental procedures going forward? We’ll break it down for you briefly and simply.
Property owners must now:
– Register with the city as residential landlords
– Implement a full plan for pest management
– Use financial planning to keep a good state of repair
– Use licensed professionals for all repairs, pest management, etc.
These newly implanted rules must be followed in the management of individually owned apartments, rental homes, rented condo units, and all buildings run by property management companies.
Changes to the City of Toronto’s role in rental properties include:
– Better tracking of tenant complaints
– Targeting city staff members and landlords until issues are resolved
This is a considerably large feat considering nearly 50% of Toronto’s population (a whopping 1.3 million people!) resides in rental properties. Taking on these changes in such a heavily populated area is a huge responsibility for Toronto.
These changes have come after a longstanding period of complaints about landlords and issues caused by unfit rental properties in varying states of disrepair. Property owners will now be held accountable for the condition of their properties and the way they run their rental business, with significant consequences for those who don’t.
So what does this mean for you?
Renters, after hearing this news, are likely ecstatic. Anyone who has rented their living space has likely had to deal with either less than perfect living conditions or a nasty landlord. The people who are responsible for maintaining your home should already have a strong inclination to make it a satisfactory place to spend your time.
However, in the unfortunate case that they don’t, there will be consequences they must face. City Staff expect this to be enough incentive to make your living conditions bearable (at least). If this is not sufficient and you still experience issues, you now have the option of having your city stand up for your rights as a tenant, which seems to be a less time-consuming and convoluted measure than relying on the Landlord Tenant Board of Ontario.
Homeowners don’t necessarily have much to consider here unless they have previously considered renting their home, or any property they already own. If you are interested in becoming a landlord, you will just need to take these updates into consideration when moving forward with this process.
If you’re in the market to purchase property with the intention of renting it out, these are good things to consider while making this decision. The costs associated with hiring professionals for necessary work may be more than you’ve accounted for, but are now legally necessary if you plan on renting. If this is too much for you, you likely need to crunch some more numbers before purchasing a new home.
Landlords and property managers likely don’t have much to change. Most people who professionally rent properties already have plans for things like repairs and pest control. These are all things that make your job easier in the long run, and are already a huge part of the responsibility of this line of work.
However, you may have some small changes to think about. For example, if you tend to do a lot of your minor home repairs yourself, you will legally need to reassign this responsibility to a licensed professional. It may be a good idea to research a few local specialists for minor repairs. If you find you do a lot of repair work to your home, you may just want to put a contractor on retainer.
Major modifications to your current business plan aren’t really necessary unless you have been fairly checked out about your rental up to this point.
Besides; if your go-to plan for a bedbug infestation is handing your tenant a can of Raid, you probably already had some re-evaluating to do.
Whether you’re a future landlord or a tenant looking for your next home, we’re always available to chat with you about these new rules, as well as any current legalities of renting in the GTA. Contact The Raymond Yong Real Estate Group at (416) 906-9863 or [email protected].
