It’s Time to Speak Up and Support Rental Housing

07 Jul 2020 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in Activities, You Need to Know

It’s time to take action. A virtual Public Meeting has been announced by the Town of Bracebridge, and the Mayor and Council want to hear what you think about rental housing in Bracebridge.

A virtual Public Meeting will be held on July 27 to consider a zoning amendment which would allow for apartments on a 2.2-acre site on Woodward Street in Bracebridge, ON. This is your chance to make a difference and to support much-needed rental housing in Bracebridge.

Let’s Make a Difference

You may have read my recent blog post about the Ontario housing crisis and my latest initiative: proposed rental apartments in Bracebridge, ON.

If you support this project, please submit a written statement of support today to planning@bracebridge.ca. Please include your name, hometown, and reason for interest/support in the project.

Want to learn more? Read on…

I have a vision for a rental housing project on Woodward Street in Bracebridge. It seeks to address Bracebridge’s housing shortage by bringing 49 new attainable, accessible, net zero-ready, energy efficient, environmental, low impact rental units to the community. This offers a high level of social benefit and increases the rental housing options available, which is beneficial to all.

Low-impact site plan. There’s no storm water runoff or drainage from this site, which means we won’t be polluting Muskoka’s beautiful rivers and lakes. All the storm water will be managed on-site, reinvigorating the soil and preserving trees.

Trees will be preserved because the rain water is being managed and filtered on-site, so we won’t have to grade the whole site to move water. The ground and grading won’t have to be altered as much – which minimizes grading changes and therefore minimizes damage to existing vegetation and trees. This is the only way that we can save as many trees along the perimeter of the property as possible. In short, low-impact site plan with effective storm water management = fewer trees cut down!

Low-impact development is green infrastructure. It emphasizes conservation and use of on-site natural features to protect water quality. This means we’re not affecting or altering the water table.
Proposed apartment elevations
Accessible 1-bedroom ground floor 600 sq. ft. apartment
2nd + 3rd floor 2-bedroom 2-storey, 900 sq. ft. apartment
2nd + 3rd floor 2-bedroom 2-storey, 900 sq. ft. apartment

In the past 5 years (2015-2019), according to data from the Town of Bracebridge, only 22 multi-residential apartment units have been approved for construction in Bracebridge. I’m proposing to add 49, which is double the total for the past 5 years.

I’ve been asking for the Town of Bracebridge and the District of Muskoka to work with me by rezoning the 2.2 acre parcel of land to allow for the higher density I need for this new apartment rental project. I’m also going to ask for relief from development charges (levies) and building permit and other development fees.

This project has great community social benefits, and yet opposition from NIMBY neighbouring homeowners has been an issue. The development process typically addresses objections from opponents more than it addresses supporters. That may be because most development projects – especially rental construction – have more objectors (typically NIMBYs and immediate neighbours) than supporters.

I’m therefore now working to engage the people of Bracebridge and to gather public support for this project. I want to give a voice to the many unheard champions and supporters of much-needed rental housing in Bracebridge. 

I think that if local Bracebridge politicians know there’s support from the larger community, it will help them to fend off the NIMBY neighbours. I want to help the decision makers hear from supporters, and not just the neighbours who are in opposition – who are typically the only ones to show up to public meetings about new developments such as this one.

We need to do what is right for the entire community. Given the housing needs in Bracebridge, I believe that my rental concept may have more supporters than objectors.

There’s been a high level of local interest in this project, and it has been covered in several local media sources:

If you support this project, please submit a written statement of support today to planning@bracebridge.ca. Please include your name, hometown, and reason for interest/support in the project.

Building Boom? I Think Not!

25 Jun 2020 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in News, Thoughts, Trends, You Need to Know

2019 building levels in the GTA are comparable to 1990s levels – it’s astonishing. Let’s hope that the current/upcoming recession/depression/immigration decrease/foreign investment decrease aren’t how we solve this longstanding supply problem.

Building boom? I think not!

One of the benefits of aging is having a longer history of experiences. I remember the housing recession in the early 1990s – it’s when I lost my job and my house. This was a period of housing stagflation (persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand) in the GTA. 1995 was the worst year for housing completions in the 1990s.

A comparison of early 1990s with 2019 is truly astounding. Thank you, Ben Myers from Bullpen Consulting, for the outstanding data!

  • The total amount of square footage built in 2019 is comparable to what was being built annually in the early 1990s.
  • The number of bedrooms built in 2019 is the lowest in the past 22 years, and is comparable to 1990s levels.

The main cause of the GTA housing problem has not changed in decades! We are simply not building enough homes. Supply is sorely lacking. All levels of government are contributing to this problem, and none have been able to make any meaningful improvements.

We can expect this situation to deteriorate before it improves, if past performance is any indication.

The most likely thing to ease the problem is a total collapse in demand as a result of (take your pick(s)) recession/depression/immigration decrease/foreign investment decrease. All of these reductions in demand have significant adverse impacts on the economy. Let’s hope this isn’t how we solve the supply problem. I would love to see policy changes from all levels of government. That is the solution.

I’d love to hear your take on this issue. Comment below or find me on Facebook or LinkedIn to join the conversation.

Pushing for Progress: Tackling the Housing Crisis in Bracebridge

10 Mar 2020 4 Comments

by John Amardeil in Activities, News, Thoughts

My latest project in the works in Bracebridge, ON – developing and building rental apartments – is attempting to address Muskoka’s housing crisis.

The housing crisis in Ontario is well-documented. From Toronto and the GTA to other southeastern areas of the province like Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, Peterborough, Barrie, Muskoka and beyond, there’s a serious shortage of housing – and especially low-priced, attainable and affordable housing. A growing population, increasing costs of home ownership, a lack of well-paid and secure jobs, and increasing numbers of single-person households are all contributing to the crisis.

There’s especially a shortage of rental apartments, because the incentives for builders and developers to create rental housing have been very low since the 90s, and the government hasn’t been able to do it on their own. In Toronto, we’ve seen a proliferation of condos, which have higher profit margins for builders. In regions like Muskoka, rentals haven’t been built because of zoning restrictions, prohibitive development costs and government limitations.

Tackling the Housing Crisis

I’ve written about this problem before. (Check out my blog post “Getting to the Bottom of Ontario’s Rental Problem”.) To increase rental supply, I think the best solution is for the private sector (people like me!) to work with government.

This is being done sporadically, but many are skeptical about private/public partnerships, especially with developers.

However, we can all see that neither government nor the private sector alone has been able and/or willing to build sufficient rental housing. Working together is the only way to improve our housing crisis.

My Latest Initiative: Proposed Rental Apartments in Bracebridge

I’ve recently encountered this problem directly in Bracebridge, ON (Muskoka), where I’ve been trying to stir things up by pushing forward an exciting new project.

I have a vision for a rental housing project on Woodward Street in Bracebridge. It seeks to address Bracebridge’s housing shortage by bringing 49 new attainable, accessible, net zero-ready, energy efficient, environmental, low impact rental units to the community. This offers a high level of social benefit and increases the rental housing options available, which is beneficial to all.

In the past 5 years (2015-2019), according to data from the Town of Bracebridge, only 22 multi-residential apartment units have been approved for construction in Bracebridge. I’m proposing to add 49, which is double the total for the past 5 years.

I’ve been asking for the Town of Bracebridge and the District of Muskoka to work with me by rezoning the 2.2 acre parcel of land to allow for the higher density I need for this new apartment rental project. I’m also going to ask for relief from development charges (levies) and building permit and other development fees.

This project has great community social benefits, and yet opposition from NIMBY neighbouring homeowners has been an issue. The development process typically addresses objections from opponents more than it addresses supporters. That may be because most development projects – especially rental construction – have more objectors (typically NIMBYs and immediate neighbours) than supporters.

I’m therefore now working to engage the people of Bracebridge and to gather public support for this project. I want to give a voice to the many unheard champions and supporters of much-needed rental housing in Bracebridge. 

I think that if local Bracebridge politicians know there’s support from the larger community, it will help them to fend off the NIMBY neighbours. I want to help the decision makers hear from supporters, and not just the neighbours who are in opposition – who are typically the only ones to show up to public meetings about new developments such as this one.

We need to do what is right for the entire community. Given the housing needs in Bracebridge, I believe that my rental concept may have more supporters than objectors.

There’s been a high level of local interest in this project, and it has been covered in several local media sources:

If you support this project, please submit a written statement of support today to planning@bracebridge.ca. Please include your name, hometown, and reason for interest/support in the project.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Comment below or find me on Facebook or LinkedIn to join the conversation!

Getting to the Bottom of Ontario’s Rental Problem

01 Jan 2020 2 Comments

by John Amardeil in In The Media, Trends, You Need to Know

Airbnb is blamed for the low affordability and availability of GTA rental units, but the real issue lies with Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board and the Residential Tenancies Act – and of course the fact that we just aren’t building enough.

Now that I’ve retired and am often home during the daytime, I’m seeing things I never noticed before. One of them is how many of my neighbours in Little Italy, Toronto are renting out their lower units on Airbnb instead of as apartments, even though 750 sq. ft. lower level units like ours can fetch as much as $2,500/month.

I’m wondering if Airbnb isn’t entirely to blame, but instead, if our Landlord and Tenant Board’s Residential Tenancies Act is also at fault.

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) has been around since 2006, and the Residential Tenancies Act came into effect on January 31, 2007. It was created to help establish and enforce the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords. Its aim is to resolve landlord-tenant disputes and eviction cases.

As any renter or landlord in Ontario can tell you, it hasn’t gone very well.

The LTB’s budget received cutbacks (2012 to 2014 budget vs. 2017 to 2019 budget) which resulted in a shortage of adjudicators, and the result was delays – a lot of delays. The LTB is unable to effectively and efficiently address issues. For example, bad tenants can notoriously go for 6 to 12 months without paying rent, leaving landlords in a bad spot. The system is broken.

This is why I’m hearing from my neighbours (and wife) that they don’t want to rent out their lower level units. They don’t want the risk of a bad tenant.

The LTB is now acknowledging the extreme service delays that have plagued it and is working to address this issue and to improve its services. But the damage has been done. Landlords can’t count on this system to protect them, and so they’re pulling out of the rental market and turning to avenues such as Airbnb, which offer protections that the LTB doesn’t.

Airbnb offers liability insurance, property damage protection and guaranteed payment collection. Airbnb 1, LTB 0.

Having potential landlords turn away from the local rental market and to Airbnb instead hurts everyone. Rentals in Toronto are scarce, and highly-priced. If we want to increase the supply of rental housing, one way to do so is to better utilize what already exists, and that’s not happening because many landlords find the risks of renting too high.

The main issue is that we just aren’t building enough new rental units, but Airbnb has been getting a lot of blame in the media lately. It’s easy to blame Airbnb, but it’s also our own (broken) LTB and its Act that are pushing landlords to choose alternative, more secure options for renting out the existing available spaces.

If we want more housing options and especially more affordable options available, Ontario’s LTB needs to do things differently.

Here are some of my thoughts:

  1. The LTB needs to enforce its own rules if it is to have legitimacy and efficacy. It was created to enforce (and protect) the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords, but right now that’s not happening.
  2. Bad tenants should have repercussions, and the LTB needs a way to enforce these repercussions. If a tenant damages a place, there should be a quick mechanism to address it. If they don’t pay and they skip on the rent, it should be easier to go after the tenant.
  3. Good tenants should be rewarded. Landlords should be able to access tenants’ records (rental history), just like lenders and sellers on credit (cars on lease, etc.) can check credit ratings. Landlords need more security and stability – more protection. If the costs of being a landlord could be lowered (for example, by not having to budget for tenants who won’t pay rent), then that would lower rental costs for all. And if a good tenant were allowed to better differentiate themselves from a bad tenant, it could help them secure better places. I’m all for this.

As it stands, landlords are encouraged to lie to other potential landlords when their tenants want a reference… just to get them out of their place!

What we need instead is a more effective system, where good tenants are rewarded, bad tenants have repercussions that are actually enforced, and landlords are better protected.

Further, due to the tight rental supply we currently have in the GTA and many other parts of Ontario, we should be not only protecting landlords but also providing incentives for them. We need more people to put their available spaces on the market (like my neighbours with their 750 sq. ft. lower level units), and to build more rental units, like laneway suites or finishing a basement to turn it into a suite. We also need to encourage and provide incentives for more construction.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Comment below or find me on Facebook or LinkedIn to join the conversation!

EnerQuality’s Exciting New ENERGY STAR Multifamily High-Rise Initiative

04 Oct 2019 Leave a comment

by John Amardeil in Trends, You Need to Know

Improving the energy efficiency of housing is a critical strategy in the fight against climate change. I’m proud to be working with an organization – EnerQuality – that knows how to do it. And now we’re tackling the biggest growth area of Canadian homeownership – multifamily and high-rise buildings.

energy star blog pic high-rise multifamily enerquality

EnerQuality is the #1 certifier of energy efficient housing in Canada and the market leader in residential green building programs. Founded in 1998 by the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) and the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance, they’ve been part of the growing residential energy-efficiency industry for over 20 years now. EnerQuality creates voluntary, market-based programs that support builders and accelerate innovation in construction. They partner with governments, manufacturers, utilities, energy advisors, architects and engineers to bring their programs to market. To date, 110,000+ homes have been certified.

EnerQuality was the driving force behind the construction of thousands of ENERGY STAR homes in Canada. In 2005, the organization joined forces with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to develop ENERGY STAR® for New Homes. This turned out to be the most successful energy-efficiency program in Canadian housing.

Across Canada, builders look to ENERGY STAR to improve the quality of their buildings while lowering their occupants’ energy bills and carbon footprint. With a name that 90% of consumers recognize, ENERGY STAR has become the trusted symbol for builders who value sustainability and quality.

ENERGY STAR’s New Multifamily High-Rise Program

In 2018, thanks to funding from the IESO and Enbridge, EnerQuality and NRCan teamed up again and developed ENERGY STAR® Multifamily. Now in market, it’s changing how we build mid/high-rise housing. The same simple and affordable ENERGY STAR program we all know and love is now available for builders to certify their mid/high-rise multifamily buildings.

As a Chair (Audit & Risk Committee) of EnerQuality’s Board of Directors, I’m proud and excited to be part of this latest initiative.

With Canada’s rapidly-growing population, the housing shortage in places like the GTA and the accompanying rising cost of housing, more and more Canadians are living in multifamily residences and high-rise buildings. Recent data shows that 1 in 8 Canadian households are living in condominium dwellings, and 44% of Torontonians are living in some form of apartment. Multifamily properties include “mid-to-high rise buildings, condos, student housing, senior apartments and mixed-use buildings” and it’s a segment of the housing market that’s flourishing.

vertical-city-2

Image via the CBC

ENERGY STAR Multifamily is helping Canadian builders produce better built multifamily and high-rise homes for this growing segment of people. It’s about time that we extended this program beyond low-rise homes and into the fastest-growing sector of Canadian residences.

The program requirements include:

  • Exceeding the energy target (15% better than the 2017 Ontario Building Code)
  • Conducting air tightness testing and mechanical commissioning
  • Installing ENERGY STAR appliances
  • Registering in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager

This amazing new program is working to reduce consumers’ energy costs, contribute to Canada’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and create healthy communities. I couldn’t be more proud to be helping to move the needle on these essential issues.

What are your thoughts? Comment below or find me on Facebook or LinkedIn to join the conversation!

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