Whose Fault Is This Housing Crisis, Anyways? Stand Up, Municipalities!

17 Apr 2022 1 Comment

by John Amardeil in Thoughts, You Need to Know

We have all heard the hopeful solutions to our national housing crisis that are being offered up by our federal and provincial governments. And we have seen the result of their past promises: an ever-deepening housing crisis.

Silent during all of these tribulations have been our municipalities – the current, true gatekeepers of housing creation. Their primary response, through the Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO), has been to push the Province and the federal government to do more. At the same time, the AMO states they want more autonomy to deliver their own solutions rather than a “one size fits all” solution imposed by provincial or federal mandates. The AMO does not like LPAT (Local Planning Appeal Tribunal) intervening in decision making. They want to make their own decisions without answering to another authority. They want the right to oppose new housing creation without any higher authority overruling them.

Looking into the federal and provincial efforts to stimulate housing creation, you will see that they are trying to incent municipalities to approve more housing. In the latest federal budget, $4B of the $10B announced for housing is allocated to incenting municipalities to approve more housing. In fact, it is the municipalities that are most responsible for creating the untenable situation we are in. 

Sure, the municipalities can blame Provincial legislation, such as Ontario’s Planning Act, which encourages municipalities to engage local stakeholders, which usually means NIMBYs (not in my backyard). Sure, the Province of Ontario could modify the Planning Act by reducing the ability of local stakeholders to hold up projects for extended periods and sometimes unwarranted reasons.

In my opinion, however, the biggest issue is that municipally elected officials answer to their voters more than they do to the larger community. Everyone knows that at the municipal level, homeowners are more engaged in local politics than tenants and other marginalized groups. Who shows up at Public Hearings regarding new developments? Not the people who would most benefit from new housing creation. The people who show up at Public Meetings are predominantly those who feel they would be most negatively impacted personally. This is who our municipal politicians are answering to the most, in my opinion.

Why are we letting municipally elected officials and selfish stakeholders determine our housing future? Why can’t public servants decide on new housing, just like public servants administer so many other things in our lives such as public infrastructure, health care, education and justice? Imagine local councillors having jurisdiction in those areas!

I am encouraged that all levels of government finally acknowledge that the main problem is a lack of supply. I’m also pleased that Doug Ford and Justin Trudeau are leaning on municipalities. Trudeau stated on April 13, 2022, “We know that municipalities are an essential partner in solving the housing crisis.”

We are in need of drastic leadership that is prepared to make bold decisions that will truly change our housing future. Can we really expect our housing crisis to be solved by our municipal politicians?

Tackling the Housing Crisis Head On – by Increasing Supply

29 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

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

Everyone has an opinion about the housing crisis we are facing in the GTA, in Ontario, and throughout most of Canada.

Recommendations run the gamut, from increased taxation, to inclusionary zoning, to freezing immigration.

Very few solutions focus on increasing supply, which is the most practical and sustainable means of addressing the demand/supply imbalance. Canada has the lowest amount of housing per capita of the G7 countries. (Source: Scotiabank, May 2021)

I believe that what we need most is a reframing of the planning process. Let the planning staff have more authority and greatly reduce the public’s power. Why should homeowners be able to impede/thwart a housing project that the planning staff supports? The public does not get to adversely affect other types of construction/development in their communities. Imagine residents being able to delay infrastructure development such as roads, antenna towers, transit, or anything other than housing which could affect their home values or their personal experiences…

Dare I say that socialism is partly to blame? Sure, it’s politically popular to let the public weigh in on the merits of development, but how likely is it that residents will support what is best for their community as opposed to what is best for them personally?

Is it not ironic that we support the creation of new housing when we aspire to it, but we fight against it once we have it for ourselves? Why is the public allowed to weigh in on what happens in their community, when it is clear that they are protecting their own interests, but not the interests of those who have the same aspirations? Why do homeowners have greater power to delay/thwart new developments more than aspiring homeowners get to support them?

It is high time that our leaders stepped up to make the difficult decisions needed to address this worsening crisis. Anything less is an abrogation of their responsibilities.

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.

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!

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