FRPO expresses dismay and disappointment over Ontario’s new measures

Says that the Fair Housing Plan was drafted and released without formal consultations with the real estate industry.

FRPO expresses dismay and disappointment over Ontario’s new measures
With the provincial government’s announcement of 16 new housing policies last week, a major rental owners’ association expressed concern and disappointment at what it deemed hasty steps made without proper discussion.

“While FRPO shares the government's interest in protecting Ontario's renters, today’s decision to make changes to rent control legislation, including a proposed roll-back of the 1991 Exemption, was made without formal consultation with the very industry directly responsible for the development and operation of rental housing,” the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario said in its statement.

In the release of Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan, Premier Kathleen Wynne and Finance Minister Charles Sousa said that the measures would focus on ensuring rental supply and improving affordability, as well as clamping down on speculation.

But the move will only endanger a significant number of planned new rental units, FRPO president and CEO Jim Murphy warned.

“The announcement by the Wynne government will put thousands of units, and millions of dollars in provincial revenues at risk. It is a rash, politically motivated decision, which will hurt, not help generations of Ontario renters,” Murphy said.

Just a few days prior to the release of the Plan, the FRPO cautioned that roughly 9,000 purpose built rental suites in Ontario, representing $2.7 billion in gross investment, will be exposed to risk in the event of rent control rule changes.

Among the Plan’s most notable provisions is expanded rent control that will apply to all private rental units in Ontario—including those built after 1991, which are currently excluded. Also, following B.C.’s lead, the province implemented a 15-per-cent speculation tax to be imposed on buyers in the Greater Golden Horseshoe area who are not citizens, permanent residents, or Canadian corporations.
 

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Changes to rent control rules will put thousands of planned units at risk - FRPO
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