Risk Management

vaccination policies

Building well-rounded vaccination policies

A smart risk management strategy includes two distinct vaccination policies to seperately address employees and tenant use of non-essential amenities.
water damage

5 ways to mitigate losses from water damage

While climate change has increased the prevalence of weather-related floods, water damage due to plumbing and appliance failures happen daily—and sadly, they are often preventable.
Securities regulators scrutinize ESG investing

Securities regulators scrutinize ESG investing

Securities regulators wish to confirm that the representations registrants are making about the incorporation of ESG principles in their investment decision-making processes are consistent with their actual policies and procedures.
Climate risk infuses real estate investment agendas

Climate risk infuses investment agendas

Canadian commercial real estate assets are comparatively less exposed to the dire physical threats that extreme weather poses or has already served up in other global regions.
rent growth

Tenant screening in the age of COVID

As COVID-19 continues to threaten Canadians, it is crucial that landlords have the right tenant screening systems in place to attract the ideal resident.
GRESB adjusts 2020 path for benchmarking ESG performance

GRESB adjusts 2020 path to the stars

More than 50 per cent of participating Canadian portfolios were grouped in the top two brackets of results, with 11 earning 5-star status and six attaining a 4-star rating.
parcel deliveries

Parcel deliveries create more woes for landlords

With many regions in the throes of a second lockdown and the holiday season well underway, landlords must have a sound policy on parcel deliveries.
summer peak demand unexpected in electricity system models

COVID-19 confounds electricity system models

After scrambling to recalibrate their models in the early days of COVID-19-related shutdowns, analysts with Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator faced more uncharted territory when the hot weather arrived.
residential rents

Ontario announces plan to freeze rents

Rental housing sector responds to Ontario's announcement that it intends to freeze rents in 2021, a move that has blindsided the industry.
Solid pre-pandemic fundamentals underpin Canadian real estate market

Solid pre-pandemic fundamentals buttress market

Thus far, in most markets, there’s been no spurt of office sublets or rent discounts that conventionally signify an economic downturn, but there has been a flurry of conjecture about the forces COVID-19 may have unleashed.
COVID-19 outbreaks

The keys to reopening multi-res operations

As Ontario prepares to reopen the economy, what will the upcoming months look like for multi-res operations? Legal expert Joe Hoffer shares important tips to help landlords manage the risks as they navigate their way into "new normal".
cleaning frequency

Rigorous cleaning protocols now big safety priority

Cleaning has taken on a new meaning since the words coronavirus and COVID-19 became part of our daily language. But precisely how have cleaning protocols changed?
COVID-19's black swan prompts rollout of business continuity and recovery plans

Black swan triggers business continuity plans

Commercial real estate operators are seeking advice across a wide spectrum of expertise as they deploy their crisis management, business continuity and recovery plans.
Q4 cap rate trends

Property funds possess stabilizing mechanisms

REALPAC’s recent survey of 15 Canadian open-end real estate funds offers insight into when and why fund administrators would suspend the ability for investors to redeem their holdings.
COVID-19 preparedness

COVID-19 preparedness tips for landlords

All businesses are impacted by the COVID-19 virus, but rental-housing providers play a critical role in the battle to mitigate the spread of this highly communicable disease.
criminal trespass

Alberta cracks down on criminal trespass

Along with measures to discourage spurious lawsuits, the legislation has implications for commercial real estate operators and any organization with potential scofflaws among its employees or membership.
environmental approvals

Friendlier CHP environmental approvals welcome

It's still unclear how the process of securing environmental approvals for combined heat and power systems will be streamlined, but the Ontario government's recent pledge has been greeted enthusiastically in the buildings sector.