Regulations
Vancouver developers to pursue zero emissions
The newly adopted plan sets out a two-part strategy to ensure that new buildings are as energy-efficient as possible and, perhaps more contentiously, do not rely on natural gas for space heating and hot water supply.
Mass notification systems in high-rise buildings
When an emergency situation arises in a multi-residential setting, things can turn chaotic fast. To prevent this chaos, all residents, visitors and staff need to know what to do and how to react immediately. The most effective way to accomplish this is with customized, real-time mass notification systems.
Tenant protection attached to carbon pricing
Yet to be clarified language in Ontario's recently released Climate Change Action Plan hints that rental housing landlords could be uniquely prohibited among bulk fossil fuel purchasers from passing cap-and-trade related costs farther down the chain of consumers.
Complex alternative to carbon tax questioned
Commercial and multi-residential real estate owners will catch a significant share of the fallout from Ontario's pending cap-and-trade system, but a projected natural gas price increase in the range of $0.84 to $1.05 per gigajoule is lower than carbon tax rates in British Columbia or Alberta.
Ontario opens way to inclusionary zoning
New inclusionary zoning legislation in Ontario could soon give municipalities the power to require that builders include affordable housing units in all new residential developments. If passed, the Promoting Affordable Housing Act, 2016, will be the first of its kind in Canada and could take effect in early 2017, if not sooner.
Does the rental industry have an image issue?
A recent survey conducted by FRPO sheds light on the public's ambivalent attitude toward the rental housing industry and the Ontario Government's policies shaping it
A call for resources for lone elderly residents
These situations are rarely straightforward for property owners/managers juggling legal obligations to protect privacy, accommodate disabilities and ensure the health and safety of all building residents.
Keeping up with residential tenancy laws
As the rental industry grows and changes, so do residential tenancy laws. Joe Hoffer, Partner Cohen Highley LLP, highlights three specific areas of concern.
Five winter safety tips for condo managers
December has been seasonably mild, so winter safety tips may not be top of mind for condo managers. But now is a good time to prepare for coming weather.
Welcoming Canada’s newest tenants
FRPO’s Mike Chopowick offers landlords important dos and don’ts for screening refugees as prospective tenants, and highlights a few goodwill initiatives.
Spate of condo blazes sparks safety campaign
A spate of condo blazes in Alberta has reignited conversations about the perennial fire safety risk posed by cigarettes in multi-residential buildings.
Foreseeable safety hazards spell liability
Beyond the occupier's duty of care — a responsibility that property owners bear toward inhabitants, visitors and trespassers — landlords are also employers subject to health and safety regulations.
B.C. offers flexibility for redevelopment
A proposed amendment to British Columbia’s Strata Property Act could make it easier for apartment developers to scoop up prime real estate in B.C.’s hottest neighbourhoods.
An affordable remedy to a national crisis
Affordable housing shortages for working Canadians have hit critical levels in most major cities across Canada. For years, grim statistics of growing waitlists far outpacing the number of affordable rental units under construction have made headlines nation-wide. Despite the alarming numbers, not much in the way of viable, sustainable solutions have been presented. That is, until now...
Insight into window replacement in condos
Window replacement can be expensive, involved and intrusive. It's important to answer four questions before beginning this kind of project in a condo.
Boosting Canada’s low-income rental market
Affordability is a concern for many Canadians, but low-income rental households face the greatest set of challenges. With the federal election fast approaching, party leaders have been busy unveiling plans to tackle what is being dubbed an “affordable housing crisis.”
Reinvesting in Toronto’s aging rental towers
The Tower Renewal Project is a program to drive broad environmental, social, economic, and cultural change by improving Toronto's concrete apartment towers and the neighbourhoods that surround them. Home to a million people across the GTA, now is the time to reinvest in these vertical communities that have huge potential.





