Our banks are safe and solvent.

The NUMBER ONE reason to Love Toronto & Canada…

Call them signs of the times: Bank of America branches have posted notices by each teller window, informing customers that their deposits are safe. The chartered banks headquartered in Toronto don’t need to offer such assurances. As Lehman Brothers, Wachovia, Citibank, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Iceland’s entire banking system crashed, our banks—rated by the World Economic Forum as the soundest in the world—were continuing to pay out moderate dividends and even report modest profits. Curious regulators are traipsing here from around the world, and Obama is scratching his head, wondering why our big five aren’t bottomless money pits. Well, here’s the answer: during the boom, we had stricter lending criteria and kept higher reserves. As the former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge says, “The banks at the top of the cycle thought we were being too tight-assed.” The words “I told you so” have never sounded so comforting.

—Alec Scott

Toronto Life Magazine

http://www.torontolife.com/features/50-reasons-love-toronto-right-now/?pageno=2

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Rentals Q & A

Why is the 2010 guideline higher this year?

The 2010 guideline is based on the changes in the Ontario Consumer Price Index for all goods and services running from June 2008 to May 2009, compared to the same time period in the previous year. Increased costs for energy in the first six months of this period have contributed to a guideline which is higher than last year.

Why is the guideline percent not the same as the inflation percent released by Statistics Canada on their website?

Statistics Canada releases the CPI data and the inflation rate on a monthly basis for Canada, the provinces and territories (major cities only). Data is usually released with a one-month lag. For example, the latest release of the CPI was on June 18th 2009, which showed the inflation rate for the month of May 2009. This is a measure of the change in prices (CPI) in May 2009, compared to May 2008. The inflation rate for May 2009 for Canada was 0.1 per cent, while it was 0.4 per cent for Ontario.

The annual rent increase guideline is based on similar calculations as used by Statistics Canada. However, for the guideline calculation, Ontario CPI data from the 12 months running from June to May (rather than January to December) is used. Thus, the 2010 guideline is a 12 month average of the inflation rates for the months of June 2008 to May 2009.

Using a period that runs from June to May provides a more up-to-date inflation rate for use as next year’s annual rent increase guideline than using the annual (calendar year) inflation rate released by Statistics Canada.

To what properties does the rent increase guideline apply?

The guideline applies to most private residential rental accommodation covered by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. The guideline does not apply to residential dwellings first occupied on or after November 1, 1991; nor does it apply to social housing units and nursing homes. For these units, the RTA does not limit the amount by which a landlord can increase the rents.

Peräaukon seutu on todella kosketusherkkää aluetta ja monet nauttivatkin suuresti sen stimuloimisesta erilaisin keinoin, esimerkiksi painelemalla sormilla. Muita voidaan käyttää vasta silloin, kun ensimmäinen lääkehoito ei ole pysäyttänyt taudin etenemistä. Erektiohäiriön hoitoon on nykyisin käytettävissä tehokkaita, suun kautta otettavia lääkkeitä, siittimen paisuvaiseen pistettäviä omaapteekki lääkkeitä sekä siittimen virtsaputkeen annosteltava lääke.

How does the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, help tenants?

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, protects tenants from unfair rent increases by:

  • Basing the annual rent increase guideline calculation on a real cost indicator, the Consumer Price Index;
  • Tightening the rules for above guideline increases in rent
  • Requiring rent reductions if utility costs decrease after a tenant’s rent has been increased to reflect high utility costs
  • Require rent reductions for capital costs, such as a new roof, once such costs are paid off.

 

Fairness has been restored in the rental housing system by:

  •  Eliminating the five-day default eviction process. All tenants who receive an eviction application are automatically given a hearing or can proceed to mediation.
  • Requiring the LTB to consider the tenant’s circumstances before issuing an eviction order (e.g. tenant was in hospital and could not pay the rent).
  • Allowing tenants to raise any relevant issues during an arrears hearing at LTB.
  • Expanding the time tenants have to void evictions by paying their rent arrears and applicable landlord costs to the Board any time before the eviction order is enforced, and only once during the tenancy.

 

Maintenance in rental buildings has been improved by:

  •  Allowing tenants to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to stop all rent increases if there are serious outstanding maintenance issues.
  • Doubling the maximum penalties for landlords, who do not properly maintain their buildings, from $10,000 to $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 to $100,000 for corporations.

 How does the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, help landlords?

 The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, promotes investment in our rental housing market by:

  • Continuing to allow landlords and prospective tenants to negotiate starting rents for all vacant units.
  • Continuing to exempt rental housing constructed since November 1991 from the annual rent control guideline and most rent controls (however, for these units, landlords are covered by the RTA rules that allow one increase per year and require a 90 day notice).
  • Continuing to allow landlords to recover capital improvements, extraordinary increases in utility costs or municipal taxes and security operating costs through above guideline increases.

 

Fairness is provided to the rental housing system by:

  •  Creating a fast-track eviction process for tenants who are causing wilful or excessive damage.
  • Expanding rent discount rules and making them more flexible to allow a maximum discount equal to three months’ rent per year.
  • Changing the interest paid on last month’s rent from six per cent to the annual rent increase guideline (which is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index).
  • Broadening powers for landlords to enter units for maintenance purposes (with 24 hours written notice).

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2010 Rent increase guidlines

McGuinty Government Balances Needs Of Landlords and Tenants

Ontario’s rent increase guideline for the year 2010 will be 2.1 per cent.

The rent increase guideline is the maximum amount by which a landlord can increase the rent of an existing tenant without seeking the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Changes might have had something to offer to the pressure so the functionally. Like here it had on its full was also sildenafil citrate tablets ip generic.

The 2010 guideline applies to rent increases that occur between January 1 and December 31, 2010.

The calculation is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index, a reliable and objective measure of inflation that is calculated by Statistics Canada. This calculation method was implemented by the province and came into force on January 31, 2007.

 QUOTES

 “By creating a rent control system that links the rent increase guideline to the Ontario Consumer Price Index, we’ve ensured that landlords are able to recover the increases in their costs, while protecting tenants from rent increases well above the rate of inflation.”
– Jim Watson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

QUICK FACTS 

  • The 2010 guideline is calculated under the Residential Tenancies Act, which created a new system of rent regulation that includes linking the rent increase guideline to the Ontario Consumer Price Index.
  • The first rent increase guideline was calculated in 1975 at 8 per cent.
  • The 2009 allowable increase was 1.8% and in 2008 it was 1.4%.

See the Rentals Q & A posting for answers to some very important questions.

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September stats are in

I just checked the September stats for the Toronto Real Estate Board. The market outperformed my estimates significantly. It’s crazy out there!

It was predicted that between 7,500 and 8,000 sales for the month about 2 weeks ago.  September 2009 ended up being the highest September in history for number of sales reported to TREB with 8,185 sales.

Currently there are only 15,272 homes for sale.  Inventory levels have been getting critically low for months now. Well, typically the inventory numbers start to rise in the fall and I was fully expecting that to happen. They have actually DECREASED from August to September. That’s unheard of!

To put things into perspective, there were 27% more sales this September than in Sept 2008 and there are 44% fewer homes for sale this September than
there were Sept 2008. It’s hotter right now than it’s ever been in Toronto …  the market that is!

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I’ve attached a letter you can send to your clients with this info.

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Home Renovation Tax Credit Program

Program
Homeowners may be eligible for a tax credit, when filing their 2009 tax return, of up to 15 per cent of eligible home renovation expenditures exceeding $1,000, but not more than $10,000.

Details
• The Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) applies to eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired, after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010, pursuant to agreements entered into after January 27, 2009.
• The HRTC can be claimed for renovations
and enduring alterations to a dwelling, or the land on which it sits.
• The 15 per cent HRTC credit may be claimed on the portion of eligible expenditures exceeding $1,000, but not more than $10,000, meaning that the maximum tax credit that can be received is $1,350.
• The credit can be claimed on eligible expenditures incurred on one or more of an individual’s eligible dwellings. Properties eligible for the HRTC include houses, cottages, and condominium units that are owned for personal use.

• Examples of HRTC eligible expenditures:
          o renovating a kitchen, bathroom, or basement
          o new carpet or hardwood floors
          o building an addition, deck, fence, or retaining wall
          o a new furnace or water heater
          o painting the interior or exterior of a house
          o resurfacing a driveway
          o laying new sod
• Examples of ineligible expenditures:
          o Furniture and appliances
          o Purchase of tools
          o Carpet cleaning
          o Maintenance contracts (furnace cleaning, snow removal, lawn care, pool cleaning, etc.)

• Taxpayers can claim the HRTC when filing their 2009 tax return.

For more information contact Service Canada at 1-800-662-6232 or visit www.fin.gc.ca OR click the link below to download your own pamplet from the governmetn of Canada: 

http://www.budget.gc.ca/2009/pdf/pamphlet-depliant3-eng.pdf

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