Hey landlords,
I can see the headlines now: “More red tape solves housing crisis” or “Halifax City Council regulates its way to a world class solution to affordable housing” maybe even “Landlord registry makes housing affordable.”
I often wonder if expensive rules regulations and policies really distract enough people from the reality of what is going on in relation to a housing shortage in a fast growing city like Halifax.
I would not dispute the fact that we have a shortage of housing in Halifax and surrounding area. I am also in the business of providing housing for people in exchange for money, so of course for some I am part of the problem and for others I am part of the solution.
The challenge I have digesting this latest stunt by the local government is that it does not do anything to add housing to the market or make housing more affordable.
In fact it does the opposite, for small timers like me who are arguably middle age (I turned 50 this year), it makes me think about selling my small portfolio. When purchased by a new investor likely the older ones will be part of the renoviction movement where long term tenants (who are all currently paying below market rent) will be displaced and my properties will be brought back on the market at a substantially higher monthly rent.
For smaller landlords with the 12 – 30 unit buildings that decide to sell, these will likely be sold to mid sized property companies with systems in place to renovate and charge more when people leave and for those that stay, they will be subject to annual increases and multiple (intrusive) inspections per year.
In addition they have a maintenance component which will make it easier for owners of older buildings to have them condemned, rationalize selling or taken offline completely. This opens the door to more older units being replaced with new much more expensive units, rather than looking at ways to keep these older buildings going.
My suggestion for our city council would be to look at ways to encourage people to become landlords. I could write a book on ways that the government could encourage people to become landlords. Perhaps they could form a committee (free of charge just council members brainstorming in city hall) about ways to address the primary concerns of landlords, and why they either have to build high rent housing or look for ways to cut expenses to make the business model worth doing on older properties.
I doubt that raising property taxes, threatening landlords with fines, administering a registry, providing zero protection for landlords against vandalism from bad tenants or lack of payment from tenants are the best ideas to encourage landlords to get in and stay in the business.
This is also combined with higher maintenance costs for materials and labor, increasing utility costs and don’t get me started on insurance. I am not sure that it is general knowledge that insurance companies ask about your tenant profile before they will insure a building, many will not insure or charge additional premiums for buildings occupied by certain tenant profiles.
Some may read the headlines coming out of city hall and think this is a victory for the unhoused or those renting substandard housing. The reality is that if a building is condemned because the revenue model does not support the upgrades, what do they think happens to the building or tenants. If it is taken offline and boarded up all the tenants will be displaced, when eventually someone sees value in the boarded up property it will be purchased renovated and brought back to life at much higher rental rates or torn down and much more expensive rental units will take its place. Where in contrast what if the government offered financial support to the building owner to keep the building in good livable condition at the current rent level. I have not been around all that long, but I have been around long enough to watch buildings that have been boarded up for years come back to life once property values increased in the area. I have also recently watched run down rental units get sold and torn down by the hundreds because they were not worth fixing and the land was better suited for another purpose.
If you are reading this from a landlord or tenant point of view, please read with an open mind and realize that a free market is better than a government run market. Question the reason for policies that do not enhance positive change. Question why the government that is supposed to represent you would want to put policies in place that do not benefit either side. Question why more regulation and squeezing out small landlords is a solution to a better housing situation.
This past week Kevin Russell along with many others shared some thoughts about the latest gimmick:
For Immediate Release
January 23, 2023
Landlord registry a $1 million gimmick that will worsen housing crisis
Halifax Regional Municipality’s proposed landlord registry will do nothing to solve the housing crisis and further punishes rental housing providers who must be part of the solution.
“Private rental housing providers, especially those who are small owner/operators, are sick and tired of governments attacking them with more red tape and higher costs,” said Kevin Russell, Executive Director of the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia. “In a high inflation, high-interest rate environment, with property assessments going through the roof, the provincial rent cap is forcing people to sell their properties at an unprecedented rate, reducing the available housing supply in Halifax Regional Municipality and making the housing crisis worse.”
Halifax Regional Municipality’s staff report on the landlord registry admits the cost to taxpayers to implement the new registry will be close to $1.2 million over the next four years and involve hiring four new by-law enforcement staff.
Ursula Prossegger is a Dartmouth property manager. When an unhoused person was found repeatedly sleeping in one of her apartment building hallways last fall, resulting in a fire safety issue due to smoking, she turned to municipal and provincial elected officials in downtown Dartmouth for help. Nobody at the municipal and provincial levels of government would help, opting to point fingers and blame different levels of government.
“Imagine what $1.2 million could do to help our most vulnerable?” asked Prossegger. “It’s just shocking, especially during a time our municipal government is looking at tax hikes to deal with a budget crunch, that Halifax Regional Council’s answer for the housing crisis is spending tax dollars on red tape and more staff, instead of helping our community’s most vulnerable get a roof over their heads?”
Russell noted that Halifax Regional Municipality ignored stakeholder feedback submitted during consultations from 2017 to 2019, where the consensus was that existing bylaws would be sufficient to deal with maintenance issues they were experiencing.
c. Kevin Russell
t. 0-2.789.0946
e. kevin@ipoans.ca
– 30 –
For Immediate Release
January 25, 2023
Halifax Regional Council slams the door on public input on $1.2 million landlord registry
Despite Halifax Regional Municipality staff telling Mayor Mike Savage, “We haven’t spoken with landlords recently,” Halifax Regional Council overwhelmingly rejected holding a public hearing on its proposed $1.2 million landlord registry.
A mandatory landlord registry was approved at first reading by Halifax Regional Council on Tuesday. Despite an effort by Councillors David Hendsbee and Paul Russell to schedule a public hearing at the second reading stage, all of the remaining Councillors voted against holding a public hearing.
“Many Councillors selectively target and blame those in the private sector that own and operate buildings that provide the majority of affordable rental housing in this city,” said Kevin Russell, Executive Director of the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia. “The vast majority of private sector rental housing providers pay their taxes, follow the rules and act responsibly. It is undemocratic and unfair for Halifax Regional Council to deny our right to speak.”
Russell noted that Council’s refusal to hold a public hearing also pre-empted discussion on the idea raised by Mayor Mike Savage during yesterday’s Council meeting to give rental housing providers more compliance time with the By-Law.
“IPOANS would have loved to have discussed Mayor Savage’s idea about a reasonable compliance period, but Council shut down that idea too,” added Russell.
Russell noted that unlike at City Hall, the Nova Scotia Legislature – through the Law Amendments Committee and Private and Local Bills Committee – allow all Nova Scotians to have their say. IPOANS will be contacting Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr to exercise the provincial government’s right under the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter to set aside the landlord registry by-law until a public hearing is held and discussion with IPOANS is held on Mayor Savage’s proposal to extend the compliance period.
c. Kevin Russell
t. 902.789.0946
e. kevin@ipoans.ca
Global News Wrote this article about the registry:
Halifax one step closer to rental registry after bylaw passes first reading
Halifax regional council has passed the first reading of a bylaw that would implement a registry of all rental properties in the municipality.
Under the proposed bylaw, all rental housing properties would need to be registered and owners and operators would need to create a maintenance plan and keep it current.
Council also voted in favour of amendments to strengthen the existing bylaw respecting standards for residential occupancies.
According to a municipal staff report, having a comprehensive list of all rental properties throughout HRM will provide a clearer picture of the municipality’s rental landscape.
It will also mean that the municipality can inspect units proactively, and not only after a complaint is received, “to ensure all rental units are held to the same minimum occupancy and building and fire safety standards.”
Those not in compliance with the bylaw could face fines ranging from $150 to $10,000, “depending on the type and recurrence of the offence,” the report said.
Minimum fines start at $150 for a first offence, $250 for the second offence and $450 for the third offence.
There will be no fee to register properties and owners and operators would be given a “grace period” to register until April 1, 2024.
“However after that time, rental housing that is not registered will be considered in violation and those property owners will be subject to a fine,” the report said.
Municipal Staff Report – Some more light reading for you.
If you have read this far I thank you.
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Until next time,
Design your landlord experience,
Michael P Currie
Landlord by Design
Hello Michael. Well written and a thoughtful article. I am a small senior aged landlord w about 20 units, it is my and my wifes pension.
Do you have a contact number ? if you have time for a quick discussion. I am trying to understand how forcing small landlords to sell their properties into the hands of large buyers can possibly be a desired outcome? What is the aim here? I would like to think that the state is doing this on purpose towards an undisclosed goal, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what the goal is. Thanks Dan ( and thankyou for writing the article)