Landlords vs tenants: Both sides of the housing crisis

[@DorathyJoy]

The issue is that either the renter or the owner must in some way pay insurance and property taxes if they want a "permanent roof" with utilities like electricity, gas and water. Because of this, many people-at least in California, where I currently reside-are living in tents. No taxes, rent, mortgages, or insurance. The number of people who tell me they live in their car that I meet amazes me. Its crazy out here!

[@RaymondKeen.]

Personally, I can connect to that. When I began working with "'Margaret Johnson Arndt," a fiduciary financial counsellor, my advantages were certain. In these circumstances, I would always advise getting professional help so they can steer you through choppy markets and just give you indicators and strategies for knowing when to enter and exit the market.

[@RaymondKeen.]

renowned for her proficiency and expertise in the financial market, ''Margaret Johnson Arndt’’ my financial advisor, holds a broad understanding of portfolio diversification and is recognized as an authority in this domain.

[@NN-xq2by]

one of the easiest way to fix this issue is limiting 1 person per house purchase. Why does 1 person needs to buy 4-5 houses and force the renters to pay their mortgages?

[@antonh1709]

@@NN-xq2by Who's forcing whom? If you don't like someone having extra properties that they rent out - don't rent any of those. Nobody forces you to. But don't tell any other people how to live.

[@plaistowbill]

Crazy? No, very sad.

[@scubardiveshop1389]

I feel like the Canadian government doesn’t understand that high housing costs cause terrible problems for the economy. If people are spending all of their earnings on housing, they don’t have money to put into the economy which means jobs will be lost because businesses won’t be making enough money. So, it becomes harder to earn money as housing prices increases. The whole thing is just ridiculous. Right now, I live in Taiwan, I rent a three bedroom beachside house for $350/month plus I rent a beach bar for a business that can sit 150 people and the rent is $1200/month… So why did I leave Canada??? Taiwan has a strong economy with affordable living. The world could learn a lot from Taiwan.

[@lunar1427]

Sounds awesome to live in Taiwan.

[@LittleMissCuki]

And that is good and it works for Taiwan because food is also cheap in Taiwan here in Canada you have to pay taxes for the house you live in yearly or monthly That's already more than 350 literally paying 800 to 900 in a year 3600k thats not bad some plp pay 5 k 7k 8k its stupid. Now food are higher now it's different here the cost of living and that's why at least right now it's hard to change rent under 1k plp would lose their home unless there is a solution for home owners than that can help renters 100%

[@katherinespencer2073]

People are moving to Germany for family values being so high on gov't list there. & Swedes & Danish to Hungary cus certain lifestyles didn't pan out. (Ridiculous to think of trusting drug users to 'do the responsible thing' for general society esp. children)

[@simba8665]

@@lunar1427 if you work remotely. The wages are not as high as Canadian

[@adaptercrash]

Do I look 77

[@joeflake5829]

First of all, kudos to CBC for allowing comments, as they usually do not. I have been in the housing industry for over 35 years in the GTA, and was a landlord for a little over 30 years. I was quite fortunate with tenants over the years, but after my last tenant left in 2020 I sold my last rental. Even though I was fairly fortunate, I had experienced enough difficulties, and was seeing what some friends were going through, and decided enough was enough. I am however very sympathetic to the tenants they had on this interview, it is extremely challenging at present to be a tenant looking for a place to live. I strongly agree with what the economist said about the housing shortage. The present federal government has done a terrible job managing housing versus immigration, but the provincial and municipal governments of the past 20 years have also made mistakes. It is nice to see both the provincial government and the City of Toronto starting to try to fix the mess, but we need the Federal government to start pitching in as well. To be clear, I am not against immigration, we definitely need a certain level just to keep the country running, but it is extremely irresponsible to our new friends and neighbours to say please join us here, but sorry we are short housing, health care workers, etc. There have been numerous studies on our housing situation. A BMO economist recently said the housing shortage was a myth based on the rate of building vs the rate of immigration over the last few years, but at the same time other economists have said we are short 1-1.5 million residences. The CMHC recently said that by 2030 we will need an extra 3.5 million homes, and that is above the 2.3 million they say is planned in that time frame. Aside from issues like getting approvals to build, having necessary materials available, there is very little/zero chance that we will have the necessary skilled labour available to pull off all of this construction. If anyone has time, you can also check out the massive increase in the development fees charged by the various regions and municipalities. I know all of government is looking for money, but these increases are to me obscene. I know most are unsympathetic to the builders, but we all should note that these fees are ultimately passed on to the Buyers. There are stats available showing that the US and Canada are amongst the lowest countries in the developed world for available housing per capita. It is no coincidence that we both have major cities that are extremely expensive to try to buy or rent. Aside from our population growth, there has also been the growth in popularity in AIR BNB's, and the number of households with a single occupant has grown from 1.7 million to 4.4 million over the last 40 years. These issues are rarely mentioned, but they alone would eat into the availability of long term rental or owner occupied residences. Hopefully there are better days ahead. Everyone be well!

[@pipkingdom]

Like Trump acolytes, the developers never say we should take a shot since everyone else has. Why have the rich ruined the landscape across all sectors? Stock markets, banking, pharmaceuticals, agriculture. Then complain the economy doesn’t return them enough profits. Subsidized welfare state for the rich.

[@alexanderwesner9980]

CCP is awesome. Blackwater even better

[@keikairin2038]

The 1.5 million shortage ....is the illegal immigration and the business hiring of foreign folks over local workers. You guys do realize that right? I'm sick of hearing people say there are no workers. I know for a fact there are tons of white Canadians out here being refused for work over importing folks. I am one of them. The businesses and landowners are spreading false propaganda just to convince folks to support them being here. They're trying to pump this country full of foreigners to pay THEIR bills and fill their rental units. News flash, they're buying houses like you folks, not renting. You're jumping on THEIR bandwagon and hiking rates to match THEM. You're trying to get 1-2 people in normal jobs to pay legally to live in the same unit as 6-8 of them here illegally working minimum wage. This is why THEY can afford those rates, and WE cannot. When they lose those minimum wage jobs because they're caught or downsized they end up not paying you rent, blackmailing you to sit on the property until they can find work. People in businesses who own these houses find them roles to extort rent again. They're not hired for qualifications. The landlords supporting illegal immigration is literally killing all of us to hide their corruption. That's all.

[@darwinleacock3868]

The GOVT is deliberately permitting this evil, SO NOTHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT!

[@RARochester]

This I found interesting.... " A BMO economist recently said the housing shortage was a myth based on the rate of building vs the rate of immigration over the last few years, but at the same time other economists have said we are short 1-1.5 million residences. " The BMO economist failed to factor in that college students exiting dorm life and entering the rental market and saddled with student loan debt are also competing for housing. For some, moving back home is not an option. In the US, according to RedFin; we are down 4.5 million housing units across the nation; the problem will persist for some time.

[@illes_invest]

Tokyo has 30 million people, Sao Paolo has 20 million people. There is zero reason why Canada, the second largest country in the world should have a housing shortage. Government needs to get out of the way.

[@derick3482]

largest country on the map so what? it doesn't mean anything most of canada is unhabitable

[@kimmansour7160]

That’s the problem the government isn’t doing anything

[@SuperKing604]

@@derick3482few places on earth are uninhabitable. Stick a 1 million person city in Northwest Territories and can i can make it habitable. Its all about money now to make a place habitable

[@derick3482]

@@SuperKing604 yeah sure when windchill is minus 40 who doesn't want to live there

[@unities82]

Canada is accepting +400,000 immigration each year. Tokyo or Brazil have not even close to that number and Canada is less populated then the country you have given. I think Canada will continue to have housing shortage for next 15 years or more.

[@karmavaran2100]

Tenant moved in my property Oct 1. Didn’t pay damage deposit. Declined to pay rent as of Nov 1. Still trying to dispute thru Tenancy Board. Given numerous notices. Won’t move out. 😪

[@AraneDee]

As a Landlord and tenant, I see both sides. What I understand is housing is essential. What I understand is as a landlord having properties I need to remember empathy amongst all. I need to remember everything goes both ways. I’ve only ever truly had 1 “bad” tenant. Why? I left a friend in charge while I was away, there was damage unresolved and the tenant got annoyed and it created issues. Understandable. As a landlord, I don’t feel superior or think people can just move if they don’t like it. This is a business transaction going both ways. When my variable mortgage got crazy, I NEVER used my properties for income gouging. I need landlords to understand that it’s okay to pay. Too many of you want to not pay a thing. You think you’ve done enough signing a mortgage and now expect your tenants to pay every last thing. That’s the biggest issue 🤷🏽‍♀️ Most don’t do jack shit or upgrade a thing. You only see or hear from them when it’s time to get money. The quality of living needs to be respected. If more of us landlords remembered this and had the thread of homelessness hanging over our heads as renters do? You’d act better. There would be less landlord vs tenant threads 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@marcoprolo1488]

I won't exchange with an openly man hater.

[@jessicad2282]

Thank you so much for writing this, more landlords need to read this. Well said 💯

[@syedsalam8365]

A tenant can't walk out of a grocery store without paying. They'd call the police. Why then is it okay to rob a landlord of the rent? File a case with the LTB, wait a year and then he walks away saying he just doesn't have the money. During that time he is free to destroy your property as well. I think the people responsible for framing these laws deserve the maximum time behind bars.

[@brianlagace57]

Tenants who don't pay are causing would be landlords to stay out of the rental market

[@Peacenutman]

I completely agree, this is devastating to small pop and mom landlord, but to big landlords who own several properties, it's nothing.

[@dracorpgroup]

>Years ago with a few friends we bought some small properties for the rental market basically as a means of saving for the future. It was a nightmare. We were abused. Tenants would come in, pay three months then nothing for the rest of the year and leave. To get the tenant we had to offer one month free, paint the apartment and varnish the floors. Or, the tap dripped so they would not pay. It ended up before the board and dragged for months. They had all the excuses. >The places were left dirty and damaged. This lasted for five years then we sold everything; never again!! The tenants have problems now; too bloody bad. If you cannot afford the rent, tough, double up with someone. >The rental boards are politically for the tenants. No wonder developers will not build for renters. Building condos is better for them. As for affordable housing, forget that, it won't happen. Period. >Now, if the rental boards had been fair to both parties then we would not have the situation as at present. The boards should have kept a log of who rented and skipped out on the property owner. In this way the board could assist in the recovery. These renters got away with theft. Too fricking bad. Go live in a tent.

[@ThomwoththeWeather]

right now, if you walk out of almost any store with product you didn't pay for, they let it happen.. too dangesous in this age to stop someone.. this is in Penticton, BC

[@clarifyingquestions]

@@ThomwoththeWeather yup - and when safe the owner calls the police - it is called robbery.

[@BBBros87]

"It's the fundamental issue of a capitalist society." That hit the nail on the head.

[@pitchfowl390]

Yes. Canada has systemically violated fundamental human rights to housing. For profit housing has been prioritized and marginalized folks are continuing to suffer the most.

[@mauriceharting5877]

There is no better economic system than the capitalist one we have. Communism has been tried in Russia and China and has killed millions.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@mauriceharting5877 And left countless countries including Russia bankrupt.

[@drwalka10]

Zoning laws isn’t a capitalist concept, it’s a government policy

[@veryexcellentniceguy9641]

@@drwalka10This. I'd say we'd have a ton more mixed use development if zoning wasn't a thing

[@socialpublisher123]

Homelessness is going to be the new middle class for Canada and the United States.

[@NatalieChickee]

Applause to CBC for opening up comments. I hear so many stories of families having a hard time with food because of their housing costs, both renters and home owners! These people all have children This is where the Government has truly failed because it doesn't have to be this way. I also appreciate CBC addressing this terrible situation. This situation has to turn around because it has become dire.

[@rps1689]

It is so bad, that even in the regions of Canada where housing is supposedly "affordable" like in NB for example. People are selling because they can't afford the groceries (which has one of the highest costing groceries in the country) and can't afford the utilities and taxes. Imagine having a home paid for and you have to sell it or get a large equity loan to make ends meet. Plus NB has the worst tenants' rights in the country and no annual cap on rent increases. The things landlords do here, I could never get away with as a landlord in BC. The proportion of renter household income spent on rent and utilities in NB is much higher than some equivalent size places in BC and Ontario where there are better jobs with higher pay. Margarine in NB is almost ten dollars, 4 litre milk over 8 dollars, and the list goes on. Items on sale here are still more expensive than groc items in ON and BC at regular prices.

[@barcelonachair6487]

Toronto and Vancouver would not have gotten this bad if wasn't for the lack of legislation on foreign investors in the last 20 years. Both municipalities wanted growth at an unprecedented rate and made a deal with the devil to acquire it. It left Canadians with an untenable Real Estate market that spread to other parts of the country, beginning in their respective provinces.

[@dantecallingham7069]

The issue was that everyone disagreed on which foreign investment we should hit, some said only china and others said only America then it just fizzled out

[@eemaanakhany]

That's part of the issue, but the slightly bigger issue is every second Canadian wanting to be a landlord

[@robertbridgen2950]

It is easy to blame everyone else for the housing problems. But the blame is on the shoulders of the government for not building enough homes as per the manifesto it was voted in power to do. The government forced higher prices to collect more money from the Builders to give permission to build. In turn, forcing up Land Transfer Tax and also forcing up house prices to get higher taxes. It was a win win win situation for the government. But the mistake was not forcing a livable wage at the same time. The magic money bubble burst. Many people in the next couple of years will lose homes over high mortgage rates. This is why Canadians are in the situation we are in today. The government destroyed the housing market.

[@barcelonachair6487]

@@eemaanakhany Every second Canadian wanting to be a landlord is fine, the problem is when they want to be part of short term rentals like Airbnb. Interest rates are higher so landlords mortgages have increased so they are trying to secure profit for their investment rather than breaking even. It seems like a moral conundrum as well as a financial one. I was able to negotiate a condo lease to 1150 month, one bed plus den whilst going through school in Toronto. I know the Landlord just broke even but he looked at his investment as a long term goal and he didn't need to gauge me in the process. Real estate never used to be considered a quick fix for money.

[@skoobiedew7967]

And then when they saw it has become a really big problem, instead of coming up with creative solutions to tackle the problem, it just slapped on a lump-sum tax hoping that the problem will go away. Foreign buyers buying properties is fine but it's the hoarding of their properties and not participating in our local economy and/or removing it from the pool of available housing for rent creating this artificially high demand for properties for resale or rent that eventually had ripple effects to the entire housing market across the country that's the problem. So instead of just slapping on a foreign buyer tax, what should be done is forbidding the hoarding of properties as investments and making it mandatory for them to be made available as properties for rent if multiple properties are involved.

[@samay4596]

As a student of economics in India, I am studying the housing crisis worldwide. You won't believe but this is true across the world, housing has become unaffordable in all the major cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Mumbai, Delhi, NY, Vegas etc). Economists need to find a solution to this besides making everyone understand how populist governmental policies have made fixed assets in the market extra expensive for the bottom 90%. Inflation is decided by the top 10% while the rest 90% suffer.

[@emmetcosten9453]

The solution is simple. Build more housing, build up the supply chain, repeal zoning and other absurd laws that make building housing illegal.

[@rubenvalente]

@@emmetcosten9453 That's not a real solution, the solution would pass firstly to create laws that would attract businesses and people to the interior also and away from cities that just grew too big for them to be environmental friendly and sustainable!

[@seanothepop4638]

wealth hoarding is getting strong and affecting the world no matter where the hoarding takes place, money is finite and it is hoarded. We are seeing the start of this. The world needs a unified tax bracket taht is consistently converted and applied to billionaires (based on a global wealth metric) no matter where they are, or we're screwed. So basically we're screwed and greed is it, it's the cause.

[@victorchen9170]

Definitely not Vegas. I've never seen more affordable housing in my life.

[@yifan1363]

Lower tax and interest rate to encourage building more housing. Forbid each person to buy their second housing before selling the old one. Give the first-house buyer the lower interest profit, attract big companies to move to middle and small cities by using tax or other profits

[@yxeaviationphotog]

I love the landlord's comment......"there are cheaper places to move too". Like it's that easy to pick up and move anywhere. Talk about our of touch.

[@donm2067]

Yeah Europe and Mexico lol. I've lived coast to coast and it's all unattainable now.

[@goalie2998]

How is that the landlords problem?

[@cstansfield02]

Talk about lazy and entitled

[@yxeaviationphotog]

@@goalie2998 His comment comes off as tone deaf and rather callous. There are a lot of people that can't just pick up and move.....moving is expensive enough when it's in the city......more expensive to pick up and move to a different region. In the end, it's not the landlords problem, but his tone comes across as very uncaring.

[@yxeaviationphotog]

@@cstansfield02 Who's the entitled one? Moving sucks and people want a certain level of stability with their living arrangements and not get priced out of an ideal home, just because someone can pay more than you for rent. That and moving to a cheaper region also means less services available, namely doctors, a lack of public transit, grocery stores and other shopping and if you drive and if you still work in the city, you're now having longer commutes and spending a lot more on gas. His comment is tone deaf.

[@devonmacdonald9897]

I think one fundamental part they're overlooking is the concentration of jobs in a few select cities. The number one reason people immigrate or move to the city is to pursue a career. This naturally drives up the demand if you're a young professional or family, especially if you're an immigrant. I've lived in Ottawa, Peterborough, and Kingston, ON, in that order. The reason I moved to Toronto was to get a job, because none of the other places that I lived in offered any, in terms of pursuing a career. Meanwhile, you have all of these suburban developments out in the middle of nowhere, with no local businesses within walking distance. These folks mostly drive into Toronto proper because that's where their work is located. There's no local commerce in the immediate area to sustain those suburban neighbourhoods. Places like Peterborough are desperate for jobs. When the major economic provider for the city is the GM plant located in Oshawa; a plant that has routinely threatened to shut down, it creates a lot of migration. Spread the jobs around, and hopefully the housing market will spread out as well.

[@rubenvalente]

Thank god someone who sees the problem and not one of those that insists in feeding the narrative that we must continue to support this giant cities!

[@timshorten9767]

What I'm not hearing discussed are the short-term rentals. I'm talking about airbnbs that were once housing families are now being used as hotel rooms. That has greatly affected the supply in the market. Homes are being purchased by investors yet no families are moving in they're being renovated and turned into short-term rentals. I believe this can be addressed through legislation that eliminates short-term rentals of four season properties where the owner is not also living at the property it will free up housing and turn some of those properties into long-term rentals helping bring down rents and making more properties available in the marketplace

[@j.w.2391]

Good point....You articulate another symptom of real estate speculators buying up homes, sub-dividing them, shuttering them, and/or turning them into short-term rentals. These are all Toxic strategies of the Property Owners so they can "maximum" their investment wealth or "minimize" their supposed losses. They dont care about the Human Costs of these odious practices.

[@timshorten9767]

@@j.w.2391 I don't want to say that they don't care about humanity when they have one property they may not appreciate the overall impact. There's also the problem that they may not want to rent to long-term tenants who in the end don't pay their rent. Something needs to be done about that so that good tenants don't suffer for their bad actions.

[@sammavitae114]

That is a big issue.

[@Soosan7981]

You are correct. But the reason for the short term rentals is because the Residential Tenancy Act favors non-paying tenants. If they made the Act more balanced, landlords would offer up their units for long tern.

[@nigelwaterhouse8833]

Banning them is a bandaid approach. These places operate using the same financing model as landlord #2 here, so if monetary policy were to tighten up, these kinds of unsustainable businesses will just go away all on their own.

[@Trund27]

This whole situation is out of control. Federal and provincial governments have to step in. It’s madness.

[@shauncameron8390]

Not really. Federal and provincial governments are part of the problem.

[@tobiastobias2419]

government doesnt care, because they themselves are rich, and they don't care about the population

[@mattt1994]

The Canadian housing situation is a disaster. It was one of the main decisions that led me to leave for the US after being born and raised in the GTA. I hope it can be fixed one day.

[@romeoandjuliet6522]

Is it better in usa?

[@AraneDee]

Right behind you. Leaving in a few days and not expecting to return.

[@mattt1994]

@@romeoandjuliet6522 Yeah I love it here. Much better pay, career opportunities, and more affordable living options.

[@mattt1994]

@@AraneDee Nice, best of luck!

[@AN-bs3hh]

This is what happen when we let politicians with little to no real estate or business background running the place. Let's face it. Most people would like to stay at populated area for convenient. No one really need 5000-9000 square feet property in dense location like Vancouver or Toronto. Rezoning is desperately needed in a lot of areas where condos and townhouses can be build.

[@AtharAfzal]

I really feel sad for the first lady who was talking about being a renter. I don't know why she would have sold her home and then decided to come back in the property market after 2 years? A lot of people have been trying this strategy out and it regularly failed. You're better off just going into a home purchasing it and trying to pay off as much as you can to try and control your cash flow. Over time as you build up your cash flow you can either decide to upgrade or downgrade your home.

[@katherinespencer2073]

And in your own home it is easier to invest in yourself thru further education to go next rung in your career AND in learning DIY skills to use all spare time wisely within your own home. And to accumulate building materials every time you think you have extra & might waste it on a take-out or order-in or another pcs of clothing since we all have running water now to get a weekly wash in....she has learned from this though obviously & has a chance to correct it & not repeat in future.

[@wc4109]

You said it, she tried timing the market, and Failed... can only blame herself...

[@nestorpoetus781]

@@wc4109 or it could it have simply been a change in jobs? Bottom line. It's greed. The Asian guy has said as much. My opinion is don't complain. No one complained when interest rates were low. Now that interest rates are high stop complaining.

[@AtharAfzal]

@@wc4109 yes if she did time the market then that should have been stated. She should have never sold in the first place, what she could have done was airbnb her initial home or rent it out and rent a smaller place for herself. I feel it was more bad decision making than blaming the market.

[@ayela562]

She might not have been timing the market. She might have needed to move for a job or family, or have gone back to school, or had debts she wanted to clear up. Everyone is so quick to judge.

[@shiveringnerve]

imagine being sympathetic for a landlord

[@FrontlinePros]

They might lose profit! On one of his buildings!!!!

[@Taras_ocean]

This is not a charity, it’s a business . If you can’t pay such amount for such house, then leave and go somewhere else.

[@shiveringnerve]

boohoo @@Taras_ocean

[@danniemoore97]

@@Taras_ocean if a landlord can't afford to pay his mortgage without a renter he should sell too, a bank shouldn't lend mortgages to people who can't pay for a few months without a tenant.

[@LaroLargo]

Landlords should be able to evict non-paying tenants in 45 days or less. If you don't pay, you don't stay.

[@syedsalam8365]

Agree 100%. The anti-landlord laws actually allow unscrupulous tenants to rob landlords of several thousand dollars of rent and cost of damages and get away with it. Even the fee structure is discriminatory. A landlord pays $200 something to file applications and a tenant $50 something. A tenant could be ten times richer than the landlord, but it is automatically assumed that the landlord is the rich guy.

[@jacobnapkins1155]

@@syedsalam8365 rob landlords the tenants literally paying the landlords mortgages if anything the landlord is robbing the tenants

[@syedsalam8365]

​@@jacobnapkins1155 Buy your own place, instead of expecting charity. You pay for goods and services ar grocery stores and banks; you don't say to the store manager, I pay for your salary.

[@jacobnapkins1155]

@@syedsalam8365 I own my own place and actually work for a living grocery stores actually create value landlords do not they deprive goods from being put onto the market and demand payment for doing so under the threat of homelessness and state backing

[@syedsalam8365]

​@@jacobnapkins1155 Is the grocery store also robbing you when you pay for the groceries? Paying for accommodation and food and gas is how it is in the world. Look for a homeless shelter, that way you won't be robbed.

[@365welive]

One thing that’s rarely touched upon is the younger generations, I mean how does one born 1998> expect to even get started in the housing/rental market? Trust me we don’t want to live with our parents forever, but at the same time in major cities there’s no alternative when rents $3.5k+.

[@datapatch7381]

@@katherinespencer2073 so much privilege in th is reply...

[@joeflake5829]

Hang in, don't give up. I got started about 30 years ago with a couple of friends. To be fair, they were both very responsible and hard working, and we all made sacrifices. You would need family/friends you can trust. We started out with a couple of places with rental income as well as living spaces and built from there. We had very high mortgage rates at the time, even though the prices were lower. I know we could do the same thing today. Best of luck!

[@22chachalaca]

@@katherinespencer2073 this is hilarious... Go get your calculator and do the math. It takes 90% of an avg household income to buy a house. 30 years ago it took what, 30%???

[@nestorpoetus781]

@@katherinespencer2073 It has nothing to do with haircuts. Look at the time it takes to save for down payment. To see for a down payment in Toronto right now an average income requires 25+ years. During your time it was less than 5 years. Haircuts right? I myself have a down payment of 200k. I find myself priced out of the market. We have a family income of over 200,000. I had a down-payment of close to 90k, after 7-8 years of working. This included paying off my student debt (30k) - I stayed in the city. Did not go away for school. Guess what. You will say don't take a loan for school. I didn't have a choice. I was not allowed to work part-time because I grew up in government housing. If I worked part-time while going to school, it counted against my mom's rent. So forced to take a government loan aka OSAP. I've never been on a vacation. My fiance cuts my hair. I typically purchase reduced food at the grocery market. Don't go to concerts or movies. We go to a restaurant once a month. Care to tell me what I'm doing wrong? It's getting a bit ridiculous if it takes you 25+ years to save a down payment. The issue is you're looking to profit yourself from others, chalking it up to hard work.

[@Queenb2001]

@@katherinespencer2073 The last few years alone, the housing markets in Toronto increased about 20% each year. Young people CAN NOT out save the market in it's current state.. A few year ago before the pandemic, Yes I young person could Save and cut there expenses enough to get into the market, with a decent downpayment and manageable mortgage. Now Young people need to get a windfall from either the Bank of mommy and daddy or inheritance.

[@sarah2172]

if you can't afford buying a second home then why buy it as an investment vehicle in the first place? All investments have risk of loss or depreciating, people have this mindset that if you're a landlord you SHOULD be promised a profit / value of home goes up / should get a monthly profit off of the housing NEED society has. It's wild that this is the norm, people should be buying a home to own for themselves to live in, not being greedy and buying multiple to profit off of someone else and contributing the to housing crisis and shortage. Greedy landlords are PART of the reason why people cannot afford down payments, and gobbling up multiple properties as 'investment vehicles' certainly does not help

[@ddhqj2023]

People (individuals) buy a property as an investment with the idea that after all the costs (mortgage, property, insurance, repairs) there will be a SMALL amount left that can be counted as income. We rented decades ago, charged $810 a month and out of that $125 was our retirement income. But if a roof needs to be replaced suddenly or plumbing needs come up, a landlord can end up with nothing. Landlords don't just pocket a wad of cash every month.

[@chadcowie7715]

We need more attention on this issue!!!!! It is a silent crisis!! Homelessness is so close for so many

[@marilynhobson303]

The ministry of BC allows $375 for shelter. You can't even get a room for that unless you live in the hotels downtown Vancouver. The rents are outrageous and that's why there's so many people on the street you think the government would help fix that in some way. Need to lower the rents or at least make it that landlords are not allowed to up the rent past $900 a month.

[@uromvictor]

Why should the government regulate someone pricing. Government should build more houses that's their duty and the have failed at it.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@uromvictor But they got out of that business in the 90's.

[@PotterSpurn1]

@@uromvictor The problem is that big landlords buy up all of the smaller, more affordable private housing. That is the problem.

[@mikewalsh7793]

@@PotterSpurn1 This is an inherent problem with Capitalism. If you don't like it, we need to be like Cuba, rent is very cheap in Cuba, but doctors make 15 bucks a month.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@mikewalsh7793 But the housing is dilapidated and doctors have to work a side job to supplement their meager state wages.

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

The bungalow I used to live in not far from me was flipped and sold recently, for 340:000$ and that’s just one small house! The housing crisis is insane!

[@K-SD-DAD]

This is what happens when you allow foreigners/investors buy properties in Canada and leave it empty for years then sell it for insane profits.

[@bartlemington2003]

Yup!

[@casual35]

Enough with the foreigners. That's not the reason!

[@thetahedgecapital1008]

I love when people say the simple solution is to "Build more housing" if you cant afford to live in a century old house, what makes you think a brand new build would be less expensive ?????

[@renko9067]

For starters. Housing for profit is a massive conflict of interests. We owned a condo in a tower with 200 units. One person owned 20 of them. Investors push up prices. Start there.

[@ejcash7234]

Best comment I've heard in this forum. This guy Yim and the other lady's goal was to make a profit on the back of their tenants. The advocate is right, you can't keep building condos for rich people when there's a housing crisis.

[@KeanHor]

No investor doesn’t push up price. It is the government that push up the price so that the government can get more tax dollars in. Imagine government allows unlimited building of new houses. The supply is over demand the price will drop. It is because new houses are so pricey that the market becomes unbearable.

[@ddhqj2023]

Condo owners also push up prices. Especially in these days. They bought a condo five years earlier, then discover when they sell it because they need to move, that prices have gone up and now they can get a couple hundred thousand more! Are you suggesting that those homeowners should not take what they can get? I would bet you good money that if you bought an apartment five years ago and found yourself in the same situation, you would take the increased money. Guaranteed you would not turn it down and say 'no I only paid $400,000 so that's all I want, not the $650,000 I can get now'.

[@ddhqj2023]

@@KeanHor That's so ignorant.

[@jackdu6901]

So many horror situations that the renters do not pay rents plus destroyed the properties and the landlords could not do anything about that so most people rather left the houses be unoccupied than rent them out just not worth the aggravations and headaches with the rentals especially since the pandemic.

[@armchairwanderer1287]

Been there done that. Sold our properties and got out of the rental business.

[@corneydasilva5831]

Rbnb double the taxes, renters cap rental and base on 30% on the mortgage value, so 70% its pay by the landlord. Stop flips houses, it's a 200% over year. Abuse its abuse. And 5x taxes on Multi-property 30xh properties.

[@adaptercrash]

I think its the other way around landlord's just don't care, aren't licensed and match real estate value

[@sachadee.6104]

@@armchairwanderer1287 same here.

[@adrianransome304]

@@corneydasilva5831 your proposition only works if you think that landlords pay for those increases. Implementing will cost tenants even more.

[@caroleannekerr708]

How about having a panel of regular people who are struggling with rental payments. Who are not well paid executives in high paid salaries. Very disappointed with selection choice, but not surprised.

[@katherinespencer2073]

Or organize vetted groups which would buy houses together the way new immigrants do. Mini co-ops

[@TheClownWorldShow]

There is one problem though, many normal ppl will eventually give up trying to stay in the bit fancy city that they cannot afford to live instead trying to find a person or group to blame for their lack of wanting to face reality and move.

[@FredCarver]

Bylaws and red tape is the real issue, in Sannich in Victoria builders tell us it takes up to two years just for building permit then they told to apply for a development permit and fees are through the sky

[@mikewalsh7793]

Vote NDP, they're going to take that power away from municipalities.

[@FredCarver]

@@mikewalsh7793 No need they're already in the Government

[@connorletkeman3539]

Canada has more vacant houses than we do houseless people. The idea that red tape just gets in the way of rich people who want to help us us neoliberal swill

[@mayalunics4740]

The rental situation is so bad in NYC that landlords are leaving their rentals empty or using the space for other purposes.

[@jaclynbannister1877]

Because the law in NYC protects non paying tenants. It's not worth the risk to landlords anymore, they're better off leaving their properties empty. I've had a non paying squatter in my house in Queens for 4 years. We finally received good news from a judge, and can now evict, but it's still a lengthy process moving forward.

[@mayalunics4740]

@@jaclynbannister1877 4 Years ?! It's criminal what the court and government are doing.

[@ActionZ]

tax + time delay = no profit margin for developers. No profit = no building = high current housing costs. Everyone hates on the big developers, but it's not their fault to want to make a profit. You wouldn't work for free, why would they? The problem is in the policies and gatekeepers, not landlords or developers, large or small.

[@kernalbert4939]

What's a reasonable profit margin in your eyes?

[@mauriceharting5877]

here are a variety of reasons why rents are extremely high these days: 1. Property taxes and municipal services are extremely high which costs are passed on to renters 2. The long term rentals comes with expensive repairs as tenants abuse the property 3. The Rental Board sides with renters over 90% of the time, which is unfair 4. Homeowners rather have their homes without long term rentals and leave that space empty or use it themselves 5. Short term rentals (airB&B) have the advantage of greater income with lower risk of damage and insurance Solutions for long term rentals are: a. Lower property taxes and municipal service costs b. Hold tenants more accountable for damage they create c. Have an impartial and fair Rental Board review d. Encourage home owners to place their empty spaces up for rent with municipal insurance e. Short term rentals should be limited in time per year, but only if items a through d are dealt with properly.

[@mauriceharting5877]

@@Savana_trackers It is more than political will! It requires politicians and the public sector to sacrifice some of their financial advantages when compared to the private sector by lowering their salaries with the result of lowering taxes. It is a power struggle and they don't want to give up power and instead they want more power!!!

[@shauncameron8390]

@@mauriceharting5877 And laying off public-sector workers.

[@mauriceharting5877]

@@shauncameron8390 When I see 5 public sector workers looking into a hole they have to dig and only one is shoveling it tells me that at least 4 can be laid off.

[@FrancisSiuChock]

This is a much bigger discussion than a 10:44 Vlog. A great one at that. Not even touched on is Short term rentals (Air BnB etc.) which have definitely taken inventory out of the market for the exact reasons the lady in red is going through where you get non-paying tenants who walk away after a year. Others that need to be at this table: Municipal, Provincial and Federal Governments and Developers. Other issue is when cities grow (such as here in Toronto) they need to have the housing to accommodate which is all part of zoning and policy. If you look at other cities they are far more expensive and I often ask myself how you can afford to live there just like I ask how you afford to live here too.

[@landlordnation]

We have the same problems here in the U.S. If you find a solution please share.

[@KennethYimHomes]

Supply is the answer. It always has been. But implementation is hard, between NIMBYism in urban environments vs creating transit infrastructure because of urban sprawl, physical constraints on the capacity of the construction industry, increasing materials and labour costs due to heightened demand, and now throw in a high interest rate environment to combat inflation, the problem is extremely difficult to solve.

[@zuzanazuscinova5209]

@@KennethYimHomes Yes. The only solution is the government taking over and building more housing since there's no incentive for private builders to do so. However, this will bring down values of existing housing. Something's gotta give.

[@tobiastobias2419]

ever heard of georgism?

[@landlordnation]

@@tobiastobias2419 Yes! Just looked it up

[@lindazha]

Renting is a risky business and that also discouraged landlords from renting. That also contributed to shortages since private landlords do not want to rent their basement or coach home. The hassle sometime outweighs the reward.

[@couchpotatoe3204]

Absolutely. Rented our basement for two decades to 1 excellent tenant, now she's gone and we're not renting it ever again. Too many scammers in Ontario these days and there's no practical way to deal with them. Laws favour tenants and the landlord and tenant board is essentially non-existent. No thanks. Renters can look elsewhere.

[@jamiek1714]

@@couchpotatoe3204 100% agree. My former landlord said the same. His family is winding down their $8 million real estate portfolio and bought stocks last 6 years. They're very happy. Why deal with bad tenants? If the laws were not biased toward renters, then more people would rent. I've heard horror stories of bad tenants.

[@marysinclair1214]

You can't get the tenant out if they don't pay the rent or destroy your property. I sold my house because I didn't want the hassle of renting it anymore. I had to pay my tenant to leave by my closing date. The LTB is backed up she knew it would take 8 months to get a hearing.

[@jakan6793]

I think while they are not building enough, the problem is not in scale with the deficit in building. The problem is only those who already have can buy more homes and those trying to enter the housing market are kept out. The banks put up blockades and the credit bureau puts up exclusions. Both together make for good gate keeping. The credit bureau as a third party accountable to no one, should NOT be allowed to have so much sway in what is a right (not privilege)

[@shauncameron8390]

Since when was housing a right? And rightfully so. They don't owe anyone credit or mortgage.

[@carkarlaw]

It would be nice to see some hard figures (immigration, own vs rent ratio, property amount per Canadian, price increase in construction, etc).

[@pumpjackmcgee4267]

@@lutzaby1997 Supply/demand. It's a sudden surge of more people into an already squeezed market.

[@ryma710]

Currently going through a slum lord situation. We have no heat, little hot water and infestation. Our rent is $1700 and very difficult as we have to afford the repairs ourselves

[@katherinespencer2073]

Which should be addressed immediately by health department. Call the reporter from the newspaper tht you tend to tweet with or email to re. their stories...or the talk show host whoes program you support also in spare time.

[@truthandnothingbut]

You should be able to use the rent money for repairs if the landlord doesn’t comply.

[@joeidaho5938]

My neighbour is going through the same thing. The problem is that if someone complains too much, the landlord can take over the property and sell it to a developer...or something similar. When housing is barely affordable, there are few options for tenants...and the law often does not protect the tenant at all. Losing a low rent home....can be a real knockout hit for a tenant....who is then often just looking at homes with much higher rent....that they can't pay.

[@Lillyofthevalley222]

Stop paying your rent. Seriously! The lady in the red shirt just confirmed what I have been reading. There is an 8 month wait for a landlord to get to court to start an order towards eviction. You obviously don’t want to be evicted, but I guarantee if you withhold your rent and demand repairs you’ll get a response. Right now landlords know they can’t do anything because the courts are so backlogged.

[@KennethYimHomes]

@@Lillyofthevalley222 not paying rent will just bruise your own credit and you risk getting a judgment on your name, which can be taken to collections and eviction. Sure it may take 8 months more or less, but it will happen. Call the municipal licensing standards, they can force the landlord to fix things.

[@dancampeau1963]

I lived in a cheaper part of the country, but there wasn't any good paying jobs. There is no situation where you can come out ahead unless you already own your home, and it's paid off.

[@romeoandjuliet6522]

Which parr u live

[@dancampeau1963]

@@romeoandjuliet6522 Northern New Brunswick

[@katherinespencer2073]

All depends on what you have been educated to, what special skills you have, what you offer to employers. Like all the supersmart who went to California or the talented who went to NY for ops. But for a lot of people a wide variety of locations would still give them access to the type of career path they worked themselves towards...but could mean a lot less stress living in a modest place. Transportation issues need to be fixed in rural places. That is where gov't needs to contribute for buses, mini van car pools etc.

[@kellykajander3115]

U NEVER OWN A HOME NEVER! 🕵️‍♀️..U R ONLY LED 2 THINK U OWN..U NEVER WILL..EASY SUCKER KEEPS JUMPING 4 THAT WAYYYYY OVERPRICED MORTGAGE PRISON/FINANCED CAR PRISON...ALL overpriced by design 2 keep u SLAVING OFF THE BEST YRS OF YOUR LIFE ..THEN? TAXES GO UP👆 VALUE GOES DOWN👇& MAINTENANCE HEADACHES ENSUE/ 🤔mayb PARTNER DIES😓 IF U CANT PAY UP THE TAXES? NOW U R HOMELESS.U MUST KEEP PAYING 2 BREATH..U R NEVER FREE. U WILL NEVER B ALLOWED A HOME..

[@kellykajander3115]

OWNER? =A MORTGAGE PRISONER WHO WAS FOOLED 2 THINK HE WILL EVER OWN ANYTHING... RENTERS? = THE DESIGNATED LOSERS AKA THE BONE THEY THROW 2 THE MORTGAGE PRISONER SO TOP PREDITORS CAN RAKE OFF MORE-THE PUPETMASTERS GET RICH..NO 1 ELSE DOES..then? PUPPETMASTERS can laugh it up large at the billionaires clubs..😄😅🤣how bout those court battles when the covid moratoriums ended..hahaha ha ha..

[@nameless_no_name]

I am a renter. I have been am owner. Trudeau wants to make sure renters are not screwed. However, if landlords cannot make money...too bad. A land lord is not a public service-it is a business. Renters living in communities, having kids, dog.... these are their choices. If you cannot afford 3k rent in Vancouver, don't live there. Move to Alberta Nobody is going to bail me out if I cannot pay the mortgage

[@james-kc7xk]

Can't wait until it all comes crumbling down

[@richardkusimenkah]

Its a rough situation. I'm a landlord to a couple of properties in Edmonton Alberta and ive been lucky. However my current tenant who has 2 kids in the basement suite 2bed 1 bath and kitchen, let her mom, brother brothers friends and 2 dogs come into the suite. After going through various avenues working on getting them outta there, its safe to say that they are officially squatting and it's been a headache. One of the adults moved out but the rest remain. Utilities wear n tear it all goes up and needs to be compensated for. So ive had to raise rents and utility contribution.( Theres literally 8 living bodies in a dwelling designed for 4max) original tenant says the extra family are trying to find a place but are struggling. And they will continue to because its getting harder to find places to live. I dont wanna put anyone on the street but there has to be compensation and cant just have people living for free while all these other things such as maintenance etc just gets jacked up. I offered for the family to stay with rent increase they denied and said they will try and find thier own but they can't and as i see it, it's is a ploy to squat longer.

[@JJs_playground]

As a landlord myself the comment made by Ken (the landlord in this video), "you can move" is frankly a ridiculous one.

[@melanie5208]

Thats the thing you use to be able to

[@dwights1024]

Well you can, nobody’s stopping you

[@JJs_playground]

​​@@dwights1024 it's not always that simple. There's family issues, family ties, community ties, you can't just get up an leave. It's not always that simple.

[@izzy2116]

...and no one should have to move anyways.

[@LittleMissCuki]

Yeah I didn't like that remark as well because it showed me he only cares about money. I understand what he means You can try to find a cheaper place somewhere but getting up and taking your whole life somewhere else it's not easy and starting all over also they are not many options that will give you the same rent before 10 years ago people could get and move around for the same rent amount now is crazy My family we have houses we rent in Dominican Republic and there have been some renters that are terrible and don't pay rent but at least we don't have to worry about losing our home because once you buy land it's yours You don't need to keep paying land taxes for that land.

[@EmelyPhan]

There are tons of abandoned homes and lots in and around Toronto. Many of them have been sitting abandoned anywhere between a several years and a few decades.

[@syedsalam8365]

Food is just as important as shelter, if not more. You can't walk out of a grocery store without paying; they'd call the police. If you can't rob a grocery store or a gas station, why is it okay to rob a landlord of the rent? Live without paying for up to a year, trash the property and then disappear without even leaving a forwarding address. The screw-the-landlord laws don't require that they provide you the address. Also there's no price control on anything from bread and butter to gas, why then a rent cap? Is Canada a socialist or communist country? Most states in the US don't have rent caps, like it should be in a free market economy. It is customary in most countries to have a two month security deposit for damages, refunded after inspection, when the tenant is leaving. Canadian laws don't allow that. So there's nothing stopping the tenant from destroying your property. All he has to say is: he never did it. If there was a security deposit, he won't risk damaging. One month in arrears and the tenant should be out on the street. It is not the job of private citizens to take care of the housing needs of society. If a couple has a condo in addition to their primary residence and rent out the condo for survival income, that condo should not be allowed to become the target of crooked unscrupulous free loaders. And the LTB should not be coddling, allowing free rein to these crooks.

[@kittyfan]

I was in an apt for 25 yrs.....then the landlords did the "get rid of the rent control tenant, paint the place, double the rent" thing. I paid rent in full on time EVERY month, and did most of the repairs myself.....the landlord couldn't be bothered.....he let the skylight leak for 20 + yrs til the ceiling almost fell in. I fixed it with tarps and rocks over the skylight, and duct taped the ceiling back into place.

[@katherinespencer2073]

That landlord was an idiot obviously or had serious problems of some kind which prevented good decisions regarding responsibility to own building & tenant.

[@julv5767]

Current statistics are Canada needs 7 million more homes by 2030, and were only on track to having approved 3 million. These landlords are not the problem - 1) you have a small landlord with one property, she is not getting paid her rent and has a mortgage to pay - every month she is losing thousands of dollars she cannot get back unless she wants to go through a lengthy/costly legal battle. 2) for the large developer - developing is not only expensive (that is not the issue - landlords will more than willingly spend the money) but it’s extremely difficult to get approved to build. It can take 20+ years for some permits in certain areas to be approved, locals block projects by going to the city sometimes. Even the guy who wants cheap rent in this video but is mad about the building noise - be happy somethings being built. And be scared single renters want to pull out because the risk of a bad tenant is too high for them. We need way more units - housing and rental.

[@tobiastobias2419]

if landlords ask so much money, that people can't even pay their other bills, than they are offcourse causing big problems. Can you think ?

[@dracorpgroup]

>That is exactly the problem. During the '70s housing went from being shelter to being an investment in a market. Then everything changed. Markets are unstable. >When I was growing up in the '50s all the renters had jobs and all the renters had an understanding with their landlords. Take care of the property, fix small thing, paint the place and pay the rent. If you do that I won't raise the rent. These landlords and these tenants were working class people. So they had a deal and it worked. >Then the rental boards, Regie in Quebec, came and played politics. There were many more renter so they represented votes. The tenant got the support the landlord got the shaft. That is how it started. The relationships between landlords and tenant deteriorated to the point where the landlords lost out. As a consequence builders switched to building condo instead of rental apartments. I had tenants a few decades ago. Never, never again. They destroyed my little business and did not give two s***s about my property or me. I sold everything. As far as I am concerned they can go live in a tent or in their cars. Now it is my turn not to give two s***s. >Over the years I worked hard, lived modestly, managed to build equity. Then I bought a house as prices were rising but sold when I was in my mid-fifties. Next, I bought a small one bedroom condo for me and my two cats. I paid down the mortgage; now I live comfortably on my 60% equity, small income, my pensions, no debt and the odd benefit. >The problem today is people want two high-end SUVs with all the gadgets, the big house filled with stuff. It is all too much. The trade off is they have debt, they have no family around them so they are vulnerable and either no equity or savings. As they get over 70 they will be living in their RVs, or doubling up with others. I paid a huge price trying to build some security. For years I treated tenants well; all I got was abuse. Now, they can go live in a tent or their cars for all I care. It is going to get worse, much worse. >We in this country are spoiled. We drive expensive SUVs with all the gadgets but complain while gasoline prices are still lower than a bottle of Perrier. Grow up.

[@andreaslind6338]

OK boomer 👍

[@romeoandjuliet6522]

Wow v nice story you share lovely

[@dracorpgroup]

@@romeoandjuliet6522 / @Andreas Lind Thank you for your replies. Here is the key to how the relationship between landlord and tenant deteriorated here in Montreal. It is a political problem. One linguistic group represented sixty to sixty-five percent of the tenants in the city. The government sought their support politically. They did this by passing landlord-tenant laws that favored the tenant. >The key problem was that if a property owner kept the monthly rent low to keep a good tenant, then, if ever that tenant had to leave, usually for work, then the rent could not be raised back to the market level to catch up so to speak. This forced all landlords to raise the raise the rent each month by a set percentage. This broke the good relations between the landlord and the tenant. Control shifted to the government. The minority property owner got shafted; so, builders shopped building apartments and switched to condos. Now, it is getting completely out of hand. Rents are as high as the new condo towers and these keep getting higher. There are other reasons.

[@shoobydoobiemauiwowee]

I've had many negative experiences in dealing with crooked landlords in Canada...it's like having condescending parasites in your circle...I hope we can give future generations a way better foundation to build on. I think a good long term strategy could be to de-commodify our survival...ensure safe housing, clean water, healthy food, quality education, and full health care, while planning future development to be in harmony with the Earth and with each other. It doesn't mean that everything should be free, just that no one needs to go without. We could create a community builder simulator so every citizen could be a part of the solution, using scientific data, artificial intelligence, and Permaculture principles to ensure a basic standard of living, while also voting on the most logical and ethical solutions.

[@markusplatzer8300]

Were I live there is such a shortage of housing that crooked landlords with derelict properties, that should be condemned, are allowed to continue to rent without being forced to fix their properties. It would put someone out of a home.

[@cedriclasry9151]

De-commodifying survival would be a great idea but tell that to the majority of candians who use their home(s) as a retirement plan. At the end of the day it's about voters and there are more people in canada who own property than rent it, it is in their interest that prices keep climbing.

[@shoobydoobiemauiwowee]

@@cedriclasry9151 Thanks so much for responding thoughtfully and respectfully, I appreciate you.

[@donaldlyons17]

@@cedriclasry9151 Yeah I feel so many people look at their home as a store of cash..... Like no your home is for access to the basics you job(s) are you store of cash.....

[@clownbroadcastingchannel7335]

Dear CBC, I wish you released the entire long form conversation. These are the types of conversations we would like to be a fly on the wall for.

[@maxwells2602]

No city needs to be a renter nation due to our ability to build apartments. We can always find land to build more apartments and increase the supply, which lowers the cost of housing.

[@sammavitae114]

As the landlord says at the end - “It’s a fundamental issue of a capitalist society “.

[@derick3482]

no that's his way of being sympathetic with people "hey it's not me who is doing it it's the system" while he is loving it!!

[@alexfinkelson2610]

Try leaving in North Korea or Cuba if you don't l8ke capitalism:)

[@TheClownWorldShow]

The main issues of housing as it is a unique product unlike any other, is that government single handedly stifles it for decades through nonsensical and possibly malevolent regulation, so we are on a backlog for decades. And then they increase the total number of ppl in the country (immigration) and their voters dont put 2 and 2 together. You think you are a good Liberal voter wanting 500k new people every where, but you also want rent to be affordable and blame the "capitalists" - hint, all humans are capitals btw. Change your vote and immigration policy and address the backlog and why its occurring.

[@ThomwoththeWeather]

In Penticton, lower cost townhouses I live in are 3 bedroom for $1050 UNTIL you leave then they are $1500 to next tenant... that is almost 30% increase, and reality here is about $750 per bedroom in anything newer...

[@katherinespencer2073]

So the increase is almost equal to the property tax increase....then insurnace, utilities increases hardly get covered.

[@kathiejohns1418]

You mention about not building enough but the problem with that is those new units are even higher in price than the ones that already exist!

[@shauncameron8390]

Due to construction costs, permit fees, etc.

[@annabellemalo]

This idea that you can even compare the burden of rent increase with the rise of costs associated with purchasing rental property is so wild. Because a tenant isn't supposed to be responsible for higher mortgage. Sure your mortgage is higher but so is the value of your property. You're getting a better deal from the higher mortgage, which is a higher price when you sell or refinance. The tenant is getting zero added value. He's literally just paying more for you to enjoy all the benefits. This financialization of housing model is built on the expectation that rents paid by tenants should cover your mortgage (in reality, they believe rents should go beyond that because landlords expect to make short term profit as well), which is the fundamental problem that is fueling the crisis. Landlords feel entitled because they are going into this with big hopes of funding their retirement or bigger dreams of getting rich from investing in property. They don't see it as a social responsibility, they see it as a selfish right to profit. They don't see the human side of what their choice to invest in housing instead of other types of investment means in real life terms. They are incapable of grasping that every dollar they gain, whether short term or long term through their property value, is a dollar that comes from their tenants pocket, their tenants labour. They see themselves as so indispensable that their ability to make huge profit over the long term is something normal that they should be entitled to. Which is completely sociopathic but currently so normalized that they can still see themselves as victims. It's just wild, completely wild. I've had landlords for 25 years and I can tell you landlords before this shift to profit making did not have the same mentality, arrogant entitlement and predatory self centered attitude. They did not own rental housing with the expectation that their mortgage had to be fully paid by tenants or that their property was a means to short term profit. It was an investment with long term benefits (ie increasing property value over time). The current system is full of people not giving a crap that they are taking away the quality of life and their tenants life savings by the way of overinflated rent. It's gross. Like, you literally think being a landlord entitles you to have your tenants pay for you retirement and your kids inheritance of your accumulated wealth. Landlords are not forced to buy more property, no one's twisting their arm to take on mortgages for property they do not live in. Tenants NEED a roof over their heads. Stop making these two positions equivalent. They're not. If you can't afford your second mortgage, there's a pretty simple solution to your problem... DON'T GET A SECOND MORGAGE THAT YOU CAN'T AFFORD! Tenants don't have that option and you're even taking away their hope by using their down payment as a way to enrich yourself. Like, how can you not see this for how vile it is?

[@fanyao1393]

To be honest, it is not the landlord’s problem that the rent increases drastically over the past few years. Interest rate is raising, inflation is so high, property tax is skyrocketing.

[@RAM-db3ti]

This is similar to what I am going through and now I have pvc’s a heart condition from being so disturbed from my sleep and no other place to move due to cost. It will kill me me and they just want me out for more rent money to so no support not even the police as they are overwhelmed by so many housing problems.

[@RemMossey]

This was good but I feel like it needs to be much, much longer. This reminded me of all the conversations my friend group has about this, in that we also eventually just end after remarking how crazy everything has gotten for everyone. But then what? How long do we just comment on how bad things have gotten? Like the small landlord said, she can't survive 15 years of waiting for it to be resolved. Why is the LTB useless now? Is it a matter of capacity? Why can't we double their capacity? The conspiracy theorist in me wants to say that the Ford government is purposefully dragging their feet in fixing this so they can then justify all the proposed development of the GreenBelt. A little while longer of this and we'll be begging them to develop that land into more housing just for some relief in the market, which it will only do short term drop of housing prices/rental rates, but long enough for the the temporary relief it provides to make everyone forget that the reason we're in this crisis is because of fundamental mismanagment of government offices and resrources. I dare say wilful blindness and backroom dealing.

[@philisdaman99]

Absolutely agree. Housing is a complex issue but is ultimately rooted in supply vs demand economics and a long-form interview really would be the best way to hear all the affected sides. Would be a good 60-minute program to feature as I think the short format really paints Mr Yim quite negatively and that may not be fair. It should also include a prominent housing minister in one of the major municipal areas such as Toronto or Vancouver. Ultimately there is a severe shortage in purpose-built rental housing (for which governments take no responsibility for even though their policies have made it unattractive for developers to build rentals) and combining that with the record levels of immigration currently targeted, this will drive up the cost of the existing supply. This is what happens when you move more people into an area than you have homes built to accommodate them.

[@0x0x00]

Increased cost of construction materials, taxes, interests, strata....these are the fact. Landlords are losing out because renters are protected by law.

[@GanapTube]

This is a great content. You have tackled the elephant in the room. Please more of these discussions. I appreciate everyone in the panel.

[@raym.597]

Something I don't understand and hope someone can help me out as I am new to Canada. I read a lot of news which said the tenants don't pay rent for months and seems like the landlord cannot do anything about it. It just sound wrong to me. Is my understanding correct? Thanks!

[@lunar1427]

That is true. Mainly because the board that hears about landlord vs. tenant disputes are backlogged for many months. When the hearing is finished, the landlord will have to file a monetary order and ask for the tenant to pay. But if you can't find the tenant, how are they going to pay? Also tenants usually don't have that kind of money to give you. Can you draw blood from stone? Personally I feel if the LTB in Ontario or RTB in British Columbia can do quicker hearings, the stressful situation caused from both "bad" landlords and "bad" tenants can be mitigated.

[@KILEE-4yt]

Yes it's true some landlords end up with bad tenants who stop paying rent and it takes months to get them legally evicted & removed. Also some tenants will also damage property and have no was of making them pay for damages that exceeds the deposit. There is also bad landlords have unsafe buildings who don't do repairs for months or have bug, mouse rodent problems. It takes 6-9months to get a LTB(Landlord and Tenant Board) is shouldn't be that long but the government said they fell behind due to the pandemic. I hope this helps answer your question.

[@raym.597]

@@KILEE-4yt thanks. But I thought the pandemic is behind us for months now if not for year. I guess the LTB and the government need to speed up their work?

[@KILEE-4yt]

@@raym.597 LoL 😂 I totally agree with you.

[@Goldsavergamer]

Should have interviewed the red lady’s tenant. Ask them why they won’t pay rent and give other good renters a bad name.

[@j.w.2391]

Good point....Tozheg Roshankar is the landlond to whom you are referring. She was rather Mute and guilty looking about that. I felt she was repressing some kind of Unreasonable Rental Increase Conflict that she doesnt want interrogated. I would have liked to see the rental space looks like and ask her what the rent and utilities are.

[@pqunit]

I have a feeling there's more to that story than she's telling.

[@KennethYimHomes]

​@@pqunit we heard the story before we shot the segment, she had a professional tenant in there. They faked all the documents and they didn't catch it. It's quite unfortunate, and not representative of the majority of good tenants out there.

[@derick3482]

haha

[@derick3482]

@@KennethYimHomes ALL THE DOCUMENTS? even his birth certificate? with $25 you can get full credit check background check there is landlord history employment history ......

[@carl0064]

Let's assume these tenants bought properties with mortgage. Now interest rate has gone up a lot and is going up more, as well as property tax. Could they claim the same reasons they mentioned in this discussion to not pay full amount of higher mortgage and property tax, just because moving is a big hassle, or living community whatsoever?

[@shannonmcconnell9203]

Let's asume these landlords have a mortgage that is either already paid for or half the amount they are chaging for rent and they refuse to even fix a leaky tap. When they are done renting the value of their property has doubled or trippled and they have nothing our of pocket at their own expense besides the down payment. It's pure greed for the most part.

[@carl0064]

@@shannonmcconnell9203 So if you're the property owner, is there any plumber will fix any leaky tap for you for free? If you're renting an apartment from commercial company, is there any free plumbing service? Also I'm not sure if your city doesn't charge property tax at all, and your bank doesn't pay any interest for a big amount of money assuming property owner sold their property. BTW, $100 20 years ago was much more valuable than now and interests paid 20 years ago was even higher. You seems like saying, they are rich, so they don't deserve make reasonable profits any more.

[@shannonmcconnell9203]

@@carl0064 There is a difference between a reasonable profit and pure greed. Charging renters 3 to 4 K a month on a 50 year old home for something the renter will never own is insane. Then expecting the renters to fix any problems with it at their own expense is equally insane. Lets be honest now the property taxes and mortgage value are incorprated into the rent that is charged so it is not really an expense to the owner. The profit is in the sale value of the house. The renters pay the value of the mortgage + and the owner sell for 100% profit. But many owners are charging double the mortgage cost or more

[@cstansfield02]

100% profit? 🤣🤣🤣 taxes, upkeep and interest are things.

[@yxeaviationphotog]

@@cstansfield02 More than a few landlords out there who don't pay the money to upkeep their properties because profit is more important than providing a decent place to live for your tenants. With a former landlord, we had the furnace go out late in the evening (during the winter) and our landlord refused to pay for anyone to come out and fix it. He wanted to wait until morning......that's bs. In the end, the furnace had to be replaced, and he was forced too because he was given a deadline by Sask Energy. Add to that, all of the landlords trying to save a buck by doing repairs on their own, when they clearly need to have a professional do it. So more than a few landlords that skimp on the upkeep are just out for as much profit as they can get, while letting their investment rot away.

[@billsmall5830]

LTB brutal , I don't know how any small landlords can hang on to 10 months no rent payments and the Ltb doesn't care!!! If you want cheaper and more rental units Fix the Ltb!!!

[@syedsalam8365]

A tenant who doesn't pay should be out on the street. The communists who made the laws, allow the tenant to live rent free for up to a year. During that time he is free to destroy your property as well.

[@tommywong3147]

I have my own property and I can't even upgrade from a condo to a townhouse which is around 1.2 mil in my area. Even thought Im sitting on 500k of equity fortunately I just can't afford a 700k mortgage. It is a disaster. This country is messed up. If I own a property and I can't even afford how the hack can other people who doesn't have a property? It's not easy to save 500k with this cost of living. A 1 bedroom condo should be 250k not 700k a townhouse should be 350k not freaking 1.2 mil. I'm surprised there isn't some sort of riot already.

[@blobtv7444]

move

[@yaughl]

9:00 "The developer won't build if there is no profit". This is absolutely right. Unfortunately due to failings in our economic system, affordable housing is just not profitable, possibly operated at a loss depending on geography. Sure you can make regulation stating developers must allocate X% of their project be affordable housing, but if it makes the building venture unprofitable they will just not build. If the government does not subsidize the profitability gap for the developer, they will not do business here. As with all things, there needs to be a balance. The onus is on the government to fix housing, ensuring profitability for developers is the only way to attract them.

[@katherinespencer2073]

I remember when they had those schemes in Etobicoke & the tenants who really didn't belong caused enough problems that others slowly moved & the entire building became 'low rent' & after not too long looked it. A few bad tenants can ruin things for many. Like a bad student who was not properly raised to acceptable rule following & behaviors & steals time from all of the other students who want to learn, but still need some help & teacher attention.

[@k.t.5405]

"The developer won't build if there is no profit". Naaaah. The question is: "HOW MUCH profit?" Get these parasite developers out of the housing market. Retrofit and renovate what we already have.

[@yaughl]

@@k.t.5405 The amount of profit is up to the developer. They will look at different locations and pick the one(s) with the biggest payout. For example, say you are selling an item through an online marketplace listed as best offer. 2 people contact you, one offering $100 and the other $150. Who will you sell to?

[@bradm6287]

"profit" is attached to land price. You need to add density and allow people will large lots of subdivide.

[@kevinstfort]

There are plenty of areas of industry that aren’t profitable. That’s what the government is for. They aren’t interested in profit (or large profit), their interest is on the welfare of its society. Government should have a major hand in affordable housing with either building itself and/or incentivizing developers to do so. That will bring prices down and keep people from being put in these situations.

[@oriomssi]

The demand to resolve the issue now is simply not realistic. As expressed, the problem runs deep. Decreasing the cost for construction is opposed to Climate Spending, which has been the agenda on the table. We have a contradiction between the wealth of Canadians, and the wealth of the private-public sector, especially in the cities.

[@brianwong863]

Would love to see more like this, including investigatory pieces on predatory landlords and tenants. Let's bring the discussion back into the center instead of vilifying either side with extremes and pushing agendas.

[@MagicalSkyWizard]

Yea I’m sick of all the culture war crap. Discourse needs to be focused on housing, and phasing out the landlord class that create absolutely no value. We need non profit and affordable social housing that gives renters stake in their communities and the chance to save up for a down payment. I’d much rather have Vienna style council housing that is heavily regulated, offers equity, affordability and accountability to renters than to have to report another private landlord for sexual assault and get told my only option is to move.

[@finn6988]

"Bringing the discussion back to the center" is the problem. The solution when it is found MUST be off-center. Landlords are investors and they must take the loss on their investment for market reasons. This cannot be passed on to the tenant, because the tenant is taking care of a biological need. Housing is a right. Landlords' profit is NOT a right, it's an investment.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@finn6988 Housing is not a right. There's a reason why landlords and property-owners don't rent or sell to just anyone.

[@datnohi8612]

Or on corporations such as JPMorgan and Amazon buying up properties here in the USA 🇺🇸 and going by software to determine the rent

[@terenceyuen4424]

Yup. My cousin just had a nightmare tenant which had great references since she was was a successful realtor. She stopped paying rent and finally got her out after 8 months🙄............

[@kingjames4886]

on one side, landlords get rich quick schemes aren't working out... on the other people can't afford a home to live in... I wonder who I should side with?

[@shauncameron8390]

[@stephenmorris8557]

All a tenant has to say is 'the landlord refuses to collect the rent". They can then stay for free for 3 years !

[@bogdan78pop]

You do not have biding contracts ..that stipulate the length of that contract...are you living in BURUNDI..??

[@ashleyc506]

They touch on “professional tenants” with the woman in the video mentioning she has a tenant in her house that refuses to leave and won’t pay rent. Evictions in Ontario often take more than a year. Let’s say they are 10,000 people like this province wide that habitually extort rental revenue over the course of a year at $10,000 in losses each. 10,000x$10,000=$100,000,000. Over the last 10 years that would be a shortfall of $1,000,000,000. We were always going to run into this problem running deficits like that. The cause of the housing crisis is staring us in the face but no one wants to look.

[@jasonwang1572]

Canadian seems to be spoiled as only 30M population with the second large land in the world. Housing crisis should never happen in Canada if government encourages landlords to build more but for normal Canadians who should not expect to live a house in a big international city like GTA or Great Vancouver because it is basically density of population.

[@agoogleuseranonymous2658]

Exactly. Already at 35ish million we seem to hit the wall with housing, can't imagine what it will be in 10 years from now.

[@clarifyingquestions]

Vancouver and Toronto are not the only 2 cities in Canada, but if you insist on living there it will cost YOU.

[@RiverworksStudio]

I live in a small city 99 km from Toronto. In theory, we should have been better off here than in the GTA. But because of people moving here in droves from Toronto since the pandemic, it drove up the market and there’s no longer any affordable housing anywhere, not to mention the shortage of doctors. Like the woman said, it’s a national disaster no matter where you live now.

[@matthewadams5476]

Housing prices in Nova Scotia have at least doubled, if not tripled in the past two years alone. I live an hour and a half outside of Halifax in a very small town, and the rent here is comparable to what it was in the city two years ago. Housing prices there have gone up 500,000+ what they were just prior to the pandemic 2.5 years ago.

[@TheClownWorldShow]

There are few reasonable excuses for the situation, though it has to be said huge swaths of Canada lands are uninhabitable so that skews it. We only have 10-20 cities above 100k sorta thing if you could gta and greater Vancouver and greater Montreal each as their own, and immigrants got mainly to 2 of 3 of them.

[@ougmass]

Zoning, land use, and development restrictions thru tonnes of obsolite regulations and a mass of bureaucrates sitting on them, are the main cause of housing problems. Why this situation succeded in overcoming time and challenges? The answer is in the shooting up of the housing prices and those who are enjoying them, and making sure that nobody can miss round with those regulations and their bureaucrates.

[@shannonmcconnell9203]

The developers purchased our manufactured home park. Seniors with homes that were paid for in full will now all be demolished and there is no where to go.

[@donm2067]

Well kinda funny, the boomers are the ones who sold Canada down the river, guess they never thought it would affect them, just the younger crowd.

[@shannonmcconnell9203]

@@donm2067 What are you talking about

[@donm2067]

@@shannonmcconnell9203 the baby boomers and older fvcked over gen x, millenials and gen z. So I honestly enjoy watching the older crowd get their just desserts.

[@shannonmcconnell9203]

@@donm2067 I am gen x. How is it specifically that a baby boomer living in a mobile home park, working every day, paying their rent, mortgage and taxes f#d you over? And you think it's funny when they get thrown out on the street when they are to old and sick to work and pay rent that is three times their pension. Yep everybody sure f#d you over because you are broken. Look inwards.

[@hyena280]

The seniors did the right thing to buy trailers they could afford versus over extend themselves. But, we know that the bank of Canada kept interest rates artificially low to advantage people that (irresponsibly) used leverage to enrich themselves.

[@evilfrax]

Why the hell are these landlords expecting the tenants to pay for their variable mortgages, interest rates and inflations? Tenants are not Landlord's magical ATM machine that prints money whenever LL makes a huge investment risks.

[@ddhqj2023]

Because mortgages, insurance, repair costs are the cost of doing business. And if the landlord is lucky, there isn't a sudden hugely expensive property repair that wipes out what little is left after all the other costs are paid. Landlords are not your welfare office. They aren't your mom and dad who will support you, they aren't the Santa Clause who magically gives you a free home.

[@talkingdentalinnovation681]

I am not a socialist in any way at all...saying this, I think we need to come to a point that when it comes down to life necessities (energy, food, shelter, clothing, safety, medical care) there needs to be some type of regulation...for the good of sociaty. This is a free market but when free market also includes the government dictating some rules...it screws up the entire system. As a business person that would like to invest in rental property to help my community with afordable housing, there are so many risk factors that it almost does not make any sense (unstable electric charge, double property taxe, influx in building cost, crazy tenant laws, mortgage rates that can ruin you). I see many people now will be living alone more then ever. The traditional household is broken, I wont be suprised that in 30 year 50 % of born and raised canadian will be living alone with no family or support. It makes me very sad! Where are they going to live?

[@katherinespencer2073]

Personally, I think that all malls should be turned into housing cus there are enough charity stores to sell the clothes etc tht peopel already have too much of & we try to force on other countries & cultures, ruining their local businesses. Keep the security co. in place, a few basic shops to make certain that people don't always need to get into cars. Each store can be one unit, large stores can be multifamily or multy generations or 'living assisted units.They are already there, just need gardens around the parking lot & a green space for kids. Takes a village to raise children, you'd have that concept there.

[@mikewalsh7793]

You seem to be completely unaware that you're a socialist. What do you think socialism is? Socialism is regulation for the good of society that makes life's necessities available no matter what your income level. And then you completely contradict yourself saying that government is going to screw things up by enforcing the thing you were just saying was necessary. And then you want to say that this is somehow related to families, as if there is less family in the world somehow now, that's so weird. You're weird, you say weird things. Your thinking is extremely muddy. You're likely a victim of religious doomsday type propaganda. Things are getting better with families, not worse. Religion destroys families.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@mikewalsh7793

[@lucillecote7573]

I have to stay in an unhealthy relationship with insults everyday because I can’t afford to leave….

[@katherinespencer2073]

I'm sorry that your family can't or won't help you. That is no way to live. Whatever you do, don't bring children into that. Can your workplace transfer you to a distant location? There would be tax benefits for incurring costs to move for employment purposes.

[@Bobxchen333]

Landlord vs tenant is just an distraction. The real issue is the lack of new construction. Of course the rent is going to be high, because the cost of buying is so high. To me they are both victim of the housing shortage. So deal with the real issue: Supply of housing. Look into why it is so expensive to build.

[@shauncameron8390]

Government restrictions.

[@katherinespencer2073]

@@shauncameron8390 Partly, but also people demand huge wages & benefits. When someone who has been w. the business (ay business) for over 10 yrs. as an example & get so much sick time, family days, gov't holidays, AND 3 or 4 weeks vacation....you have to cover those losses to each company...we all pay in the end...so housing is expensive partly because if you think of each component, which is made by many business tht have to recoup these costs, it adds up fast. The other thing, people want huge square footage & $15 grand kitchens so that they can eat their expensive order-in or take-out food. You have to pay for the lifestyle....our grandparents paid for a stripped down little house then added after they earned & saved.

[@majinvegeta6364]

Landlords, house flippers, private equity firms, short-term rentals, etc. Should be illegal!!! Force them to sell their excess real estate, and the housing shortage will disappear overnight!

[@michaelj.4187]

also AirBnB...

[@ddhqj2023]

Since you apparently can't afford to buy your own house, who would you rent from? And what would outlawing landlords do for the housing shortage? They aren't living in multiple houses are they? They aren't letting those houses sit empty are they?

[@majinvegeta6364]

​@ddhqj2023 Wow, it's crazy to me just how much you missed the point 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 Outlawing real estate investors would end the housing shortage overnight! The homes wouldn't cease to exist. The parasitic relationship with the wealthy artificially inflating prices for profit would. One of the many ways they do so is absolutely leaving units empty until they can find some sucker who has no alternative other than to pay their ransom so they can gain access to a basic need that they would otherwise be deprived of by the greedy who are hoarding all the homes in the first place. Landlords DO NOT provide a service. They use their power and privilege to deny the less fortunate access to a vital resource unless the peasants pay them MORE than said resource would otherwise be worth so they can make a profit. It's extortion based on a threat of class violence and should be illegal.

[@TaraZsun]

I am on disability and im unable to work currently. I make at the moment 1350 dollars a month. i am currently lucky and live in a place with a very nice landlord and im not paying alot and imstill in the city but that wont last forever and everytime i look at the rentals out there which for even a room can be twice the price im paying now, it just makes me cry because what will i do when i have to leave here. Not eat well, not be able to look after myself. Im going to be screwed.

[@queen-pu8ln]

The problem is the BAD money that is pouring in this country. And the war of rise the price between the realtors and the government. Also over production of realtors, everyone is a realtor this days, What do u expect... housings price high. Over production of divorce lawyers equal too many divorce. so does the realtor, too many of them.A lot of those huge mension are empty ect in Vancouver. In every 8bd there's only maybe 2 people living in it....This isn't the standard of living of Canadians.

[@DropBox-jx6yr]

This is why it’s important to continue leveling up in life and to never sell your real estate or land.

[@mjbgworld5594]

Pretty scary... Even having several properties that are all leveraged, things can go worst.

[@kernalbert4939]

That dude took a risk and lost. You don't leverage your properties unless you sign lease agreements that ensure you are paid at least what the upkeep costs. He's in the let other people pay my mortgage scheme instead of the I OWN this property let me make my money back scheme.

[@gigilafonte1621]

​@@kernalbert4939Capitalist wannabe 😅

[@gregschmidt4776]

We had to move over a 1000km's within BC to find affordable rentals. Uprooted our whole family and we miss our friends

[@gary4760]

The whole concept of flipping has done irreparable damage to the market. The entire concept is driving up pricing. Flipping needs to heavily taxed, with the proceeds devoted to affordable housing.

[@Goldsavergamer]

We all know the proceeds will end up in some politicians pockets… or other corrupt 3rd party

[@IMGreg..]

@@rdgpats We need immigration,, we just need Government involvement and coordination in the housing market. Developers won't build affordably housing but governments can. The UK has a system of Council Flats to provide low cost housing. Then we need to end the commercialization of homes for rent by large players and limit commercial ownership to 2 provincially, this keep them in the hands of individual investors. Also end short term rental of homes,, example airbnb, buy a motel if you want in on that market.

[@HalifaxComputersRepair]

affordable housing. isnt really any more , its called nasty interest rates and greedy landlords , go van life ! use your small brain !

[@Peacenutman]

@@IMGreg.. "We need more immigration" Geez, drive up more demands while supply is short. Thank god you're not running our country...

[@GwaiRide]

@@Peacenutman Yes it's not like our current gov is raising immigration rates.. oh wait.

[@j.w.2391]

Good discussion that needs to be Ongoing! I felt the panelists only scratched the surface and exposed a few symptoms of the problem. Unfortunately, Mr. Kenneth Yim and his discourse "represents" everything that is Wrong with Landlords / the Housing Crisis-----exploitative, greedy, totally unempathetic to the Human Needs / Concerns at hand. Listen to his line of reasoning, his talking points, rhetoric-----Has Several Properties, been in Real Estate speculation for two Decades, One Can Move to Another Location, He's Not "Against" Rent Control but would prefer it didnt exist, invokes Hong Kong and San Francisco as "models" , embraces the Capitalist system. For him, the situation is just managing his Wealth. Lord forbid, he ever has to sell one of his Several Properties. Armine Yalnizyan, although her voice expressed much Frustration, she articulated several ugly Truths----poignantly, that the Housing Crisis is a POLICY issue exacerbated by individual "Small Players" like Mr. Yim. and Tozheg Roshankar. I was hoping Ms. Yalnizyan was going to bust up the place and go after Yim's throat with his Laissez-faire Capitalist mind-set.

[@TheTechnoPilot]

No kidding! His mentality is the issue and he is blatantly ignorant to it or dismissive of it!

[@KennethYimHomes]

Oh we had at it in the car ride home. Landlords like me are not exploitative, greedy, or un-empathetic, we provide safe housing for our tenants and the tenants pay us to do so. If you want to get upset, get upset at how capitalism works. Without the "invisible hand" at work, we would not even have rental housing for tenants to rent from. So is it so wrong to expect a reasonable return on my investment? This is not the same as being a "slumlord". Someone in the comments section said to replace my name with the Hertz car rental agency. Then you may ask, is it still so upsetting? What's the difference in what we provide, other than the product itself? Sure if you put it on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, housing is a basic fundamental human need, but who will provide such housing if landlords didn't exist?

[@droiduser1984]

Jealous of people with ambitions who offer a service? Seems so. Move to Russia if you want a non-capitalist lifestyle.

[@tezhda]

What is the landlord supposed to do when their costs are going up. Nothing is for free and just because a tenant can’t afford to pay their rent anymore doesn’t mean the landlord should hear the burden. Go find another place to live rather than put the landlord and their family at risk.

[@hyena280]

@@KennethYimHomes Canada is socialist, not capitalist. San Francisco was a far flung unrelated data point to try to compare us to. You could have mentioned Finland, Norway, Sweden. Are the people you discuss these matters with in a narrow world consisting of Hong Kong and San Francisco? (I don't mean to be impolite, I'm upset at the narrow scope of comparisons).

[@pedrocontrerasavendano8578]

Housing shouldn't be a business, same as water or health. At least not to the point where a guy can leverage 10 building and become rich. It's expensive because all margins we have to pay for the people working in the real state market.

[@syedsalam8365]

Then food shouldn't also be a business; it's even more important than housing for survival. Try telling the food industry that, next time you buy your bread

[@homelessintoronto]

Very good point

[@amandang6118]

Thank you for both perspectives - well done.

[@sv8700]

This Landlord wants to expand his Kingdom, Why not hold back on the Greed for a while.

[@vrgeneric5094]

It's the banks making big bucks and government letting it happen. New landlords are not making much compared to risk involved.

[@harmenvanderheide9219]

If renters could afford to buy they would. The more rental units in the market the more supply.

[@ozwalled2007]

@@vrgeneric5094 "The risk involved" for him does not involve him having to sleep in the streets. Most Canadians cannot afford a minor emergency, and have the specter of living unhoused hanging over them on a daily basis, especially when landlords are free to raise the rent anytime they're feeling a little greedy. People, including disabled people and seniors, who have lived for decades are suddenly seeing rent double, leaving them without a place to live... and you have the audacity to whine about landlords' financial RISK? Please.

[@harmenvanderheide9219]

A lot of street people don't own a car ...I suppose you would loan them yours, if like a landlord you had no recourse to claim damages. Even cars are insured, to not insure them would be too much of a financial risk. Oh! By the way I rented my house to people that had a job but were on the fringe, I felt the same way as you. They need a hand. They destroyed my house. No recourse! I'm still repairing and replacing. So if you don't own an home with extra rooms to rent. Or if you rent a house just open up to the idea of subrenting a room. Or better yet rent a house and rent out space to homeless people. Low risk!

[@harmenvanderheide9219]

@@ozwalled2007 a landlord took 500000 dollars to rent out to less fortunate. If he chooses wrong he doesn't get the rent but still has to pay taxes, insurance (fire), and interest. Ok you say that's a limited loss every month for an indeterminate time 3 month to a year ok can live with that then you get them out with no hope of getting the money. You enter the home and every surface of every wall is damaged, every carpet is ground in with dog crap and urine uncleaned for months, cigarette burns. Wood floors damaged beyond repair urine stained lifted and separated. Brand new stainless fridge 3 months later damaged stove so filthy I took it to curb (metal srap) 1 dumpster rental later( disgusting furniture etc. The only way I didn't loose the house was to live in it and repair it( I'm a handy guy) it almost done. It's been 4 years as I saved the money and did the work. So if you want to only take a small risk find a place and sublet it to the less fortunate....at least you know you can only lose the rent ( the landlord takes the biggest risk) but I guess you will just keep complai ing about greedy landlords and not take my suggestion. By the way this is my only property

[@brookeolivia4402]

I loved this conversation so important news companies show these. This activate me a bit of hope. Someone is looking out for citizens😢

[@rowanmunroe2818]

for the lady landlord: hire a paralegal, issue a notice to terminate tenancy for non-payment of rent; end of story. for the man landlord: don't have other people pay your mortgage, if you can't afford to mortgage properties and you don't need to, then don't do it.

[@highcy1]

if the government can't build me a home at respectable cost then I'll go far off the grid and build my own damn home

[@katherinespencer2073]

And many people do. The trick is to be worthwhile to society and to yourself. In otherwords, learn skills that are saleable when you need dental work or glasses etc and those that can make life enjoyable without many modern standards. A good cookstove is around $4 grand. But, do you even know how to cook on one & how to clean out the space around the oven? Sooner you learn AND practice in your rental how to cook, can, pickle, grow things, mend clothing, knit socks etc (those bring good side income) the faster to your dreams on or off grid.

[@liquiditywso9808]

Why don't people respond to what they have control over. You can get a promotion, you can make more money to pay rent. You have no control over the economy.

[@franklintheman8310]

LTB is totally broken with no real fix in place. I am a small landlord , 3 units, I am lucky, tenants pay and I do my job as a landlord, BUT if any issues arise and need the board, I am screwed! Max 2.5% increases were put in under normal circumstances , but with my heating cost rising 150% last year I know have to swallow the losses. No other industry needs to swallow these, they pass them on. I am not greedy , I am not looking to max profits but if this continues I will need to sell and have 3 more units off the market.

[@harmenvanderheide9219]

Every city has minimum square footage requirements. Driving up home prices. Every city collects taxes on home values. Higher the value the higher tax base. Some cities like waterloo ontario limit to 3 unrelated people living in same home. This was done to close the student home rental market. These homes rented to students were in two years sold to developers who built multiunit buildings for students only. The rental market would open up if landlords could have a data base ( like banks do) to qualify tenants. If there were government enforced penalty and regulations to both landlord and tenants for nonrepair or nonpayment the market would level out. Now there are lots of home owners ( potential landords) that realize it is too dangerous to rent.

[@katherinespencer2073]

The beautiful homes around Dalhousie university are often owned by 2nd gen or very longtime homeowners. Now local students are making the area unsafe, vandalizing or defecting in peoples' yards & porches, and even having the gal to threaten homeowners who try to protect themselves. What kind of scum are attending university when it has come to this? What kind of people have parents been raising?

[@harmenvanderheide9219]

@@katherinespencer2073 entitled brats...proofing the point of why people do not take the risk of renting out houses

[@darshiliyanage9429]

Land loads and renters has to do protest against government 😮

[@katherinespencer2073]

@@darshiliyanage9429 Yes. Gov't should help anyone who has proof of ownership, pays property taxes & maintains a property in a way that does not damage the neighborhood thru neglect, unsightliness, noise, vehicles other than personal transportation vehicles or behaviors which are unsafe or especially threatening to others. These laws enforced quickly would protect renters too not just neighbours who own surrounding homes & don't want values to tank due to single person's actions. When a renter has life emergency that is beyond their capacity to pay on an occasion gov't should have compassion & come up w a plan quickly. They have agencies at their fingertips. Helping people is not the job of landlord. But gov't working with both parties & any family of the renter as a partnership (cus they can find people thru DMV, Rev. Can. Health Card, etc.) can help people keep their existing housing. When people also have employers who value them because of their talent, commitment, reliability etc that is also a resource for quick funds to pay the rent on time. Anyone that has to be removed should go straight to a military base for housing, ops to work for their board & counselling. Bases have empty buildings, trained personal to help rebuild peoples' capacity to live a productive life. Worst thing is just letting someone fall thru big cracks. Too bad that the gov't likes to drag it's feet so tht they can make promises the next round of elections...then forget all about those. Leave everyone fending for themselves. which wears people down.

[@pinchebruha405]

@@katherinespencer2073 well said, I like the military training centers and saving people before they become homeless. Ventura County California has a program like this. Also keep your eyes on NY they’re going to start picking up folks on the streets that are not ok mentally or addicted for mandatory care!

[@alrozman6862]

The absolutely ineffective and underfunded LTB is the problem. If the RTA regulations were enforced within an appropriate amount of time, tenants and landlords would be held accountable. Tenants would be protected from poor owners and landlords would be protected from people not paying their rent and/or damaging the property. As a result, there would be many more investors willing to enter the rental development market and more units available for renters. The LTB needs to be fixed!

[@katherinespencer2073]

An empty house now is a better investment than one w. a Tennent because it is a sure thing. At some point you can make a few % interest on it whereas trusting strangers is such a gamble. Even rooming houses where the owner was onsite 24/7 to monitor all behavior & support renters have turned buildings into small condos to get rid of the constant responsibility of nagging people or forgiving their late pay or needing to borrow food etc. I know people from way back who have really hard businesses & work long hours who sold all people rentals & built storage units for 'stuff'. Some have invested in medical clinics in Cuba or just have office rentals because it is less of an issue how much water they suck everyday & no pets are damaging the doorcasings & floor finish. People take on huge debts & responsibility on behalf of others, strangers, but of course they should get a return.

[@mariannelim7658]

There are 2 categorizes of landlords 1. Institutional/Big company landlord 2. Mom and Pop/Small landlord Both types of landlords have very different profiles. Would be nice to see then bring on the Institutional/Big Company landlord as well for comments.

[@katherinespencer2073]

Nothing comes free so theft is theft be it damage, non payment, unauthorized decorating, sneaking in friends or animals, smoking indoors....all things that eventually we all have to pay for one way or another.

[@systematix-1270]

Government should reduce the property taxes and provide some rebates to home owners so they can lower rent for tenants.