Canada’s Landlord Associations: Finding Strength in Numbers
by Chris on September 27, 2010
Forming a community with other landlords is paramount to success in the rental property business.
Jane Schweitzer, the Assistant Moderator for Ontario Landlords Association, points to one of the most crucial reasons for joining a landlord association: strength in numbers.
“Unfortunately, landlords are caught in the political crossfire in Ontario, and many of us are fighting for basic rights, as well as keeping our heads above water in a difficult legislative environment,” she says. “By joining together we can further our cause.”
Ms. Schweitzer points out that Ontario landlords badly need to reform the Landlord and Tenant Board and OLA has been in contact with the Ontario Ombudsman to take up that cause. “All the support we can garner from members is crucial to making this happen,” she says. The OLA is also a regular contributor to news organizations around Ontario to make sure that the rights of landlords are not forgotten.
In Alberta, Directors of the Edmonton Apartment Association participated in committee to review and revamp the new Residential Tenancies Act, Ministerial Regulations and Code of Practice. In addition, the EAA collaborated with the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations on federal tax issues.
The voice of landlords in British Columbia, the British Columbia Apartment Owners and Managers Association, was instrumental in eliminating the Provincial portion of HST on energy costs for landlords, and has made strides to obtain economic incentives for landlords. Government lobbying is BCAOMA’s most important benefit – lobbying for their members with one strong, well-respected voice. BCAOMA develops and maintains key relationships and monitors municipal and provincial government officials who are critical in ensuring the success of the rental housing industry.
Small landlords can find a loud voice by joining with others who share the same economic interests and concerns.
Property Management Advice
Landlords can turn to their associations to offer tips and a forum to discuss everyday issues. For instance, the Ontario Landlords Association landlord forum has over 30,000 posts in a year.
Edmonton landlords can participate in a number of networking and social functions and swap stories with other landlords. In addition, the EAA website tracks market trends and offers notifications of changes in the tenancy laws.
BCAOMA offers a number of networking opportunities, as well as its Best Practices for Landlords 101 and 102, seminars that cover tenancies from tenant screening through eviction and dispute resolution. BCAOMA hosts industry related meetings and seminars on a regular basis with a focus on important topics to assist landlords in making important decisions to secure a good return on their investment. Topics have included maintaining your property, attracting and keeping good tenants and understanding the provincial and municipal laws around apartment ownership. BCAOMA members also have exclusive use of over 30 types of professionally-drafted tenancy forms, including applications, agreements and condition inspection reports.
Access to Landlord Services
Landlord Associations list trades persons and suppliers who support the rental industry. From tenant credit checks to eviction assistance, the suppliers listed with landlord associations have been found to be excellent companies and are approved by other landlords.
In many cases, these companies offer the best pricing and many offer special discounts to association member landlords.
BCAOMA vows to increase a landlord’s net income on rental properties if landlords take advantage of the discounts it has brokered with trades and suppliers.
There are a number of Canadian landlord associations that offer landlords valuable benefits, and you are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities offered, find your voice, and profit in your rental business.
This post is provided by Tenant Verification Service, Inc., helping landlords reduce the risks of renting with fraud prevention tools that include Tenant Screening, Tenant Background Checks, (U.S. and Canada), as well as Criminal Background Checks, and Eviction Reports (U.S. only).
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.
LANDLORDS: FIGHT BILL 112!!! MAKE YOUR FEELINGS KNOWN TO THE MINISTER OF HOUSING!
EXPLANATORY NOTE:
The Bill makes several amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, including the following:
1. The Bill increases the time limit for most tenant and some landlord applications to the Landlord and Tenant Board from one to two years. Tenants can go back in time two years to file a complaint, meaning they can take you to the LTB up to two years after they move out of the unit they rent from you!
2. The Bill requires a landlord who terminates a tenancy for personal use to compensate the tenant and expands the circumstances in which a landlord is required to compensate a tenant if the landlord terminates a tenancy for the purpose of demolition or conversion to non-residential use. Formula given for compensation.
*3. The Bill prohibits a landlord from increasing the rent charged to a new tenant by more than the guideline and abolishes landlord applications to the Board for above guideline rent increases where there has been a significant increase in the cost of utilities. No new rent increases to market rent beyond the guideline when you have tenant turnover.
4. The Bill requires that the Board dismiss an application from a landlord who has been given a work order under section 225 of the Act or an order under section 15.2 of the Building Code Act, 1992 and has not completed the items in the work order or the order. Excuse for not paying rent. If you bring an application to the LTB to evict a tenant for non payment of rent, they will have the ability to have your application dismissed by a simple call to the local property standards officer, with no prior complaint to you, about maintenance deficiencies they very well could have caused themselves! You could be ordered to repair defects they caused, and until you do so, they continue living for free in your unit, courtesy of the RTA!
5. The Bill requires a landlord to obtain a licence with respect to a rental unit in a residential complex containing six or more rental units in order to enter into a tenancy agreement or renew an existing tenancy agreement. Money grab for Multi-family 6+
Something that we should not ignore! This would not only radically change the rental industry affecting each and every landlord from the smallest LL to the largest corporation, it would demand the creation of a huge new bureaucracy policing the actions of all of us! Fight this Bill! Your survival depends upon it!
Find your Ontario MPP here:
www.ontla.on.caMake sure they know how you feel. Call them or put something down in writing, make sure that they hear their constituents point of view.
Please also make your feelings known to the Minister of Housing:
Hon Rick Bartolucci, MPP
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Ontario Liberal Party
Contact Information:
rbartolucci.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
17th Floor
777 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E5
Tel 416-585-7000
Fax 416-585-6470
Become a member of the Ontario Landlords Association, www.ontariolandlord.ca to join the fight for justice!!!
It Is Your Choice!
This week we share a powerful reminder from Tony Robbins that no matter what is going on in the economy or our lives, we are ultimately in control of our destinies.
Take control of your decisions and your life with these strategies.
What is the single force that shapes the quality of our lives? What power do we have that can change everything? As you and I both know, the answer is the power of choice.
During the past 30 years I’ve had the privilege of working with an incredibly diverse group of people, from presidents of countries to professional athletes, from managers to moms, from gang members to high-powered business executives. I’ve had the unique opportunity to see people in the midst of real challenges, whether it’s the professional athlete who wants to regain his competitive edge, the business leader who wants to expand her influence or the political leader who struggles with a difficult decision. I may not have all the answers (who does?), but after working with so many people and observing the patterns that make them succeed or fail, one thing I am sure of is this: It is our decisions, not our conditions, that determine the quality of our lives.
Take a look at your own life. Are you where you want to be? Are you as healthy or financially secure or as happy in your relationships as you would like to be? Or, even if things are going well, are you looking for that extra edge to retain the competitive advantage? Perhaps you feel that in spite of your success, there’s more out there for you, but for some reason, you haven’t grasped it yet. Your first instinct may be to blame the economy, or the housing market, or someone who has treated you unfairly.
Before we go any further, we need to understand that we are where we are today because of the decisions we’ve made—decisions about what to focus on, decisions about where to place our priorities, decisions about what things mean and decisions about what to do. For example, if your business or career has been affected by the recession, do you feel that you are being punished or challenged to find a new path? What are you going to do about it? Are you going to give up or give more? No matter what we have experienced in the past, our history is not our destiny—we all have the power to make new decisions today.
Here’s another way to look at it: Success is a result of good judgment; good judgment is a result of experience, in most cases. And what about experience? Yes, experience is most often a result of bad judgment.
So here’s the good news: The experience gained from bad judgment and bad decisions is unbelievably valuable—it’s priceless! So don’t waste time beating yourself up over poor decisions you’ve made; learn from the experiences. Really, failure is actually one of the best ways we learn. When people succeed, they celebrate. When they fail, they ponder. They stop and think, What happened here? What could I have done differently? It’s only through self-evaluation that we learn how to make better decisions. So, when you make mistakes, learn from them; use your experience to improve your judgment and make better decisions.
The Path to Freedom—Financial or Otherwise
We’re living in extraordinarily difficult times. Every day we read about and experience more challenges, often related to things we can’t control, whether it’s the economy, the environment or unemployment. We can allow the stress and uncertainty caused by these events to overwhelm us or we can transform our lives by making different decisions.
One of the decisions we can make is to live with a mindset of abundance. What I mean by this is if we live as though wealth has more to do with what’s in our minds than what’s in our wallets, if we understand that how we feel is more important than what we have, we can discover an immense sense of freedom and happiness.
Think about it: Do you know anyone who has a lot of money but doesn’t feel free, doesn’t feel loved, doesn’t feel like he has a choice? Sure you do. You may even feel that way yourself. That feeling happens when you’re not in control of your emotions because you’re looking for someone or something external to fill internal needs.
I don’t care what you’ve achieved or how much money you’ve earned, if you live with an attitude of scarcity and limitation, if you wait for someone or something else to fulfill you, you’re not going to be happy. You must make the decision to live with a mentality of abundance, and you will experience true freedom.
It’s Your Time
Everything that happens in your life—what you’re thrilled with and what you’re challenged by—began with a decision. Your life is the outcome of the decisions you’ve made and the actions you’ve taken as a result of those decisions. Different decisions produce different results.
If you want to control the direction of your life, you must consistently make good decisions. It’s not what you do once in a while that has an impact on the direction of your life—it’s what you do consistently. Make decisions today about how you are going to live in the years to come. For your decisions to really make a difference in your life it’s imperative to decide what results you’re committed to—and know specifically how these results will transform your life. It’s equally critical to decide what kind of person you’re committed to becoming. Get clear about what you want to be, do and have, and what your life will be like after you accomplish this. With that clarity, you’ll find it becomes easier to make the kinds of decisions that will move you in the direction you desire.
What are your standards? What will you demand from life? Decide today if you’ll accept life as it is or if you’ll live your life on your own terms, at the edge and at the highest level.
Have a great week unless you choose otherwise!
Drago
The Trifecta of Success
This week we would like to take time to publicly thank all our veterans, soldiers and their families for supreme sacrifices you have made so that we can enjoy the freedoms and liberties we have in our great country.
Today we share a powerful message about the fundamentals of success in life and business from Chris Widener.
"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." Lou Holtz
There are three primary aspects of your life that will determine whether or not you are successful in your endeavors. You will not be successful if you have only one or two. You must have all three working together. Consider them like the three legs of a "stool of success."
Ability – the level at which you are able to actually do things. Your skill level. If you have a high level of skill, that´s good. And the better you get, the better it will be for you. To the degree that you can perform your actions at higher and higher skill levels, the more and more success you will find in your chosen field.
Motivation – the level at which you are able to find "a reason to act." This is the internal drive that you find that enables you to exercise your abilities. To the degree that you can find a way, or ways, to keep yourself motivated, you will see yourself right in the thick of things, carrying out your actions to the best of your abilities and succeeding accordingly.
Attitude – this is the mental state that you have while carrying out your actions to the best of your ability. It is the way you view the world around you and choose to see it, either positively or negatively. To the degree that you can maintain a positive attitude about yourself, others, and the circumstances you find yourself in, you will see yourself achieving greater and greater things.
"But Chris, can't I get away with just two?"
No.
What if you have high skills and motivation but a rotten attitude? People will stay away and hinder your success. What if you have a good attitude and motivation but poor skills? People will like you, maybe even root for you, but go to someone else with the skills they need. What if you have great skills and attitude but no motivation? Well, you'll be sitting on the couch like a lazy slug while the go-getters are out there making your money and achieving your dreams!
No, it takes all three. So let's ask some questions:
Ability: How highly skilled are you? Is your skill level holding you back? How so? What could you achieve if you just took your skills to the next level beyond where they are right now? How would improving your skills improve the bottom line of your success?
Motivation: How motivated are you? Why do you answer that way? What would your spouse or close friends say? Would they say you are as motivated as you say you are? Why or why not? Why do you have the level of motivation that you have? What could you do to find a higher level of motivation? What would happen if you became super motivated for the next period of your life. What great things would happen?
Attitude: Do you have a good attitude or a poor one? How would you rate yourself? What about when things go wrong? Are you more of an optimist or a pessimist? What would happen if you took your attitude to the next level for the next 60 days? What if you just chose to have an incredible attitude? What would be the ramifications?
"The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what a man or woman is able to do that counts." Booker T. Washington
This is so true. People will judge you on what you accomplish, not what you know or what you talk about. In fact, if you know a lot or talk a lot but do not accomplish anything, people will wonder what happened. So the question is whether or not you will take the actions necessary to deliver on your potential. To do so, you will need to focus in on the three legs of the stool of success: Your ability, your motivation, and your attitude.
Take some time this week to give serious thought to these three areas. Your success depends on it!
Have a great week unless you choose otherwise.
Drago
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