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We are now two months into facing the economic impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
More than . . . 50,000 Nova Scotians have lost their jobs.
During a time of economic crisis, the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS) represents an important part of the province’s economic foundation.

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Halifax is booming, which is a blessing and a curse. Even before the pandemic, population growth was . . . straining the housing supply. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard “vacancy rates on the peninsula are less than one per cent.” Understandably, many Halifax residents are concerned and feeling the stress of high and increasing rents.

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When Nova Scotians talk about housing, the conversation can take on many different forms. With . . . expectations that Nova Scotians will be voting in elections soon — both provincially and federally — the more information on housing that can be in the public domain, the better to help voters make an informed choice.

[if 30 not_equal=””][30 sep=”, “], [/if 30]Editorials

Halifax is booming, which is a blessing and a curse. Even before the pandemic, population growth was . . . straining the housing supply. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard “vacancy rates on the peninsula are less than one per cent.” Understandably, many Halifax residents are concerned and feeling the stress of high and increasing rents.

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The Investment Property Owners of Nova Scotia (IPOANS) researched Switzerland’s rent-control regime. . . . The research concluded that the Swiss rent-control regime actually created similar conditions to what we have been experiencing in Nova Scotia.

[if 30 not_equal=””][30 sep=”, “], [/if 30]News Articles

Since the early 1970s, purpose-built rental (PBR) housing construction has taken a backseat in . . . Canada to the homeownership market comprising freehold and condominium housing.

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As of June of 2020, 91 percent of landlords in the province ran small operations, just renting out a . . . few units each. That means only 9 percent are bigger companies that hire employees to run the properties. As of 2020, there were 6,289 landlords in Nova Scotia.

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When affordable housing activists see “luxury” apartment buildings going up in gentrifying . . . neighborhoods they sometimes assume that the apartment buildings are causing the rents to go up. Back in 2015, for example, activists called for a moratorium on new housing construction in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood. (The proposal was ultimately rejected by voters.)

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“I worry about Berlin,” says Rolf Buch, a born and bred Rhinelander. The chief executive of Vonovia, . . . Europe’s biggest residential-property firm, thinks that the city’s policy of capping rents has achieved little good, but caused severe collateral damage. Even if the federal Constitutional Court declares the rent cap unconstitutional in the next few months, as many expect it to do, Berlin will not go back to the status quo ante. Protests are here to stay, Mr Buch reckons.

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Rent control, touted as a strategy to protect residents from rising house prices stemming from . . . demand far surpassing supply, has backfired, according to Bloomberg opinion columnist Andreas Kluth in “Berlin’s Rent Controls Are Proving to Be a Disaster.”

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Amid rising rental prices in urban areas, Swiss voters are being asked to decide on a proposal that . . . will impose a 10 per cent minimum quota of social and affordable housing on new residential development nationwide. Six out of 10 Swiss residents live in rented accommodation.

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The 1970s sparked some cultural trends that have since fallen out of favor, such as disco and . . . platform shoes. Among housing economists, the 1970s are infamous as the decade that a smattering of U.S. cities adopted or expanded rent regulations. Since then, rent regulation has been mostly a footnote in U.S. housing policy.

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Go to any booming urban center these days, whether in Boston or Washington or Atlanta, and one thing . . . is certain: Rental costs are frighteningly high.
In San Francisco, perhaps the poster city for housing sticker shock, the average one-bedroom rents for about $3,300 a month. That’s an increase of about 50%open in new window since 2011.

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Rental Housing Affordability In NS Gardner Pinfold Report

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Steadily rising housing rents in many of the US’s large, productive cities have reignited the . . . discussion whether to expand or enact rent control provisions. Under pressure to fight rising rents, state lawmakers in Illinois, Oregon, and California are considering repealing laws that limit cities’ abilities to pass or expand rent control.

[if 30 not_equal=””][30 sep=”, “], [/if 30]Studies

Steadily rising housing rents in many of the US’s large, productive cities has brought the issue of . . . affordable housing to the forefront of the policy debate and reignited the discussion over expanding or enacting rent control provisions.

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Housing affordability is a major issue in most cities throughout the world. A large body of economic . . . research argues that this is due to shortages in housing supply driven by local regulatory restrictions (e.g. Glaeser and Gyourko 2018).

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Understanding BC’s History of Rent Control and Tax Policy to Improve Today’s Rental Housing . . . Crisis-April 8, 2019. LandlordBC has produced a white paper, to illustrate the fact that in BC, between the 50s and mid-70s, when no rent controls existed, ample secure purpose-built rental housing was built to meet the demand of current renters and the steady flow of immigrants to our province.

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Fair Rent Ad by IPOANS

[if 30 not_equal=””][30 sep=”, “], [/if 30]Affordable Housing Connections

The Housing and Homelessness Partnership is a collaborative that engages the community at all . . . levels. Nine partners from the three levels of government, private, and non-profit sector, came together in this community initiative with a mandate to end homelessness and housing poverty in Halifax.

[if 30 not_equal=””][30 sep=”, “], [/if 30]Affordable Housing Connections

The Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Commission is looking at the current state of affordable housing . . . in Nova Scotia and has been mandated to identify sustainable, and actionable long-term solutions to increase the supply of, and access to affordable housing. To help inform its recommendations, the commission wants to hear from you.

[if 30 not_equal=””][30 sep=”, “], [/if 30]Affordable Housing Connections

The Nova Scotia Affordable Housing Commission is looking at the current state of affordable housing . . . in Nova Scotia and has been mandated to identify sustainable, and actionable long-term solutions to increase the supply of, and access to affordable housing. To help inform its recommendations, the commission wants to hear from you.

[if 30 not_equal=””][30 sep=”, “], [/if 30]Affordable Housing Connections, Media Releases

Thousands of Nova Scotians could lose their rental homes as small landlords are preparing to sell . . . their properties.
A survey conducted in early November by the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS) showed that 51% of more than 100 responding rental housing owners were either selling or considering selling their properties. IPOANS asked rental housing providers to answer questions about the impact of the Nova Scotia government keeping rent control in place for over three years.

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False claims from activists about the impact of Nova Scotia returning to a highly regulated, . . . market-based system of setting rents are putting housing solutions at risk.

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Regardless of who wins the next election, Nova Scotia rental property owners are hoping for positive . . . action to improve the availability of affordable housing for Nova Scotians.

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Nova Scotia investment property owners are speaking out against notices of unfair rental increases . . . being sent out to tenants.

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Halifax Regional Municipality’s proposal to increase residential and commercial property taxes by . . . 5.9% will be one more blow against rental housing providers, especially small business owner/operators.

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Nova Scotia investment rental property owners under attack from politicians and activist groups are . . . now facing their best financed opponent yet: insurance companies.

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Gary Burrill and the NDP suggesting that investment property owners aren’t “real people” is . . . inflammatory and divisive.

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NDP Leader Gary Burrill is not telling the truth about the impact of rent control across Canada, . . . said Kevin Russell, executive director of the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS).

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Nova Scotia’s NDP continues to make things up in its misinformation campaign against more than 5,000 . . . small- and medium-sized landlords in the province.

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Kevin Russell, Executive Director of Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia, issued . . . the following statement on today’s announcement from Premier Tim Houston and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr:

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Kevin Russell, Executive Director of Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia, issued . . . the following statement about the Nova Scotia Election results:

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Remarks on Bill 62
Law Amendments Committee
November 1, 2021

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Because there are some new members to this Committee and to the Legislature, before I speak to Bill . . . 30, I would like to share some background about IPOANS – the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia.

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Bill 62 – Interim Residential Rental Increase Cap Act: 5,400 multi-unit residential units and 3,600 . . . single-family home and duplex rental units are at risk of being eliminated from Nova Scotia’s rental market.

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Many Nova Scotians who don’t own rental property might be asking themselves: why does it matter?

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Party Leaders Election Surveys

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The New Year continues to bring more of the same for Nova Scotia’s rental housing providers. Natural . . . gas rates are going up by 43 per cent on January 31. Rental housing providers have no way to recover these increased costs due to the Nova Scotia government’s three-year 2% rent cap.

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Over the last eight years, the value of apartment tax assessments has jumped 66 per cent, more than . . . any other sector in the province.

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Laws that are supposed to protect property owners and tenants from abuse need better enforcement . . . from the Nova Scotia government.

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More than 90% of investment property owners don’t believe the government’s promise that the 2% rent . . . cap will be lifted at the end of 2023.

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Rental housing providers are worried that proposed solutions to the housing crisis will continue to . . . be ignored in the upcoming sitting of the Nova Scotia legislature.

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What’s missing is enforcement and support for tenants
By Kevin Russell
Jacqueline Porter’s latest . . . guest column in the Chronicle Herald (“Houston government could outlaw renovictions, but looks away,” March 29) leaves out a lot of relevant facts about the reality of rental housing in Nova Scotia.

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New inflation numbers released today by Statistics Canada reflect the financial distress for
many of . . . Nova Scotia’s 5,000 small rental housing providers.

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Last year, I wrote to The Chronicle Herald about the challenges landlords like me face.

We must pay . . . our taxes, regardless of whether tenants pay rent;
We bear all the risk in financing, operating, and maintaining housing;
There are no government-imposed “controls” or “caps” on the costs landlords are expected to pay — among them taxes, insurance, labour and repairs.

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Halifax Regional Municipality’s proposed 8% tax hike for its upcoming budget will make the city’s . . . housing crisis worse, said Kevin Russell, Executive Director of the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia.

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Halifax councillors send budget back to staff with goal of 4% instead of 8% increase to the average . . . property tax bill.

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The subject of home heating costs has ignited across Canada as winter creeps around the corner, and . . . the federal carbon tax soon to take effect in various provinces. It’s also an issue top of mind for Halifax landlords.

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The Saturday Huddle is a weekly column that features opinion, analysis, and reflections on Huddle . . . stories, podcasts, and business news in the region. Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter based in Halifax.

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An amendment to the Residential Tenancy Act would not extend the cap past the end of the year.

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In his final appearance before council after announcing his resignation in the spring, Halifax’s . . . outgoing Chief Administrative Officer Jacques Dubé delivered a warning to elected officials about the tough choices they’ll have to make in the not too distant future.

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City staff are recommending an eight per cent increase for residential and commercial property taxes . . . for next year.

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New Brunswick is not extending the rent cap it brought in this year to protect tenants against . . . soaring increases.

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In the face of a federal government plan to re-examine the tax treatment of real estate investment . . . trusts (REITs), and economic conditions which make it increasingly challenging to build affordable housing in major urban markets, five of Canada’s largest residential owners/operators have launched ForAffordable.ca.

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Meaghan Morrison is worried about the future of affordable housing in Sydney, N.S., after finding . . . out the social welfare agency that owns her apartment building is selling the property.

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A bill to set rental increases for 2023 at zero per cent across the province passed in the P.E.I. . . . Legislature on Wednesday.

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The Supreme Court of Canada has given developers and property owners a major victory, making it . . . easier for them to sue governments over regulations that remove all reasonable uses of their lands.

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Halifax Regional Municipality’s proposed landlord registry will do nothing to solve the housing . . . crisis and further punishes rental housing providers who must be part of the solution.

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Despite Halifax Regional Municipality staff telling Mayor Mike Savage, “We haven’t spoken with . . . landlords recently,” Halifax Regional Council overwhelmingly rejected holding a public hearing on its proposed $1.2 million landlord registry.

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Today’s cost of living announcement by Premier Tim Houston continues to ignore small rental housing . . . providers who are struggling with the double-whammy of a 2% rent cap and skyrocketing energy costs.

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HALIFAX – NDP Leader Claudia Chender claims in last Thursday’s
televised debate that rents in Nova . . . Scotia have gone up 70% are
false.