The goal of the Affordable Rental Innovation Fund is to encourage new funding models and innovative building techniques in the rental housing sector. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is looking for unique ideas that will revolutionize the sector moving forward. In the process, the
The Agency has learned about several Ontario programs that can help co-ops and their members save energy—and money. While your co-op will need to invest some money in order to benefit in some initiatives, these measures offer long-term value. If this idea interests your co-op, you may wish to check
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and the Honourable Chris Ballard, Ontario’s Minister of Housing recently announced measures that will provide Canadians with greater access to more affordable housing, support affordable housing for seniors, help
This program is delivered through participating local electrical utilities. It involves energy-efficient incentives for co-ops with buildings of six or more separate units.
Options include support for:
Being under-insured puts a co-op at risk. Insurance protects against a misfortune that strikes without warning. In a housing co-op anything can happen, from a fire - several major fires have occurred over the past few years - to a staff person or president gone missing, along with the entire capital
Under new federal rules introduced in August 2016, landlords have little recourse if a tenant is growing licenced medical marijuana in their unit. There’s a risk, though, that insurance policies will not cover damages from any activities deemed ‘high risk’, and, in most cases, the operation of a
By this time, all Agency clients know that we encourage you to invest in—or update—a building condition assessment (BCA). If you are refinancing, your co-op will also need environmental testing and an appraisal from a firm acceptable to the lender you are approaching. What you may not know is that
As you come to the end of your mortgage, or earlier, your housing co-operative may need to borrow new money. The property may need more work than the capital replacement reserve can fund. Or you may have been looking forward to updating the older elements of your buildings and units. Some co-ops
Since 2007, the percentage of co-ops without paid help is down by more than half to a mere 2% of Agency clients. Another 12% just have a lonely bookkeeper.