Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board’s 2002 Annual Report

Recommendation:
That the March 27, 2003, Community Services Department report be received for information.

Report Summary

This report presents Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board’s (LTAB) annual report of activities and services provided in 2002.

Report

Housing Issues:

  • Pressure on the extremely low vacancy rates experienced in Edmonton in 2001 eased somewhat to 1.7% (from 0.9%), according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s annual Rental Market Survey. This increase, however, was only felt in the “upper end” of the rental housing market, and the vacancy rate for affordable housing at the “lower end” remained at virtually 0%.
  • Increased costs for energy, insurance, and goods and services affected many landlords. This factor, in addition to the very low vacancy rate, continued the trend of sizeable rent increases begun at the end of 2001.
  • Population growth in Edmonton continues to increase the number of low-income renter households, and it has become increasingly difficult for these households to obtain adequate shelter. The number of homeless persons and families reached record numbers in 2002. The affordable rental market is not expected to improve significantly in the near future.

Highlights of 2002:

  • The LTAB Board and staff began the year with a thorough analysis of the 2001 Service Review of LTAB. A comprehensive, principle-driven three- year business plan was developed. Using this plan as the guide, innovations in service delivery of both Dispute Prevention and Dispute Resolution services were affected.
  • Of considerable significance was the formation of an Advisory Committee by the provincial government to review and recommend changes to the Residential Tenancies Act. LTAB and the City were, from the outset, represented on this Advisory Committee by the Executive Director of LTAB. The City continues to monitor the review of the Residential Tenancies Act.
  • In January, 2003 the position of Executive Director of the LTAB became vacant; recruitment for a new Executive Director has begun. In the interim, Colleen Burton Ochocki has assumed the position of Acting Executive Director.

Background Information Attached

  1. LTAB’s Activities for 2002
  2. LTAB 2003-2005Business Plan

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Attachment 1

LTAB’s Activities for 2002

Dispute Prevention

Dispute prevention services address the residential tenancy issues that impact individual citizens and the City of Edmonton as a whole, with the intent being that, over time, the demand for reactive services will decline. Dispute prevention services include public education activities, community initiatives, and monitoring trends. Some of the dispute prevention activities undertaken in 2002 were:

  • The Level 1 Landlord Owner/Investor Course was offered in February, April and June as an LTAB initiative. Additionally, the Level 1 Landlord Owner/Investor Course was delivered in July and September to property managers of a large corporate landlord as “in-house” training.
  • The City of Edmonton Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board undertook a pilot project in partnership with Metro Community College to deliver Landlord Owner/Investor Courses in September, October and November. Two levels of courses were offered; Level 1 for first time landlords, taught by the staff of the Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board and Level 2, which was introduced in response to customer demand, to advance the knowledge of landlords in the areas of financing, insurance, best practices and legal considerations. Professionals in the area of finance, insurance, law and Best Practices taught Level 2.
  • In addition, 55 workshops and sessions were held directed primarily at tenants. Targeted audiences included people enrolled in life skills programs, youth in semi-independent living situations, recent immigrants, international university students, low-income individuals and families, and also property managers and private sector landlords.
  • Edmonton Police Service recruit classes received training in landlord and tenant issues and an overview of The Residential Tenancies Act and The Innkeepers Act.
  • Sales of publications and tenancy forms generated over $60,000.00 in revenue.
  • Eighteen fact sheets were available to the public at no cost and the quarterly newsletter continued to be distributed to landlords and tenants as well as being available on the LTAB web site.
  • A LTAB staff member contributed an article of interest to landlords and tenants to the spring, fall and winter issues of the Oliver Community League News.

Dispute Resolution

Dispute resolution services include mediation, information and advice services. These services equip landlords and tenants with the tools they need to resolve conflict and provide a mechanism for resolving disputes when they are unable to resolve them on their own.

  • 111 mediations were completed, five of which were face-to-face formal mediations with others being conducted over the phone. A 75% settlement rate was achieved overall. The remaining mediations were successful in that the education, which is part of the mediation process, resulted in a change of attitude or behaviour that would positively affect future tenancy relationships. Issues addressed included security deposits and other issues related to ending the tenancy, resolving the terms of tenancy, repairs and maintenance, entry and security issues and damage.
  • 23,800 advice contacts occurred with tenants accounting for 61% of the contacts and landlords for 36%. The remaining 3% of contacts were from agencies or individuals such as real estate agents or lawyers seeking information.
  • Landlords raised the following issues most frequently:
    -standards and best practices of being a landlord,
    -termination notices for substantial breaches,
    -non-payment of rent,
    -conditions of tenancy, and
    -court inquiries.
  • Tenants raised the following issues most frequently:
    -return of security deposits,
    -conditions of tenancy,
    -payment of rent,
    -termination notices for substantial breaches, and
    -repairs and maintenance.
  • Over 30,000 additional information matters were handled through the automated Landlord-Tenant Info Line and LTAB’s intake workers.

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