Despite a recent funding boost, The Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario (LTB) is still struggling to clear its pandemic backlog and Toronto landlords are growing increasingly frustrated at the resulting chaos.
The LTB closed to in-person hearings in Spring 2020 and was shuttered for 5 months, giving rise to a lengthy queue of complaints that’s growing by the day. In April, the government announced a $19 million windfall for the beleaguered board, designed to expand its digital services, but the benefits are yet to be felt in the market with tenant evictions and disputes still dragging on for months.
The continued disruption is changing the game for Ontario landlords, making it more difficult to deal with troublesome tenants and safeguard their rental income. In some cases, landlords are losing years worth of savings, trying to keep their investment afloat as tenants skip payments and refuse to leave.
Protecting your property
Delays at the LTB will likely impact the rental market for the rest of the year, and possibly even into 2023, so landlords should be prepared for long-term disruption.
Despite the hiccups however, there are still plenty of good reasons to become a GTA landlord or expand your existing property portfolio. With Toronto real estate finally going off the boil, prices are slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels. BMO analysts are even predicting a buyer’s market in the near future, enticing many to make the move into rentals.
If you’re looking for a source of passive income, property is still a reliable investment – provided you can protect it.
Unscrupulous tenants will be tempted to use the current chaos at the LTB to their advantage but you can avoid joining the ever-growing ranks of landlord-tenant horror stories with careful tenant screening.
Tenant management
Properly vetting your prospective tenants is a good idea at any time, but it’s almost a necessity in the current climate of dragged-out disputes and eviction nightmares.
Trusting your tenants to a property management firm like Highgate Property Investments gives landlords peace of mind that they’re not setting themselves up for lost income and future conflict. The cost of enlisting the help of qualified property managers is more than offset by the security they offer – saving landlords time, money, and stress chasing down bad tenants and unpaid rent.
Experts in everything real estate-related, Highgate steps into the shoes of their landlords to handle all tenant matters. Guided by their years of experience, the Highgate team can identify potential troublemakers easily, knowing what red flags to watch for, and how to spot fake references or credit checks.
And their insights don’t end once the tenant’s taken residence. Highgate’s property professionals know the GTA real estate market inside and out. They can help landlords decide how much rent to charge, when it’s a good time to increase their rates, and handle payment collection. They’ll also handle any disputes, negotiating on behalf of the landlord’s interests and working to resolve issues as quickly and painlessly as possible. Contact Highgate Properties today to make the most of your investment and enjoy hassle-free rental income.
