Spring 2012
The following information is useful for tenants, landlords and residents of London. It pertains to seasonal issues and areas of importance or interest for those living in London's off-campus community.
CONTENTS
- Scam Alert
- Changes to Online Listing Service
- Rent Increase Guideline
- 2011 Average Rental Listing Prices
- London's Rental Vacancy Rate
- A Landlord's Responsibility
- Update: Rental Licensing Bylaw
- Off-Campus Student Survey
- Housing Mediation Service
- Holiday Closure
SCAM ALERT
Please be aware that a number of institutions have reported that individuals have been contacting people with listings on their off-campus housing registries and offering to pay the entire year's rent with a cheque or money order.
We would ask that you be cautious with this as in some cases the money order or cheque is fraudulent. Typically what happens is that the individual sends several months worth of rent and almost immediately ask for all but one or two month's rent (deposit) to be returned. They do this in the hope that your bank will not recognize the forgery until the normal clearing process has happened. This would result in you being out the money that you have returned to them.
CHANGES TO THE ONLINE LISTING SERVICE
The new year will bring some exciting online changes for the Off-Campus Housing Service. We look forward to implement this added benefit to you, our valued customers.
With the online world rapidly developing, our web site has undergone a makeover to better serve our customers. For now, we have focused on landlords using our web site. Future benefits will address some of the student tenant's needs, such as increased listing search capabilities.
As of January 2012, landlords using our service will have 24 hour access to their listings. All landlords with an e-mail address will be able to create a personal profile to add new listings, make changes, view past listings and upload free pictures. Our staff will still be available by phone and in person during business hours for those who cannot use the online system.
New Online Features:
- 24 hour access to listings
- Free pictures
- All listings will include the mapping feature (Even if you don't want to include your address, you can select the nearest intersection and it will be displayed on the online mapping system.)
The improvements won't stop in 2012! We will continue improving the listing web site to allow students to perform more detailed property searches and also utilize the Google maps street view tool. This will allow the user to view the area surrounding rental properties.
We recognize the importance of keeping costs low for landlords who use our service. Western's Off-Campus Housing Service continues to offer a more affordable listing rate compared to city and campus newspapers. When compared to other universities in the province, our service provides a lower price with more benefits for our customers.
2012 Pricing:
- Annual Access Fee = $15
What's an Access Fee? It is a fee paid once every rolling 12 months that provides landlords with access to Western's Off-Campus Housing Service online listing system. Once you have access to the online listing system, you can place listings and upload pictures. - 60 Day Listing with Pictures = $10
- 6 Month Listing with Pictures = $25
- 1 Year Listing with Pictures = $45
Please note, as of January 1, 2012 we are no longer required to charge HST in the listing price, as advised by the University's tax consultants.
RENT INCREASE GUIDELINE
The Ontario Government has set the rent increase guideline at 3.1% for 2012.
This is the maximum amount a landlord can increase rent for a current tenant, if at least 12 months have passed since the move in date. A landlord must provide 90 days written notice to tenants before enforcing the rent increase.
This amount does not apply if you are renting to new tenants or those not covered by the Residential Tenancies Act.
For more information from the Landlord and Tenant Board, please visit: www.ltb.gov.on.ca
2011 AVERAGE RENTAL PRICES
Average rental prices, as of June 2011, based on the Off-Campus Housing listings:
| Bachelor Apartment | $532 (inclusive) |
| One-bedroom Apartment | $686 + utilities |
| Two-bedroom Apartment | $918 + utilities |
| Three-bedroom Apartment | $1239 + utilities |
| Room with Cooking | $433 inclusive |
| Share House/Apt. | $438/448 + utilities |
LONDON'S RENTAL VACANCY RATE
The 2011 vacancy rate for London, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, is 4.7%. This rate is up from 4% in 2010 and it is above the 2011 provincial average of 2.5%.
For more information, please visit the CMHC website: www.cmhc.ca
A LANDLORD'S RESPONSIBILITY
It is important for landlords to be aware of the responsibilities you have to your tenants:
Snow Removal
- Remove snow and ice from walkways and driveways when required:
- If your rental unit has more than one unit, it is the landlord's responsibility to remove snow from all commonly used driveways and walkways.
- If your lease states the landlord is responsible for snow and ice removal.
Maintain your Rental Unit
- Keep your rental unit(s) in a good state of repair and obey health, safety and maintenance standards.
- For information on the City of London's property standards bylaws, visit their web site: www.london.ca
Fire Safety
- Ontario law requires a landlord to provide a functioning smoke detector on each floor of the rental unit, including the basement, and also outside all bedrooms.
- For more information, please visit the London Fire Department's website:
www.fire.london.ca
UPDATE: RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNITS LICENSING BYLAW
Recently, the City of London was challenged on the Residential Rental Units Licensing Bylaw. The result is the bylaw has been upheld by the courts and will remain in effect. Our service encourages landlords with applicable rental units to license with the City. It is a great advertising tool to include this in your rental listings, as students will look for this as a positive feature in a rental accommodation.
For more information on this bylaw, please visit the City's web site: www.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/Planning_and_Development/Land_Use_Planning/rentallicensing.htm
OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING STUDENT SURVEY
A survey will be conducted during Winter 2012 to seek information on Western student housing search habits. We will look for information on their housing choices, costs and time lines, amongst other factors students take into consideration during their off-campus housing search. Our service will provide this information to landlords to help you favourably market your rental accommodation to Western students.
HOUSING MEDIATION SERVICE
The University operates a Housing Mediation Service which offers landlords and tenants a forum to discuss their concerns:
- Office: Room 102, Elgin Hall
The University of Western Ontario - Hours: Weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Phone: 519-661-3787
- E-mail: housing.mediation.service@uwo.ca
- Website: www.has.uwo.ca/housing/mediation
HOLIDAY CLOSURES
The Off-Campus Housing Administrative office will be closed from 4:30 p.m. on Friday, December 23, 2011 until 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. The listings will continue to be available on our Web site: offcampus.uwo.ca