News

On June 15, 2006, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Gerretsen introduced Bill 130, the Municipal Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006.  Generally, the legislation replaces existing very specific municipal powers with broad permissive powers. 

The legislation includes amendments to many municipal statutes and extensive amendments to the Municipal Act, 2001.  These amendments will give municipalities most of the powers and duties, excluding fiscal tools, that were given to Toronto under the City of Toronto Act, 2006 (enacted June 12, 2006 - see separate news item). 

Some highlights:  municipalities are given,

• the power to establish codes of conduct and appoint an integrity commissioner, an ombudsman, an auditor general and a lobbyist registrar;
• the power to establish a municipal service board for any municipal service or activity;
• expanded authority to delegate their powers / duties;
• broad powers to license businesses;
• broader enforcement abilities;
• the authority to prohibit and regulate the demolition or conversion of residential rental properties with six or more dwelling units.

For more information visit:  www.mah.gov.on.ca  

On May 3, 2006, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Gerretsen introduced Bill 109:  "Residential Tenancies Act, 2006".

Some of the important features of the Bill are,

(1)  the annual rent increase guideline would be based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index, all rent increases could be stopped on application to the tribunal if there are serious outstanding maintenance issues;

(2)  the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal will be renamed the Landlord and Tenant Board;

(3)  above-guideline increases for capital expenditures (which have been more narrowly defined) would be capped at 3% for a maximum of 3 years at which time sitting tenants would be eligible for rent reductions; and

(4)  above-guideline increases for higher utility costs would be 'rolled-back' for sitting tenants when utility costs go down.

The Ministry of Finance has published a tax bulletin (LTT 1 - 2006) which has the effect or requiring new home purchasers to include the following items in the price for land transfer tax purposes: lot premiums, planting / sodding and paving costs, extras and upgrades, lot levies, development charges, school levies, Ontario New Home Warranty Plan fees etc.

For more information go to:  www.trd.fin.gov.on.ca. - May 9, 2006

Richard Stephenson, Chair of the ARB, has announced the Board's 2006 streaming strategy.  There are 9 guiding principles (which have not changed since last year):

1.  tax appeals will not be scheduled until after the assessment complaints are resolved, unless otherwise requested in writing;

2.  where practical, the Board will schedule appeals filed by a single representative / party into the same hearing event;

3.  unscheduled complaints will be scheduled with previous years' appeals, wherever possible;

4.  the Board will not designate two different streams for one property;

5.  the Board wil continue to give 90 days notice for first pre-hearings;

6.  the Board encourages parties to enter into consent procedural orders;

7.  the Board will schedule complaints into pre-hearings except for specific complaints which will be streamed 'direct to hearing' (i.e. the default stream is pre-hearing);

8.  the Board will agree to convert from the direct to hearing to pre-hearing on request if the issues are complex; and

9.  conversion requests for properties already scheduled for hearing will be subject to Rule 74.