Housing

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A new immigrant who does not have a family or a close friend in Canada might need to live at a hotel or motel for the first few days. Many immigrants make their temporary stay arrangements in Canada before arriving.  There are many websites that help to arrange bed and breakfast (B & B) arrangements. It is a short tem arrangement, mostly in private family homes. These days there are some Bed and Breakfast places which are providing staying options up to four or five months. The intention of a new immigrant is to find a more permanent option thereafter.

The first long term home for immigrants in Ontario is often rental accommodation. Sometimes the rental market is very competitive and is even more popular than the buyers market. This means that based on the real estate trends, more and more people might be looking to rent than to purchase their property. 

How To Find Rental Accommodation

There are many different ways to find a place to rent in Greater Toronto Area. Some of them are as follows: 

1.  Classifieds: Newspaper carry rental advertisements. Many local newspapers can be found in libraries, community centres or online. Some of them are available for subscription as well. In addition, there are many newspapers in regional languages, which can be obtained from free. Usually they can be found at the corners of shopping malls, outside temples and sometimes outside regional grocery stores. 

2.  Rental Guides: Rental guides are booklets dedicated for only rental advertisements and are usually published every month. They are free of cost and can be found in the boxes around the street corners, transit terminals or at shopping malls.

3.  Brokers and Real Estate Agents: In GTA (Greater Toronto Area) there are many brokerages and real estate agents who maintain listings of the properties that are available for rent. They also act as middlemen to assist the home-owner as well as the renter to do all the paperwork. They do charge a fee but usually the owner of the property is responsible to pay the fee. 

4.  Notice/Bulletin Boards: There are many places such as malls, community centres, libraries and religious places such as temples and churches where people place advertisements for renting out their accommodations.

5.  Personal Networking: One of the most effective methods to find a rental place is to ask everyone in the family and friends that you are looking for a rental place. Many times people find rental places through their own network. It often avoids hassle for both the tenant and landlord. 

6.  Rental Websites: There are many websites that are dedicated to rental places only. Some of the examples are www.4rent.ca, www.apartmentscanada.com , www.rent.ca, www.torontorentals.com . 

7.  Housing Help Centres: Housing Help Centres are centres that help new immigrants to find affordable housing. There are many housing help Centres across the city. Dial 211 to get information about the locations of Housing Help Centres. 

Lease Agreement

What is a Lease Agreement: A ‘Lease Agreement’ is also called a ‘Residential tenancy agreement’. It is a written agreement between the landlord and the tenant that encompasses all the conditions and requirements to be followed by the tenant and the services provided by the landlord. The Standard lease form can be downloaded from the following website. https://www.ontario.ca/page/guide-ontarios-standard-lease-newcomers

Components of the Lease Agreement: The lease agreement has many components including but not limited to the names of both landlord and tenant and contact information. It also includes the description of the rental unit, the rent, services and utilities, the term of tenancy, rent deposit, smoking restrictions, tenants’ insurance, maintenance and repairs or any additional terms and conditions that both parties agree upon.  Once the document is signed it becomes a legal document and should be honoured both by the landlord as well as tenant. 

Rights and responsibilities as a Tenant

Tenant Insurance: As a responsible tenant one should have Tenant Insurance. Even though the owner of the property does have the property insured, it does not cover the belongings of the tenants or any personal liability. Therefore the tenant should buy tenant insurance to protect personal contents and any personal liability in the unit. Tenant Insurance is usually not expensive. 

Tenancy Agreement: It is the tenant’s responsibility to respect the lease agreement. Both parties have room to negotiate before the document is signed but after both parties sign the document, it is their responsibility to abide by it.   

Rent Increase: The landlord can increase the rent by a percentage set by the provincial government. The landlord is required to give you a notice 90 days prior to the rent increase. Once the notice has been received and accepted, it is the responsibility of the tenant to pay the new rent as applicable.

Maintenance and repair: It is the responsibility of the landlord to arrange for any repairs required. This includes plumbing, heating, electricity and the appliances that come with the apartment. But if there is any damage made by the tenant or the guests of the tenant, then it is tenant’s responsibility to get it fixed. 

Moving out: If the rent is paid monthly and the lease is signed, it is then the responsibility of the tenant to give the landlord at least 60 days notice before moving out. 

Dispute: In case of any dispute, the tenant has the full right to file an application to the Landlord and Tenant board. They can be contacted at 1-888-332-3234/416-645-8080 or at www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb

There are a variety of housing options available to buy in Greater Toronto Canada. Before you make the decision to purchase a home, be aware that as a homeowner, it would be your responsibility to pay the mortgage, to pay the property tax to the municipality in which the house is, to pay the bills for utilities (including gas, hydro and water) and also to pay the maintenance fee (if any). In addition to that all the property owners buy home insurance to protect their property, the residents as well as the belongings or contents in the property. One should be well informed of all of these expenses and then make a decision whether to buy a property. 

Types of Housing

·  Condominium (also called a Condo): Condominiums are generally found in multi-story buildings, which have many common shared elements/amenities. The cost to maintain those components is shared by all of the unit owners in that building. That cost is called maintenance fee, which is paid monthly by the unit owner. The maintenance fee is in addition to the mortgage payment and property tax. 

·  Detached House: This is a self-sustained independent unit constructed on its own. The owner of these houses also owns the land on which it is built. Therefore they are the most expensive type of home. There is no maintenance fee attached to the detached homes, as there is no common element that is maintained externally. In addition to the mortgage and property tax, the owner pays for his/her own consumption of water, electricity and gas. 

·  Semi-Detached House: These houses are similar to the detached houses except they are joined to another house on one side. One wall is common while the other side of the house is open. The open side might have a pathway to the backyard or the basement, if any.  

·  Townhouse: Townhouses are units that are constructed in a row and are attached on both sides with each other. They can be with or without a backyard. The one with a backyard may have a passage through the garage to go to the backyard. The corner unit of the town house looks like a semi-detached house, as it is not joined from both sides. In some cases, townhouses are further classified as:

o  Stacked Townhouse: In a stacked townhouse complex there are similar units constructed one over the other. 

o  Back-to-back townhouses: Each unit is joined with the other units from three sides. Only the front is not joined. 

Townhouses often have a maintenance fee attached to them. However, sometimes there are no maintenance fees. These types of townhouses are called Freehold townhouses.

·  Duplex /Triplex: These are basically multiple units inside the same building. All the units have a separate entrance and their own kitchen, washrooms and bedrooms. The owner has to buy the whole building and then often rents the units individually.

Tips for Home Buyers: 

Location: When it is time to buy a place to live, the first and foremost decision that the person has to take is the location. Different people have different priorities. Some people want to have a house near their job and some are looking for the best school for their children, among other factors. Some people love suburbs and other like to live in core downtown. One should definitely choose the location according to their priorities but keep in mind some other factors (mentioned below) as well.

Affordability: One should be well informed about the costs involved in buying a property and the monthly expenses thereafter. Lack of information could be a cause of stress and hassle afterwards. 

Type of House: As there are different kinds of houses available in the market, one has to find a house according to their requirements. People with physical restrictions might prefer one-level or condominium units. People who love gardening and want to grow their own vegetables in summer might want a property with a private backyard. Selection of the size of the house also depends upon the size of the family. Young couples living in small condominiums in downtown Toronto might want to move to bigger houses in suburbs once their families grow bigger. Choosing your type of house is a very relative and personal decision.

Real estate agent:  If you are buying a new home from a builder, then you may not need a real estate agent. Some builders might have established tie-ups with different real estate brokerages and they sell their inventory through them. If you are buying a re-sale property, you will have to contact the real estate agent who has listed the property. In some cases the owner himself lists the property. It is not a legal requirement to have a real estate agent in order to sell or buy a house. People usually work with the agent to make use of their expertise to help them with home selection, to negotiate on their behalf with the seller, to find the appropriate property according to their needs. As a buyer you do not pay to the real estate agent. The seller of the property pays commission to the agent. 

Mortgage and additional costs:  Mortgage is a type of loan used to buy a home or other property. ‘Down payment’ is the initial payment you make (from your savings) to buy a property. Mortgage instalment is the biggest expense after buying a property. Mortgage is usually paid biweekly or monthly. The instalment amount depends upon a number of factors such as down payment made and the amortization period (the number of years required to pay off the entire mortgage). If the buyer put less than 20% down payment then he has to buy CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) mortgage loan insurance. This insurance protects the financial institution that lends you the money in case you can’t make the payments down the road. There are different kinds of mortgages available in the market. The two main kinds are fixed rate mortgage (in this case the interest rate is locked in for the term of the mortgage) and variable mortgage (in this case the initial set interest rate is reviewed at specific intervals and the interest rate can increase or decrease according to the market interest rates and the central interest rates by Bank of Canada).  

Real Estate Lawyer: The Real Estate lawyers are professionals who oversee the legal aspects of property transactions. They prepare and review legal documents relating to real estate, negotiate the terms and conditions of real estate transactions, and facilitate the transfer of titles. It is important to understand the role of the lawyers and their fee structure. Some lawyers provide extra services such as title insurance and therefore charge their fee accordingly. When a property is being bought directly from the builder, then it is also the real estate lawyer’s responsibility to thoroughly review the sale/purchase deal and notify the buyer if there is something irregular in the documentation. Lawyers can also negotiate with the builder’s lawyer regarding the terms and conditions that are not suitable for the buyer. 

Home Inspection: When signing an offer it is advisable to make a conditional purchase on the home, on the condition that it will pass a professional home inspection. Hire a professional home inspector. The full process may take around four hours and after the inspection the inspector submits you a report that comprises of all the repairs of issues that are worth considering. That report can influence your decision and often helps to negotiate with the seller.