December 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
- Continued Improvements to Online Listing Service
- Western Student Survey 2012
- 2013 Pricing
- Rent Increase Guideline
- 2012 Average Rental Listing Prices
- London's Rental Vacancy Rate
- A Landlord's Responsibility
- Rental Licensing Bylaw
- London Hydro Property Management
- 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.
I am a 24yrs old lady from Cardiff, UK and I would be doing a program at the University. I am down to earth. I get along with people easily and I like meeting people.
I also like traveling, painting, listening to music, dancing, swimming, badminton, tennis and reading. I don't smoke and drink.
I would like to know the monthly rent and the terms and conditions for securing the rental. I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks.
Good morning , How are you doing today?
I hope you are doing pretty good well, I am 28years old from Great Britain. I saw your advert online and i am interested in your room /apartment for rent. I was born in great Britain, and I will be having my Study leave as a student doctor coming up soon in Canada.
Right now am in Wales for a program on children with heart related problems. My next program will be in Canada and i will need a room to stay. The most important thing is that i need to secure a room before my arrival to Canada.
Pls do get back to me with the room description,move in rent fees for the first month and any deposit if included. Kindly let me know the duration of the rent( How long do you intend to rent the room/apartment out for? ).
Am planing to be in Canada as soon as possible, i don't drink nor smoke,no pets and no boyfriend because i am a very busy lady only dedicated to my work.
Please kindly get back to me with the move in rent fee for the first month and i will appreciate it if you can furnish me with the room specification and pictures. Thanks and do hope to hear from you soonest.
CONTINUED IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ONLINE LISTING SERVICE
As we move forward with improvements to our web site, we continue to survey students as we know they are the end users when looking to rent your rental accommodations. We have made several changes to our website that include:
- Being able to search on multiple "Housing Types" at the same time.
- Being able to search on multiple "Amenities" at the same time.
- Being able to search on multiple "Locations" at the same time.
- We have added a new "Tenant Type" for landlords looking to rent to "International/Exchange Students".
One of the frustrating issues for all Internet users has to do with scam emails. We have added a feature to the ads so that students can email landlords directly from the ad. To help reduce potential scam emails, we have added a "CAPTCHA" feature so that automatic computer programs cannot simply read the emails on our site. Having said that, we understand that some landlords will still want their email on the advertisement and for those of you who wish to do this, we would suggest that you put your email address in the comments section of your ad.
We have also added a feature within your landlord portal that allows you to see your ad as it currently exists or will after activated on our website. We are continuing to work in this area that will eventually allow you to make changes in selected areas.
We will continue to upgrade our site with a focus on how students best use our site to find a match for their housing needs from the advertisements that you have posted.
OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING STUDENT SURVEY
In February/March of 2012, we completed a large survey of over 2000 students to learn their housing preferences. We usually do this survey every five to six years to determine housing search trends and preferences so we can pass this information along to landlords. Many of the points are similar to past years in that price and location are the primary decision makers when students decide to look for off-campus housing.
Some major points from the survey include:
- Western's Off-Campus Housing website continues to be the #1 place where students go to find their off-campus housing accommodations.
- The #1 method that students would like to contact their perspective landlord is via text message.
- Between 2000 and 2012, there was a 10% shift in where students live from the east side of Western's campus to the west side of campus.
2013 PRICING
There will be no pricing change for the 2013 year. Please review our regular pricing rates:
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
RENT INCREASE GUIDELINE
The Ontario Government has set the rent increase guideline at 2.5% for 2013.
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
2012 AVERAGE RENTAL PRICES
Average rental prices, as of May 2012, based on the Off-Campus Housing listings:
| Bachelor Apartment | $555 (inclusive) |
| One-bedroom Apartment | $667 + utilities |
| Two-bedroom Apartment | $886 + utilities |
| Three-bedroom Apartment | $1269 + utilities |
| Room | $434 inclusive |
| Share House/Apt. | $456/489 + utilities |
LONDON'S RENTAL VACANCY RATE
The 2012 vacancy rate for London, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, is 3.7%. This rate is down from 4.7% in 2011, but it is above the 2012 national and provincial average of 2.3%.
For more information, please visit the CMHC web site: 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 web site: www.fire.london.ca
RESIDENTIAL RENTAL UNITS LICENSING BYLAW
Last year 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.
LONDON HYDRO PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
London Hydro has launched a new Property Management website for property owners in London. Visit the link here to register.
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
Western University
Hours: Weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 519-661-3787
E-mail: housing.mediation.service@uwo.ca
Web site: 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 21, 2012 until 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 2, 2013. The listings will continue to be available on our Web site: offcampus.uwo.ca