There had been signs of a looming landlord shuffle in Mike Yearly’s Craig Henry Drive neighbourhood.
The large signs the Minto Group, his former landlord, had propped up around the area had the “Minto” erased from “Minto South Centrepointe rental properties.”
“I should have noticed,” said Yearly, who has been living in his Craig Henry Drive townhouse for just over three years. “There might have been some signs that something was going on.”
It was after the fact that Yearly, along with residents in 369 townhomes and two apartment buildings in the area, heard the news of a large acquisition that got them a new landlord: Ottawa Community Housing (OCH).
Historic transaction for OCH
Yearly’s townhouse is among the 503 units included in “the largest acquisition” in OCH history. The transaction between OCH and Minto went live on OCH’s website Sept. 17.
OCH announced the deal brought 73 townhouse blocks into OCH’s portfolio.
“I had no idea this was going to happen,” Yearly said, echoing the same sentiments expressed by many residents along Craig Henry Drive who live in townhomes and say the transaction was abrupt, calling for more transparency.
The acquisition is meant to protect long-term affordability for family-sized rental housing , and is in line with Ottawa’s efforts to preserve affordable family homes, OCH stated. The townhomes will be part of the OCH’s ARRIV Properties portfolio.
Councillor wasn’t at liberty to discuss deal
“ARRIV is OCH’s affordable rental housing program and is different from traditional rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing,” Knoxdale-Merivale ward Coun. Sean Devine (who is seeking re-election) wrote in his announcement about the transaction.
Devine said his office was aware of the proposed acquisition “for a while” and had been in contact with OCH and Minto throughout the transfer. “However, because the transaction was still being finalized until (Sept.16), I was not at liberty to discuss it publicly before today’s announcement,” he wrote.
In his post, Devine acknowledged that while change can “understandably create uncertainty,” he said the acquisition is also an important milestone for Ottawa’s efforts to expand affordable housing .
“Of the 503 homes, 491 have two or more bedrooms, and the (transaction) is intended for low- and moderate-income households and “helps bridge the gap between social housing and Ottawa’s increasingly expensive private rental market,” he continued.
Knoxdale-Merivale ward councillor candidate Cole Fraser Jones spoke out on social media about residents deserving to be informed in advance of large acquisitions such as this one.
“You’ve got a $150 million purchase of 500 homes and nobody knew what was going on,” Fraser Jones said in an interview, adding that his campaign inbox is “exploding” with concerns from affected Ward 9 residents.
“It was a surprise announcement.
“If we’re doing this to avoid another Heron Gate fiasco that happened in 2018 with the mass evictions, then say so, and we’re all on board. But you can’t just thrust huge, impactful transactions like this on the ward,” he says of Devine’s social media post about the announcement Sept. 17.
What it means for residents
Under OCH’s ownership, existing tenants can stay in their homes.
Yearly says he also won’t need to submit an income verification to OCH, according to the information package.
“First thing I thought as well, my income is higher, so they’re going to tell me, ‘Well, you make too much, you have to go out.’”
Yearly said this was a relief for him, but added that the lack of transparency from Minto’s part was disappointing.
“To get the courtesy of (Minto) saying, ‘Hey we sold your townhome and this is your new landlord,’ … but nothing,” he said.
OCH has already conducted its outreach to residents in the area. Yearly says he received information packages from two OCH representatives who were going door-to-door.
“I jokingly said to my wife, ‘You think Minto sold the property?’” Yearly recalled. “Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, they’d come banging on the door and tell us, ‘We bought your property.’”
For resident Krystin Stacenko, the rumour had travelled fast.
Stacenko said she’d heard about the possibility three months prior, but the paperwork wasn’t “dropped off at her door until everything was finalized.”
“Honestly, I’m fine with it,” she says. “But if we can prove we’re low income, we shouldn’t have to go through the process of applying for OCH housing (rent adjustments). All our homes are Ottawa housing, so we should be able to … have the same benefits.”
Stacenko said that while OCH would not be increasing the rent immediately, “they’re also not going to lower it for people who are already here.”
According to a document provided to residents by OCH, no rent increases are planned as a result of the ownership transfer and the lease will remain the same as the original one signed with Minto.
“If rents increase in the future, any increase would follow the annual rent increase guideline,” read the document.
Residents in need of assistance with maintenance issues or safety concerns are encouraged to contact Ottawa Community Housing’s 24/7 Contact Centre at 613-731-1182.
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