IHM News, Volume 18, December 2003

IHMnews Volume 18, December 2003

INSTITUTE OF HOUSING MANAGEMENT

Canadian Publications Mail Agreement # 40739009

E N H A N C I N G T H E K N OW L E D G E A N D S K I L L S O F P RO PE R T Y M A N AG E M E N T P RO F E S S I O N A L S

Windsor “Y” Residence Inc.

Inside Windsor “Y” Residence Inc.................................................................2 President’s Message......................................................................3 What We’ve Been Up To ................................................................4 Chapter Updates ...........................................................................5 Are there Lessons to be learned in Manchester?...........................6 IHM Board of Directors .................................................................8

Cover Story

Windsor “Y” Residence Inc. About Us “Y” RESIDENCE MISSION STATEMENT: To provide single, low-income adult men and women with safe, affordable, permanent housing and temporary accommodations for single men and women who require emergency shelter and who are able to live independently.

McDougall Street Residence Opened December 1, 1989 The residence at 1101 McDougall was built as a result of the need for permanent housing for low-income men and women in our community. It was found that the majority of persons who were being accommodated at the old YMCA Residence on Pellissier Street, which was founded in the 1920’s, were not being housed temporarily. Rather, they were residing on a permanent because of the lack of affordable housing. Some residents of the old YMCA on Pellissier Street had lived at the “Y” for over 10 years. The old residence was in need of repairs and it was decided to build a new residence with financial assistance from the provincial Ministry of Housing.

The McDougall site was opened on December 1, 1989. Built by Roko Construction Ltd., the architect was Joe Passa. The six-floor apartment building was constructed with 70 bachelor suites and five two-bedroom suites for permanent housing and five “emergency” bachelor suites. 90% of the first residents at 1101 McDougall

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had to be moved from the old Pellissier Street Residence in one day. A strict timetable with a move-out schedule and move-in schedule was set up in advance and co-ordinated by staff at the Pellissier Street site and the McDougall site. All residents were issued with a chair, drapes, shower curtain, cutlery, dishes, draining board, a small carpet, mattress, mattress protector, garbage can and a broom on arrival at their new apartment at McDougall.

These items were issued on a one-time-only basis to assist in the transition process.

Dougall Street Residence Opened on May 1, 1995 The residence at 455 Dougall was also built as a result of the need for permanent housing for low-income single men and women in our community. It was opened on May 1, 1995, built by Marathon Construction Ltd. and the architect was John Hreno. The Dougall residence also has six floors with 56 one bedroom apartments, five of which are dedicated as accessible units, with tenants who are provided with 24 hour care from the Association for Persons with Physical

Disabilities, who use one additional unit as an office which is staffed 24 hours per day.

The McDougall and Dougall residences are classed as adult buildings and occupancy is denied to persons under 16 years of age.

Present Day Both buildings presently receive funding from the City of Windsor, under a new department of Social Housing. We also receive small funding from Windsor Social Services under a support to daily living programme, which enables us to provide counselling.

Emergency Shelter Our emergency shelter component, consisting of five completely furnished bachelor suites is presently utilized to capacity, with referrals on a daily basis from social service agencies, hospitals and self-referrals. These units are available on a temporary basis only and are operated under The Innkeepers Act. We maintain a strict “Zero Tolerance Policy” for behaviour regarding all temporary guests and a Code of Conduct and Rules of Behaviour must be signed prior to registration. For more information visit our website at www.symatron.com/wyr

IHM News

Editorial

President’s Message Reflections! Resolutions!

Seeing! Not Just Looking !

Greg Grange, B.A., A.I.H.M.

As a New Year rolls out, a tradition of resolution making continues and almost becomes the force of future positive changes.

As professional property managers, we make resolutions based on past experiences to improve our business performances that may exceed our diminishing and stretched resources.

Webster defines resolution as a “decision as to future actions”.

As professionals, we must be cautious when setting our goals and objectives based on our experiences.

Be realistic! Consider all business details!

From reducing operating costs, rent arrears, annual inspections, to improved tenant relations, whether in the public or private sectors, property management is a complex and specialized business.

Generally speaking, our business focuses on managing issues which can have far-reaching implications not only on our financial bottom line but also on our customer relations, marketing our properties, and our own well-being.

Let’s visualize and reflect on related experiences in the past year such as a vacation or the annual IHM Conference. We return from such events full of energy, motivation, and creative ideas for the future.

Our head is full of wonders we have seen, new cities, new buildings, fascinating architecture, breathtaking scenery, and the camaraderie of colleagues. The list is endless.

December 2003

However, upon returning to work, we retreat to the “comfort zones” of our day-to-day office routine and dim the senses that were elevated. Property managers are by no means procrastinators. They are simply overwhelmed with daily maintenance requests, difficult contractors, major capital improvements, and sometimes, unsolvable tenant complaints.

Our customers may perceive these things as indicators of poor management. What are we saying about ourselves and our business without meaning to, because we are looking but not seeing?

Look to your surroundings as a customer or client would. In the New Year, make simple but meaningful changes before familiarity settles in. Use your energies to set yourself some goals not only in your professional career but also in your personal life.

Prioritize and ask yourself “What is the one thing, if done properly, will significantly improve my overall performance and set me apart?” Find one clear business strategy and you will focus on how to align your property management core business functions to achieve positive results in the future.

There are so many competing priorities! Empty the baskets and focus on success! Make your New Year resolutions stretching your limits but be realistic.

Keep them by taking small steps. Set several mini milestones and review them regularly so you can recapture progress, your energy and enthusiasm.

Why not start looking and really seeing?

Yours truly, Greg Grange, B.A., A.I.H.M. President

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IHM News

What we’ve been up to IHM Booth The Institute of Housing Management participated once again in both the ONPHA and PM Expo Trade Shows this fall, where we had the opportunity to showcase our new exhibit booth backdrop. Hundreds of delegates at both venues dropped by the booth to pick up information on IHM as well as education opportunities offered through Distance Learning and Humber College. Those who stopped by were also able to pick up copies of our newsletters, membership applications and advance con-

ference brochures. Thanks go out to all the IHM members and volunteers who helped staff the booth at these events: Irwin Peters, Allan Vansteenkist, Collette Valliear, Carolyn Hilborn-Vasco, Kevin O’Hara, Carol Markow, Erich Auswald, Doug Spitzer, Linda Stone, Anneliese Kraehling, Mary Pinto and Vickie Pocock. If you would be interested in helping out at the booth in the future, please drop us a line at ihm@taylorenterprises.com.

New Members

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Graduates New Candidate Members Joanne Kennedy Devin Baker Anthony Wallace Richard Moore Brian Chard Tanya Steffler New Accredited Members Anita Tang Property and Building Administration Course Completions Margaret Smith Mary Eagles Paul Kelly Ernest Tsui

PM EXPO 2003 – December 3-5, 2003. IHM Board members (L to R): Irwin Peters, Mary Pinto, Vickie Pocock, Greg Grange and Board candidate representative Lynn Alexander at the IHM exhibit booth.

China Chapter Discussions and negotiations with our contacts in China regarding the start up of a China Chapter of IHM are ongoing. President, Greg Grange who is heading this project remains optimistic and feels there is definitely a market to connect with in China.

Efforts are being made in Ontario to form a committee consisting of IHM members familiar with the Chinese housing market and either Mandarin or Cantonese dialect.

Interested IHM members should contact Greg Grange at ihm@taylorenterprises.com.

Human Relations Course Completions Ernest Tsui Sue Anderson Building Maintenance Course Completions Betty McConkey Kennelly Lyn Tanguay Ernest Tsui Pamela Lowrick Maria Muffels

Wigwamen Conference IHM Fellow Member, Terry Novosad was invited by the MMAH to attend the 2003 Aboriginal Housing Conference held in Thunder Bay on October 15th, 2003 where he presented a session on maintenance and capital planning to a group property managers and administrators serving the native housing community.

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Strategic and Financial Planning Course Completions Kathy Harris

IHM News

IHM News

Updates Chapter Updates Preventative Maintenance Workshop – Update

Eviction Avoidance Workshop – Update

An all day training workshop was held in the Central Chapter Area on Thursday December 4th, 2003. The session attracted over 30 property managers eager for knowledge on the issue of preventative maintenance measures for the areas of Plumbing and Electrical Systems as well as for the Building Envelope. The session was instructed by IHM Fellow member, Terry Novosad and overall feedback from participants was quite positive.

Eastern Chapter Hosts Annual Golf Tournament The IHM Eastern Chapter hosted the first (in a long time) and, we hope, Annual IHM Golf Tournament on Thursday September 18th, 2003. The event was held at the Colonnade Golf and Country Club just off Hwy. 401, 15 minutes from Kingston and included a BBQ dinner and prizes. Although, only 8 members were able to attend this year, a great time was had by all and organizers hope to at least double the number of attendees for next year. And the winner… was none other, than IHM President, Greg Grange!!

Participants at the October 8th, 2003 Eviction Workshop get tips from Presenter Henry Verschuren.

Approximately forty property managers and administrators from the Eastern Chapter area attended a one-day workshop on October 8th, 2003 at Cataraqui Arena in Kingston. The session focused on “How to Evict” by using the Tenant Protection Act. The session was sponsored by the City of Kingston, Housing Division in conjunction with The Institute of Housing Management.

Henry Verschuren, the provincial expert on the Tenant Protection Act was the session presenter.

Did You Know…?

IHM Chapters are located throughout the Province which offer local training sessions, updates and social activities for IHM members. Several chapters are currently seeking volunteers to serve on committees and/or help with special events.

If you would like further information on the IHM Chapter activities in your area, or would like to become involved on your local chapter committee, please email the administration office at: ihm@taylorenterprises.com indicating which Chapter you are interested in.

December 2003

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Feature

Are There Lessons to be learned in Manchester?

By Janice Sheehy

This is an area with a rich tradition of social housing, a large immigrant population resulting in long waiting lists for units, an aging stock in need of capital rejuvenation and a government intent on devolving responsibility for administration to lower levels in the community all in the name of efficiency. You could be forgiven for assuming that I’m talking about Ontario.

The region I’m describing is in fact the United Kingdom, and more specifically Manchester in the North of England.

I recently spent time in this region, researching existing conditions and taking a look at some of the innovative new housing initiatives they’ve begun to implement.

Unlike Canada, the national government in Great Britain plays an active role in setting standards, researching housing issues and providing leadership in social policy.

These factors combined with a forward thinking City Council have allowed Manchester to be creative in looking for housing solutions. Working as partners, the national and city governments have focused their efforts in three areas: setting standards that are linked to funding; facilitating changes to governance structures; and finally, encouraging innovative solutions to existing housing problems.

Linking Standards to Funding

Great Britain has a long and diverse history of providing housing to her citizens. Attitudes in Canada have changed significantly in the last 20 years; however, social hous-

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ing in Britain continues to be more socially acceptable and mainstream.

There is recognition at a national level that housing is but one component that impacts on the quality of life. Since the 1970s, the government has researched and attempted to define measures of deprivation, defined as “the lack of the material standards of diet and clothing and nonparticipation in education, employment and/or recreation”. (Page 1, Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000, Planning Studies, Environment & Development (Planning Division) Manchester City Council, Sep-

tember 2000). The most recent measure is the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2000 and in addition to housing, the index includes weighted components related to: employment, income, health and disability, education, skills and training and geographic access to services. By applying a quantifiable measure of deprivation to each region, all levels of government have been able to target scare resources to the most deprived areas.

As the Greater Manchester Area currently has 27 among 33 of the most deprived areas in Great Britain they have successfully

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Feature

argued the case for additional government funding at both the national and international levels (through European Economic Community grants).

In terms of specific targets for housing, in July 2000, the national government announced an increase in resources for social housing, to ensure that it meets set standards of decency by 2010. To assist in meeting these targets, Decent Housing Standards have been created. A decent home is defined as one that meets the following four criteria: it is in a reasonable state of repair; it has reasonably modern facilities and services; it provides a reasonable degree of thermal comfort; and it meets the current statutory minimum for housing (as defined under section 604 of the Housing Act 1985 and amended by the 1989 Local Government and Housing Act).

By establishing a system to measure standards, the national government can set and enforce a series of targets through Performance Standards Agreements that it negotiates with each local city council. If the targets are met, council receives additional funding. The beauty of this system is twofold, first it results in active consultation and planning with the community to determine how council will meet its targets, and second it provides measurable and quantifiable standards.

Changes to Governance Structures

There is recognition by the Manchester city council that they simply can’t provide all the funding that is required to meet their targets in terms of the Decent Housing Standards. Staff currently estimate that it will require £1.4 billion (approximately $3.085 billion Canadian) to bring public sector housing up to required standards.

Therefore, they are looking at transfers of housing from council ownership to other social landlords such as not-for-profit organizations (i.e. housing associations or trusts). By allowing the transfers, trusts can find creative and alternative ways to finance repairs, because trusts are not restricted to the same spending rules that December 2003

apply to council; trusts can seek private sector funding.

One very successful transfer is the Willow Park Housing Trust. I spent the afternoon touring the estate with Mervyn Jones, Executive Director. Not so long ago, this estate was perhaps one of the worst in Britain. It had a reputation for crime, drug dealers and boarded up houses. Mervyn stated that they literally couldn’t find tenants willing to live there. There was acknowledgement by all levels of government that new approaches were necessary to turn this estate around.

91% of the tenants voted to transfer ownership from city council to a local housing trust and since that time spending per home is now at £14,000 ($30,850 Canadian) made possible through private sector involvement. The funding has been used to upgrade the units, implement a warden scheme to improve security, create community gardens and introduce job training. There are active residents associations and a general attitude of optimism amongst the tenants that wasn’t there before the transfer.

Innovative Approaches to Housing

In Ontario the very thought of removing a unit of social housing stock is anathema, but the Greater Manchester Area is leading the way in implementing the right to buy into their tenancy agreements. Generally if you’ve been a tenant of Manchester City Council or another public sector landlord or lived in armed forces accommodation for 2 years or more, and if you do not live in specialist housing for the elderly or disabled, you are eligible to buy your unit at a discounted price that is far below market value. The value of the discount increases the longer you’ve been a tenant.

For houses, the discounted price would be between 32% and 60% of market value and for apartments it’s between 44% and 70%.

Whereas we would never consider this option in Ontario, staff in Manchester says that experience has shown that existing tenants continue to live in their unit after purchase. This has a number of advantages. Council no longer funds operating or capital expenses associated with the unit, and tenant purchase leads to an obvious pride of ownership. At Willowside, the “owned” houses were evident by significant upgrading usually in the form of tenant purchased cladding. It was as though the existing owner wanted to clearly inform the neighbourhood (and the world) that they owned their unit.

To combat fraud and the possible desire to purchase a unit at a discount and then quickly flip it for a profit, the right-to-buy agreement contains specific provisions as to who can buy and when you can sell (if you sell before three years you will have to pay back the discount). The Manchester City Council has been very aggressive about taking legal action against former tenants who attempt to cheat the system.

Conclusion

There are numerous other initiatives that Great Britain is undertaking to ensure that social housing remains viable and reflective of society’s needs, including greater resident involvement and a more holistic and coordinated approach to housing. Housing policy staff in Manchester believes that you can continue to work on social housing but if your private housing market fails, you won’t have a healthy community. And that pretty well sums it up. Great Britain clearly recognizes and values the role of housing in terms of creating and sustaining healthy communities. ■

Janice Sheehy is the Manager of Finance and Administration for the Public Health and Community Services Department in the City of Hamilton. This department encompasses all social housing and homelessness programs for the region. Janice has 12 years in social housing administration at both the provincial and municipal level.

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IHM 2003-2004 Board of Directors IHM Administration Lynn Morrovat Administrator Mary Lou Murray Administrative Assistant

DIRECTORS, CONT’D

Greg Grange, B.A., A.I.H.M. Mgr., Housing Division City of Kingston 216 Ontario Street Kingston, ON K7L 2Z3 Tel: (613) 546-4291 ext. 1265 Fax: (613) 546-3004 E-mail: ggrange@city.kingston.on.ca

Irwin Peters, A.I.H.M., Asc.T. Chair: Marketing Committee The Regional Municipality of Waterloo 385 Fairway Road South Suite #202 Kitchener, ON N2C 2N9 Tel: (519) 575-4801 Ext. 1215 Fax: (519) 893-8447 E-mail: pirwin@region.waterloo.on.ca

Mary Pinto, A.I.H.M. Regional Municipality of Waterloo Planning, Housing & Community Services 150 Frederick Street, 8th Floor Kitchener, ON N2G 4J3 Tel: (519) 575-4789 Fax: (519) 743-6527 E-mail: pimary@region.waterloo.on.ca

SECRETARY Deborah Filice, A.I.H.M. The Regional Municipality of Halton 700 Dorval Drive, Suite #405 Oakville, ON L6K 3V3 Tel: (905) 825-6000 Ext. 4414 Fax: (905) 849-3568 E-mail: filiced@region.halton.on.ca

TREASURER William J. Corrigan, A.I.H.M. Williams and McDaniel Chair: Finance Committee 66 Macdonell Street, Suite 301 Guelph, ON N1H 2Z6 Tel: (705) 788-7690 Toll Free 1-866-774-508 Fax: (705) 788-0928 E-mail: billco@cogeco.ca

DIRECTORS Joan Cranmer, F.I.H.M. Lam Nova Co-Op Chair: Education Committee 5955 Glen Erin Drive, Unit 79 Mississauga, ON L5M 5N9 E-mail: dcranmer@cogeco.ca Tel: (905) 821-7622 Fax: (905) 821-1432

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IHM Office Tel: (416) 493-7382 Fax: (416) 491-1670 E-mail: ihm@taylorenterprises.com Website: www.ihm-canada.com

PRESIDENT

VICE-PRESIDENT

Holiday Greetings

Vicki Pocock, A.I.H.M. Chair: Communications/Newsletter Windsor-Essex County Housing Corporation Glengarry Office 415 University Ave. E. Windsor, ON N9A 2Z3 Tel: (519) 254-1681 Ext. 217 Fax: (519) 258-7700 E-mail: vpocock@wechc.com Harry Popiluk, F.I.H.M. Victoria Park Community Homes 155 Queen Street North Hamilton, ON L8R 2V7 Tel: (905) 527-0221 Ext.15 Fax: (905) 527-3181 E-mail: hpopiluk@vpch.com

CANDIDATE REPRESENTATIVE Lynn Alexander Property Manager The Regional Municipality of Durham Social Services Dept. – Housing Services Division 2 Simcoe St. South, 2nd Floor Oshawa, ON L1H 8C1 Tel: (905) 434-5011 Fax: (905) 434-1943 E-mail: Lynn.alexander@region.durham.on.ca

The Institute of Housing Management Board of Directors and staff wish to extend warm holiday greetings to all IHM Members, Business Partners, Associates and Friends, and give thanks for the continued support they have lent over the past year. Through working together, IHM can continue it’s goal of representing “Professionalism at its Finest”.

Please note that the IHM offices will be closed during the holiday season from Thursday December 25th, 2003 through Sunday January 4th, 2004.

ACCOUNTANT/ BOOKKEEPER RGI ADMINISTRATION NewViews CIM/HMWORX RAY ALEXANDER • 15 years experience • reasonable rates • references (416) 419-0177 rayalex1@hotmail.com

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