It's getting hot in here

Just as a cool snap hits, this story about extreme heat came to my attention:

Air-conditioning fees probed [London Free Press]

Suzanne Young, 49, who couldn't afford a $50 monthly fee to run an air-conditioner was found dead earlier this month in her sweltering apartment. Another Sarnia resident, Stanley Scott, 58, was found dead in his basement apartment three days later.

Bradley had asked [Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, John] Gerretsen to protect tenants from being gouged by landlords for extra air conditioning fees.

In a reply, Gerretsen said he has asked ministry staff to consider changes to legislation to help residents remain cool in their rental housing during the summer. [read more]

Our current building has the same fee (a generic $50/month fee for 'large applicances'), but I know for a fact that it's not levied on everyone. It would be nice if the law acknowledged the necessity of climate control - or at least the depravity of denying it to those at risk.

Why do we live in houses, anyway? - "The idea of urban houses spread to the British Isles thanks to England's strong commercial and cultural links with the Netherlands. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain adopted the row house in many guises, as Georgian crescent, middle-class terrace, and workingmen's row. It has been estimated that, by the beginning of the 20th century, nine out of 10 dwellings in England and Wales were row houses." [Slate]

Landlord licensing in works to force fixes at 'appalling' apartments - "Moscoe said he plans to introduce a licensing scheme to force landlords to clean up their buildings based on the model followed for restaurants.'We inspect restaurants periodically. If there's a problem, it gets inspected monthly until it gets cleaned up,' said Moscoe." [CBC]

Rental realities - "The tenant reports posted on a new ratings website suggest that some Toronto apartments are crawling with unsought guests, guileful supers and nightmarish neighbours." [Globe and Mail]

Retrofit that s***!

Faulty towers - "Typically viewed as "mistakes" from the 1960s and '70s, and largely excluded from urban debates, [high-rise apartments] may in fact represent one of our greatest opportunities for creating a sustainable region... Though efficiencies are gained from reduced land coverage, transit use and so on, exposed floor edges (typically protruding balconies), minimal insulation, single-pane windows, and aging mechanical systems give these buildings an unacceptable environmental impact. A typical 25-storey building contributes 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide." [Toronto Star]

No new funds for affordable housing

Thanks for the thoughts, but where's the money? - "Two days ago, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty complained that Monday's federal budget fell short of the dollars that Ontario was seeking. "Justice delayed is justice denied," said the Premier of the Harper budget. The same can be said of Premier McGuinty's own budget, which falls far short of delivering the dollars that would lift Ontario children, and their families, out of poverty." [Wellesley Institute via CNW Telbec]

Crisis Looms in Market for Mortgages - "Hanging in the balance is the nation’s housing market, which has been a big driver of the economy. Fewer lenders means many potential homebuyers will find it more difficult to get credit, while hundreds of thousands of homes will go up for sale as borrowers default, further swamping a stalled market." [New York Times]

Gilding abysmal housing record - "Judging by the sod-turnings, ribbon-cuttings and new projects announced regularly by the Ministry of Housing, you'd think the provincial Liberals were well on their way to creating the 20,000 units of affordable housing they promised in the last election...Since [McGuinty] became premier, just 2,894 new units of affordable housing have been built. Another 2,446 are under construction and 1,304 are in the planning and approval stages." [Toronto Star]

A tale of two towers (and two landlords) - "At first glance, the state of 1011 Lansdowne doesn't seem unusual. It's a low-rent, badly designed building in a traditionally sketchy part of town, just north of Dupont Street. But then you notice that it is attached to another 23-storey tower: 730 St. Clarens Avenue [which] has none of the problems that plague its neighbour. The drastic difference between the two suggests the real issue with troubled buildings: It's not poor people, not immigrants, not gangs -- it's the landlord." [Globe and Mail]

Toronto home prices up 290% - "While Barrie topped the survey [at 372%], other locations in the Golden Horseshoe area also did well. St. Catharines was in second place, showing a 329 per cent increase, the equivalent of a 6 per cent annual increase compounded... close behind was the Hamilton-Burlington area with a 325 per cent increase." [Toronto Star]