Overview of the Laws for Landlords and Tenants in Alberta website

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The Laws for Landlords and Tenants website (www.landlordandtenant.org) provides plain language information on residential tenancies law for landlords, tenants and service providers in Alberta. With up-to-date information and over 50 free publications and resources, the website attracts over 631,000 visits per year, reaching 1 in 6 Albertans!

The Laws for Landlords and Tenants website is part of the Residential Tenancies Legal Information Program (RTLIP) at the Legal Resource Centre of Alberta Ltd. (operating as the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta “CPLEA”). RTLIP consists of a number of other activities such as:

• Developing new information and resources on emerging residential tenancies issues
• Providing information and referral services
• Conducting community outreach
• Delivering presentations on renting law
• Contributing to law and policy development on residential tenancies issues

CPLEA is a non-profit organization that provides legal information, education, training, research and consulting services. CPLEA has many programs, projects and resources, including 13 different websites and over 150 publications, on a wide variety of justice and legal issues. For more information about CPLEA’s other programs and projects, please visit https://www.cplea.ca/

For direct information on the Landlord and Tenant Laws please visit https://www.landlordandtenant.org/

Funding for the Residential Tenancies Legal Information Program is generously provided by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation.

A Clean Energy Program is on the Horizon for Albertans. Will it Work?

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For Immediate Release, Calgary – A 2018 survey reported that 68 per cent of Albertans believe the provincial economy would benefit by transitioning to lower carbon energy sources. The Property Assessed Clean Energy program (PACE) has worked in several jurisdictions in the U.S. as well as Canada and with newly enacted legislation, Alberta is poised to implement its own PACE program.

PACE can help Albertans by providing financing for clean energy upgrades to their properties. The funding would take the form of a loan repaid through an annual amount added to their property taxes.

The School of Public Policy with author Mukesh Khanal released a report that examines PACE and experiences with similar programs in both the U.S. and Canada. The report also offers a solid framework for creating an Alberta model.

According to Khanal, “Alberta is in an ideal position to develop regulations that address the program’s main issues.

Still at square one with newly enacted legislation, the Alberta government must address such issues as the size of PACE loans, eligibility requirements for property owners, what types of environmental upgrades will be permitted and even the interest rate on loans funding the program.

The mayors of Calgary and Edmonton along with officials of smaller Alberta municipalities have expressed their enthusiasm for a provincial PACE program. However, Alberta will face a number of unique challenges first. The downturn in the provincial economy, combined with the decline in household income, the highest personal debt levels in Canada and the highest unemployment rate in the country, may make Albertans averse to taking on more personal financial obligations. Finding trustworthy contractors, getting estimates and researching the products available for the desired upgrades can also add up to an exhaustive effort that could deter busy homeowners.”

Clarity around the terms of the PACE lien will be a key factor for the program’s success in Alberta, as the lien has proven problematic elsewhere. The lien is supposed to be attached to the property and not the owner, but the U.S. has seen numerous instances in which buyers insisted the PACE lien be paid off before the sale closed or demanded that the seller lower the asking price to account for the loan’s outstanding balance.

The Alberta government will need to find a way forward that combines best practices from other jurisdictions with a regulatory framework that addresses PACE’s shortcomings. The research offered in the report is a starting point from which the Alberta government can fashion a strong and equitable PACE program that would be a model for other jurisdictions.

The paper can be downloaded on from The School of Public Policy’s website.

Media contact:
Morten Paulsen
morten.paulsen2@ucalgary.ca
403.220.2540

Land Access Strategies for New Farmers in Alberta

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2017-2018 Annual Report Highlight

Statistics Canada reports that only 8 per cent of farmers across the country have a succession plan. Meanwhile they’re getting closer to retirement. The average age of producers in Alberta is 57 and fewer of their children want to take over the family farm.

“Seventy-five per cent of farmers say they will sell their land in the next 10 years. That’s a huge transfer of land,” says Dana Penrice, prairie program manager at Young Agrarians. “At the same time we’re seeing a trend of new farmers coming from non-farming backgrounds.

They’re first generation farmers and they’re looking for land.” AREF is supporting the Young Agrarians’ Organic Alberta project which will research, consult and survey new farmers, older farmers as well as land experts to better understand the upcoming land transfer in Alberta.

The project will host workshops on intergenerational communication, succession planning and other topics regarding land transfer. They’re branding the initiative: ‘Want land? Got land?’

“What we’re facing is a really significant change in assets in terms of land and farm ownership,” says Penrice.

“We need to figure out this whole land access issue. How do we match up people who are looking for land and people who have land?”

Read the Alberta Real Estate Foundation’s full 2017-2018 Annual Report.