We previously went over certain aspects of rent that tenants should be aware of including: how rent price is set, what services it covers, payment methods, rent deposits, and rent receipts. Another aspect of renting that tenants should be aware of is the fact that a rent can change if circumstances permit.

Tenants should be aware of the following:

Rent can increase. A landlord can increase rent, but usually only after a tenant has been living in the residence for a period of 12 months. The landlord must first give written 90-day notice to the tenant. Rent increases can occur in the following situations:

-  Yearly increase set by the Ontario Government. The Landlord and Tenant act must approve any increase beyond that unless agreed upon between the landlord and tenant.

-  Significant increase in municipal taxes, charges, or utilities has occurred.

-  Major repairs or renovations have been done.

Rent can be reduced. There are certain situations where the landlord is required to decrease rent. This includes situations where utility costs have gone down significantly or municipal property tax is reduced by more than the prescribed percentage.

Ottawa apartments rent also you can reduce with discuss your Ottawa agents.

Tenants can apply for rent reductions: this usually occurs if municipal taxes or charges on the property decrease, when a landlord removes a service that was previously provided, or the conditions upon which a landlord increased rent above the guideline are not met.



CLV Group Ottawa - Your Full Service Real Estate Provider. Choose Kingston apartments for rent, Guelph apartments for rent and Hamilton apartment rentals from here.

When you first look for an apartment, it may be tempting to find the best deal first, rather than taking other aspects of apartment hunting into consideration. Though getting a great deal is important, and is something we’ll discuss later, one of the first considerations you should be making is what location suits your needs best.

Here we discuss about proximity when considering apartment locations:

2. Proximity:

1. The apartment you choose to live in should ideally bring together a balance between price, and proximity to locations you visit often. Mark down on a map the locations that you visit most frequently and feel you may want near by.

2. If you are moving to a new town you should start off with the locations that you know of that you need to be near (employment for instance) then consult a map to see if the area has different amenities near by that suit your needs.

3. Once these locations are marked, you should have a strong idea of the general location that suits your needs best. Here are a few examples of locations you’ll want to mark down:

1. Employment
2. Schools (if applicable).
3. Medical attention (hospitals, doctors offices, dentists, pharmacies).
4. Shopping (groceries, supplies, clothing).
5. Transportation: public transportation, highway access.
6. Any other locations you feel are important.

4. If you find there are a few residential areas that suit your living needs, factor in some other locations that may increase your fondness of an area, some examples include:

1. Restaurants
2. Public Parks
3. Community Centers
4. Athletic/ recreational facilities
5. Religious centers
6. Entertainment (theatres, cinemas, concert halls, ect)

By finding these locations on a map, you can create a general radius of areas that suit you. If numerous areas suit your living situation, colour code according to preference. This may help when going on to look at other aspects that should be taken into consideration when finding the best location for you to live in.
Next time we’ll offer advice on how to choose your location once you’ve found a few general areas you feel that you would be comfortable living in.

###

CLV Group Ottawa - Your Full Service Real Estate Provider. Choose Kingston apartment rentals, london ontario apartment rentals and toronto apartment rentals from here.

After following our advice on choosing a location radius that suits your needs, the following to aspects you should take into consideration are general location safety, average cost of apartments, and availability.

1. Safety:

1. It is important to take the time and look into the level of safety that an area offers. Consider your living situation, and the level of safety you feel is required to live comfortably. For instance, you may feel more comfortable living in a family oriented community if you have children, versus living in a student occupied area.

2. Put some time into researching the areas you are considering, and rate each one from 1 to 10, 1 being least safe, 10 being most safe. Some aspects to consider are whether or not the community has a neighborhood watch or safety program in place, or if there are any near by police institutions.

3. One example of a safety program in place is called the "Crime Free Multi Housing Program". This is prevalent in the Ottawa area and CLV Group(http://www.clvgroup.com/) has many locations with this sought after status

2. Availability:

1. Once you have a general area in mind, look into whether or not there are many options available for rent. Some areas may be largely residential, but may only have single homes. Other areas may have more options such as low-level apartments, high-rise apartments, duplexes, town homes, or other renting options. Though you may be set on a location, if there are no renting options available then you’ll have to start looking at different area radii you’ve selected.

2. Rate each area from 1 to 10, 1 being hardly any renting options available, 10 being many options available.

3. Cost:

1. Research the radius areas you’ve chosen to find out general price ranges for the kind of unit you are looking for.

2. Rate each location from 1 to 10, 1 being not close to your approximate rental price for the kind of unit you want, 10 being almost exactly the cost you can afford for the kind of unit you are looking for.

If you are lucky, once you’ve followed these steps, it will become far clearer to you where you should be looking to rent. The ideal location would be a location within one of the radii you’ve selected, which has a high average area code (combining safety, availability, and cost ratings). At this point you will also have to consider which factors are more important to you, however by having a map out with each area rated, the decision process should be far easier.

###

CLV Group Ottawa - Your Full Service Real Estate Provider for Ottawa townhome rentals, Ottawa property management and Ottawa real estate agents.

CLV Group, Ottawa's source for Apartment/House Rentals, Property Management, Commercial and Residential Real Estate, Hotel Management and Mortgage Financing.