Financial Incentive for Tenants to Vacate
Surplus Houses in the Scarborough Transportation
Corridor (Ward 13 - Scarborough Bluffs,
Ward 14 - Scarborough Highland Creek
and Ward 26 - East Toronto)
(City Council on October 28, 29 and 30, 1998, deferred consideration of this Clause to the next regular meeting of City
Council to be held on November 25, 1998.)
The Corporate Services Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (September 23, 1998) from
the Commissioner of Corporate Services:
Purpose:
This report recommends that the City extend the same financial incentives to tenants of houses in the Scarborough
Transportation Corridor as have been approved for tenants within the Spadina Corridor.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
The cost of the financial incentives recommended in this report are to be deducted from the revenue of the sale of the
properties.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1)City Council affirm the former Metro Council's position that tenants within the Scarborough Transportation Corridor
be given the first opportunity to purchase the City-owned houses they rent at current market value;
(2)the tenants who do not wish to purchase the property be offered a financial incentive to provide vacant possession of
the property, as follows:
(i)two months rent for tenants with less than three years occupancy; and
(ii)three months rent for tenants with three or more years occupancy; and
(3)the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Council Reference/Background/History:
The former Metropolitan Toronto Council directed that surplus residential properties within both the Scarborough
Transportation Corridor and Spadina Expressway Corridor be offered for sale first to the existing tenants, and then on the
open market.
A staff report dated May 13, 1998, and considered by Council on July 8, 9, and 10, outlined a process for disposing of the
surplus residential properties within these two projects. Included as part of the staff recommendations was a proposal to
offer tenants who did not wish to purchase their leased property, a financial incentive equivalent to either one or two
months rent, depending upon length of tenure, in order to obtain vacant possession.
Corporate Services Committee amended the staff recommendation vis a vis the financial incentive by recommending to
Council that tenants in the Spadina Corridor be offered the equivalent of two months rent for those with less than three
years tenure, and three months for longer occupancy. Council's adoption of the Committee recommendations had the
effect of providing different financial incentives to tenants in the two transportation projects.
Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:
Experience has shown that most purchasers of residential property want to occupy the property themselves, and therefore
properties to be sold which are subject to an existing tenancy generally sell for a lower price and take longer to sell.
The Spadina and Scarborough corridors contain a majority of the surplus residential properties the City owns. Marketing
efforts in these two projects, where the direction has been to first offer the property to the tenant, should include similar
financial incentives to obtain vacant possession.
Conclusion:
Providing a financial incentive to the City's tenants in the Scarborough Transportation Corridor to vacate the properties
will make the City's properties more attractive to prospective purchasers, and will result in a higher net return than selling
the properties subject to the existing tenancies.
Contact Name:
R. Mayr, AACI, Director of Real Estate, Telephone (416) 396-4930, Fax (416) 396-4241mayr@city.scarborough.on.ca.