By I. Aagaard, Guest Contributor
A recent article (Smart sub-meters) on the EYTG web site made references to an issue that’s been popping up recently: Smart Sub-Meters in apartment buildings.
I agree fundamentally with the notion of this “Pay Per Use” way of holding each of us responsible for our consumption of non-renewable resources, such as electricity.
However, this shift from the current, more widely used model, i.e. the averaging out and sharing of costs, should raise a lot of questions – and some concerns as well – in each of us.
Will the whole rental picture be re-painted so tenants in the future only pay rent for the actual premises, excluding hydro, water, etc.? If so, it should indeed be cause for concern as long as vital details are left out and questions raised are left unanswered.
Let me start with some of the obvious questions and concerns:
- How can this be fairly implemented?
- Given that tenants are at the mercy of property owners, what will be done to ensure tenants are properly protected?
- Will property owners be required to retro-fit all buildings with well insulated windows, doors and walls, to minimize energy loss?
- Will all tenants be given new, energy efficient appliances and light fixtures?
- How will ‘base rent’ (i.e. the amount paid by a tenant for use of the premises, excluding utilities) be determined?
- Who will be responsible for maintaining the infrastructures involved, e.g. the electrical network, wiring, pipes, etc.?
- What will happen if a tenant falls in arrears on utility payments?
- How will the cost of shared utilities, e.g. heat and light use in hallways, garage, etc. be determined?
- What incentives will be put in place for both the property owner and the tenant to also conserve on such ‘common-use’ utilities?
And, while on the topic, will water (Hydro) be the next item to be similarly regulated and monitored? If not, why not? That, too, is a non-renewable, limited resource that’s often being wasted and/or misused!
As I mentioned up front, I agree in principle with each of us taking responsibility and paying for our own use. I am just very curious about how our good government and property owners plan to implement and administer all of this in a fair and responsible way.
I cannot help but wonder if it is even realistic to talk seriously about retro-fitting buildings with smart-meters. Common sense tells me that the cost of doing so will prove prohibitive. So, if indeed this proceeds, I am quite sure we, the tenants, will be footing the bill – one way or another!
Perhaps the government, with all its good intentions, should put in place regulations that force any new buildings to be constructed in such a way that they meet progressive environmental and energy efficiency standards (walls, insulation, windows, doors, appliances, etc.), and are equipped with individual metering, so tenants at least will know up front what they are getting into when they enter into a rental agreement. Of course there must also be legislation in place to ensure appropriate maintenance and upkeep of buildings.
Details have been in short supply. I, for one, shall remain quite sceptic about the motives behind such a drastic change in the tenant-landlord relationship until I see a lot more specifics from Queen’s Park.
After all, if property owners will not be required to make the changes suggested above (and possibly others as well), then it leads me to think this whole thing is nothing more than yet another way for landlords to conveniently circumvent the rent increase guidelines currently in place, and shift more of the actual “cost of being in business” on to the tenants.
Once again I see a need for tenants to stand together,
get informed and get empowered!
East York Tenants Group 
Let me keep this simple.
I am all for managing our non-renewable resources more carefully. However, this wordy and complicated document “Decision and Order’ prepared by the regulator is just that – “a complicated and wordy document” that should have simplified the very important issue of managing our resources more responsibly, but didn’t. This document complicates the issue in a way that only a government or quasi government body could. Can you imagine the bloated bureacracy this programme will require in order to implement and manage this system! KEEP IT SIMPLE! Old fashioned common sense should tell you that ‘old buildings’ should not be part of the ‘smart meters’ initiative as it it NOT viable. It is far too costly to implement. I can also see a serious deterioration in the already tenuous & adversarial relations between landlord and tenant in these older buildings if this is implemented. ‘New buildings’, however, should have these ‘smart meters’ installed but very close attention must be paid to these buildings meeting municipal building standards so that they are constructed to be energy efficient.
As another viewer wrote … many of these older buildings were constructed mostly with TAXPAYERS MONEY, not the landlords’ money!!! Landlords/property developpers went ‘cap in hand’ to get our money from governments. If landlords used ‘their money’ to construct these buildings then landlords should expect a fair return on their investment. But did they use ‘their’ money? These older buildings are simply ‘cash cows’ for many landlords. The actual rent and annual rent increases in older buildings more than cover annual repairs and maintenance costs in older buildings. Landlords for older buildings just had to find a way to get around that 1.8% rent increase ceiling! The best thing that came out of that “Decision and Order’ is that tenants must consent to have these devices installed in their unit. I will not give my consent to these ‘smart meters’.
PS. The Ontario Govt. requires that every home and business have a ‘smart meter’ by 2010. Has anyone given much thought to how ‘smart meters’ will apply to ‘subsidized housing’?
This article on Smart Sub-meters covers important issues on being ‘green’ and also how all of us should pay more attention to conserving non-renewable resources. I must admit some of the issues to do with renters never crossed my mind as I am a homeowner. Your concerns indicate that there is a serious issue with regard to how to come up with a methodology to implement a fair system of costing those utilities for renters in apartment buildings. I can control how electricity and hydro are used in my house and I do like the sound of those smart meter devices. However, it will be a challenge to monitor how other members of the family use these utilities and they will definitely have to be educated more on being ‘green’. This project is a challenge for me in my own house and I can imagine that it will be a huge challenge to come up with a fair system that will work for renters in apartment buildings. It will be a very complex project.
The answer may just lie in EDUCATION and good legislation to protect renters. I strongly believe that we need to educate all citizens about the state of our dwindling resources so that we can become better stewards of our planet. Solutions to so many of our problems have usually to do with education, doesn’t it? However, we must not forget that Landlords are a very important part of this equation and that they are there to make profits using everything at their disposal. This will be a sticking point for tenants. I would suspect the Landlords are looking for what’s in it for them.
Hey I. Aagaard, Very good thought provoking article.
I am also skeptical about the landlords motive. I think it’s a means of gouging tenants — unloading their monthly utilities expenses of running a rental busines over to tenants in order to increase their profit margin. In my building we are still paying for the external repair and maintenance done to our building …. in fact it has become part of our rent permanently. If you request for major repair or replacement inside your Apt. they want to increase your rent by certain amount. If they go ahead with this new — “smart sub-meters” I have no doubt that the cost of the retro-fitting will be passed on to tenants. The cost of retro-fitting an old building is astronomical. The 18-20% increase we paid years ago will be considered peanuts to what the retro-fitting will results. I have to wonder, if tenants end-up paying for everything, will the buildings continue to be classified as “rental properties”?
If they want to implement the “smart sub-meters” for brand new buildings, the cost will be considered part of the capital expenditure. Then the landlords have to determine at what price to rent the new units; and it will be the new tenants choice whether to move into this new building or not. However, implementing the “smart sub-meters” on old buildings, which had their return of capital many times over, and passing the cost to existing tenants would be down-right unfair.
If landlords want to reduce the cost of utilities, I think they should control the number of people living in one or two bed room apt. Or charge usage per person — that way 3 or 4 people living in one bed room will pay higher utility fees than a single person in one bed room unit. If you also have a washer and dryer inside your apt. your share of the cost of the utility bill should be higher.
I wonder who tabled or motioned this idea — “smart sub-meters” — let me guess…they must be the tenants good friends……….. Tories???