In June of 2008, the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) launched the first-ever tenant-focused quality-assurance program that promotes property management best practices when it comes to operating apartment buildings and providing good quality service to tenants.
From the feedback received over the past three-and-a-half years, we were spot-on in our intentions, with the Certified Rental Building Program (CRBP), to provide Ontario renters with an apartment quality-assurance tool that would assist them to find an apartment home with good quality service standards in well-managed, well-run, professionally managed apartment buildings.
The numbers tell the story of how Ontario rental-housing consumers are seeing first hand the benefits and value in finding a quality rental home that meets CRBP Standards of Practice.
Last year, prospective renters clicked on the program’s website (www.crb.program.org) over 21,000 times and conducted over 52,000 individual searches for a rental-property of their choosing. After only eight months, in 2012, that website has been visited over 35,000 times and is on track to double the number of renter inquiries in 2012.
There is yet another glowing example witnessed in J.D. Power’s 2011 Canadian Resident Survey results:
• Over 74 per cent, of renters surveyed, cite building certification as “somewhat” or “extremely” important in their decision to rent;
• Over 26 per cent are aware of the CRB program administered by FRPO or one in four prospective renters cited the CRB program as a part of their decision criteria in choosing a rental home
• Finally over 80 per cent indicated “definitely” or “probably” will recommend their building to others if it was certified.
Customer service standards are a major component of the CRBP, ensuring that property management staffs, in “certified” buildings, provide all tenants with efficient, safe living conditions and courteous, respectful service. Renee Bourgon, Director of Marketing and Communications at Minto Properties states that “The FRPO Certified Rental Building Program re-enforces and supports our objectives to apply high standards of resident services across the entire portfolio of our buildings.
This consistency across Certified buildings in Ontario produces positive results that are not lost on prospective renters and existing tenants. Among the comments we have received are the following:
• “The FRPO Certified Building Program gave us the confidence to know we were moving into a well run building, before we actually made an appointment to check it out.
• The Certified building program is known for looking after the details of what a tenant should expect from a landlord.
• The FRPO Certified Building Program is like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for all Ontario Rental properties, and we like it.
• When we were looking for a new apartment, we knew to narrow our focus to FRPO CRB Buildings only.
• We are careful about who we rent from, so we would only choose a building that was FRPO Certified.
• If you want to take the guessing out of what company offers the best run buildings, look for the CRB Sign in the ads.
As an industry association, FRPO’s objective is to promote a balanced and healthy housing market with a vital rental-housing industry, choice for consumers, adequate government assistance for low-income households, and effective private sector solutions to rental-housing needs. The CRBP is just one example of how we meet the diverse needs of our members and continue to help those seeking rental accommodations to make their best choice.
