InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust is a Canadian

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...

, specializing in residential real estate, and based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario. As of April 2018, it owns 8,800 suites in Ontario and Quebec, worth $1.66 billion. It is listed on the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...

under the symbol IIP.UN.

History

InterRent was founded in 2006, and listed on the

in 2007. The company experienced significant growth between 2009 and 2017, doubling its portfolio. In 2013, it purchased 3 buildings worth $35 million in Montreal. Two years later, in 2015, the company announced it had appointed Brad Cutsey as its president. In 2017, InterRent bought a one-third share in Trinity Station, a proposed development near Ottawa's Bayview Station, for $14.2 million. Also in 2017, InterRent purchased two buildings in Montreal at 2121 and 2255 Saint Mathieu St. for a total of $53.75 million. At the same time, the company purchased an apartment building at 3 East 37th St. in Hamilton for $11.25 million. In February 2018, InterRent announced it would internalize its property management functions. Its previous property manager was the CLV Group, whose president, Mike McGahan, is also CEO of InterRent. InterRent paid roughly $38 million to CLV Group in the deal, which also eliminates potential conflict of interest. In 2015, InterRent purchased Stoney Creek Towers, an east-end Hamilton apartment complex containing 518 units, for $51 million. The company planned to make significant improvements to the poorly managed buildings to improve building functions and safety. In May 2018, the company applied for an Above Guideline Rent Increase, due to the improvements that had taken place. As a result, 80 to 100 tenants in the complex went on a

rent strike A rent strike is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants come together and agree to refuse to pay their rent ''en masse'' until a specific list of demands is met by the landlord. This can ...

, organized by the Hamilton Tenant Solidarity Network. The tenants claimed that the improvements made had been minor and cosmetic; the company said that it had spent $17 million on repairs and upgrades. In August 2018, a few dozen tenants traveled to Ottawa to protest at the company's Ottawa headquarters, and at the home of the company's CEO, Mike McGahan. However, they failed to secure a formal meeting with Mr. McGahan or other company representatives.

Properties

InterRent primarily owns apartment complexes in medium-sized centres in Ontario and Quebec. Cities where it has a significant number of properties include Ottawa,

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and area, and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The company's general strategy is to invest in poorly managed properties, make significant upgrades, and improve the quality of the apartments and amenities for new and existing residents.

References

{{Reflist Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Companies based in Ottawa Real estate investment trusts of Canada Real estate companies of Canada