Year In Review: Ron Lovett On Transforming The Tenant-Landlord Relationship
To cap off 2021, Huddle sat down with some of the most important figures in Atlantic Canada’s business community – folks representing everyone from tourism operators to energy producers to housing advocates.
We asked each to reflect on the challenges, successes, and surprises that most impacted their industries, and the lives of Atlantic Canadians, this year.
In the latest of several conversations we will bring you over the next week, Huddle reporter Elizabeth MacLeod spoke with Ron Lovett, the founder and CEO of Vida Living.
His answers have been edited for length and clarity.
What is the most significant challenge your industry has faced in 2021, and what impact did it have?
The challenge for us has really been the knee-jerk reaction to the government putting in rent controls and just blanketing one sector with the short-term policy and not thinking broadly.
We’re a company that is all about affordability and trying to create dignified workforce housing and focusing on a ‘missing middle,’ keeping these existing stock. Having a 2 percent rental increase as we try to build gyms and energy efficiency programs and add value to our customers is very challenging, alongside the general operating costs and people using more water and power – it’s just been very challenging economically.
How do you think your sector most impacted the lives of Atlantic Canadians in 2021?
I think the one thing that comes to mind that’s hot off the presses is CMHC’s new program that was just released. Its new scoring program is going to be helpful to our business and so I really appreciate CMHC taking a long, hard look at the ‘missing middle’ and wanting to help folks continue to buy older stock, keep rents affordable, and do the right thing.
What is the coolest thing that happened in your sector in 2021?
I think we’ve had a huge impact. The middle industry has been tenant versus landlord and we entered the sector as business and customer, and are moving towards co-stakeholders. That’s very different, where [tenants] have a stake in your business. It may not be an equity stake but we want them to participate in the decisions of the building and be involved with their futures.
That’s a perspective that is very refreshing in the industry and we’re seeing lots of stories of people that have said, ‘wow, someone cares about me so I’m going to care about myself.’ We’re going to double down on that theme in 2022 and really focus on that.
What excites you most about what’s happening in your sector in 2022?
Twenty-twenty-one has been the year of transformational growth and 2022, for us, from a business standpoint, is the year of focus – how do we focus on delivering value to our customers?
We’ve got a lot of work to do to get people to the place where they say ‘wow, I’m cared for so I’m going to take care of this place.’ That is part of building a community and have to really think differently and creatively to create this sense of community
From my perspective as a leader of a business, a big challenge has been balancing moving from a performance-based organization, to looking at people as an entire individual versus just supporting them as an employee and in their interactions with me at work.
We’ve just been really thoughtful about, ‘how do you create the best person possible, so they are their best selves?’ Our theory is that then they’ll work the best, so that’s been probably the biggest change in the business from a person from a leadership perspective.
Other feature interviews in this series:
- Lars Osberg On How To Address Income Inequality
- Monette Pasher On How Covid Forever Changed Atlantic Canada’s Airline Industry
- Kathryn Lockhart On A New Crop Of Founders Shaking Up Atlantic Canada’s Startup Ecosystem
- Krista Ross On Supporting Businesses Through Tough Times
- Mike Savage On Managing Growth In Halifax
- Kevin Russell Reflects On Challenges For Rental Property Owners