Celebrating the Pine Allard Properties launch of the first Certified Rental Buildings in Sault Ste. Marie, ON are (l-r) Jeff Barban, Sault Ste. Marie Acting Commissioner, Social Services; Pine Allard Manager of Housing Services;  Kristina Lauesen,  FRPO Vice President Government & Industry Affairs; Pieter Sigmundt, Owner and Ingrid Tanner, General Manager, Pine Allard Properties;  Sault Ste. Marie Ward 2 Councillor Susan Myers; Ted Whitehead, FRPO Director of Certification.

SAULT STE MARIE, ON – Sept. 29, 2016 – The Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) today launched its Certified Rental Building™ (CRB) Program in Sault Ste. Marie at Pine Allard’s apartment community – 751 Pine Street.

This residential rental-housing initiative is the first quality assurance program in North America, designed specifically for tenants to identify which buildings and landlords provide quality service and well-run, well-managed, environmentally-friendly buildings. Since the Program’s initial launch, the CRB Program has certified over 107,000 suites in over 1,000 buildings across Ontario. Pine Allard’s multi-residential communities are the first apartment buildings to achieve CRB-approved status in the Sault Ste. Marie area.
“Pine Allard is leading the way to bring the CRB quality assurance program to residents and renters in Sault Ste. Marie,” said Scott Andison, President & CEO, FRPO. “The CRB program provides members with a consistent set of property management standards and tenant-servicing best practices that represent good value in rental housing for Ontarians. The recognizable CRB seal of approval communicates to renters in the Soo that they now have a ‘quality assurance’ choice when selecting their apartment home.”

“We are so very pleased to be the first apartment communities to receive official CRB quality ‘certification’ status in Sault Ste. Marie for our residents, particularly on our 30th anniversary,” said Pieter Sigmundt, Owner, Pine Allard Properties. “The CRB program supports our employees’ ongoing efforts and personal commitment to deliver superior quality rental properties and service to our current residents, as well as assuring prospective tenants in Sault Ste. Marie that our apartment communities are professionally run in professionally managed buildings they can call home.”

“I’d like to congratulate Pine Allard Properties on obtaining the Certified Rental Building designation from the FRPO. It’s great to see this company taking extra initiatives to offer quality rental housing to their tenants,” said Susan Myers, Ward 2 City Councillor and Chair of the Sault Ste. Marie Housing Corporation Board of Directors.
For a multi-residential apartment building to qualify as a Certified Rental Building it must meet the 5 mandatory requirements of the Program:
1. Adhere to the Program’s mandatory Standards of Practice, covering the areas of building operations, resident management practices, human resource management, property risk management, and environmental operations.
2. Have identified staff successfully complete the training and education components of the program.
3. Abide by FRPO’s and the Program’s Member Code of Conduct
4. Successfully comply with a mandatory independent audit process (the program’s auditor is J.D. Power).
5. Market and identify their building as Certified Rental Building to prospective renters.
Consumers and renters looking for Certified Rental Buildings across Ontario can learn more by visiting www.crbprogram.org.

– 30 –

ABOUT PAN ALLARD PROPERTIES
Pine Allard Properties has been providing high quality rental-housing for Sault Ste. Marie renters for over 30 years. The owners also manage own and manage Willow Properties in Sault Ste. Marie, and have certified this building under the Certified Rental Building™ program.

ABOUT FRPO
The Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) is the province’s leading advocate for quality rental housing. FRPO represents over 2,200 rental housing providers who supply and manage homes for over 350,000 tenant households across Ontario. www.frpo.org
David Eisenstadt / Atara Cadesky
tcgpr
deisenstadt@tcgpr.com / acadesky@tcgpr.com
1-800-267-4476 or 416-696-9900 ext.36 or ext.29