Company Overview
O'Shanter Development Company is a family-owned Residential property management and Real Estate Investment business. Adam and Jonathan Krehm now manage the company their father, William, founded in Toronto in 1963.
With all the employees, including management, administration staff, building manager, cleaners and in house maintenance staff, the company is able to address the needs of all its clients and tenants. The property portfolio exceeds 1,650,000 square feet and is comprised of over 2,400 residential rental units.
The supervisory staff specializes in Operational and Project Management, Construction, Energy Management, Fire Code Retrofit, Mechanical Systems, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning, Electrical, and Plumbing. Housing all this available talent and expertise under one roof, we provide our tenants with a team of professionals working to ensure our buildings are managed professionally and efficiently.
O'Shanter was the first property management company in Canada to achieve ISO 9001 Quality Management and ISO 14001 Environmental Management certifications. The company holds itself to the highest standards of professional practices. The two ISO certifications distinguish O'Shanter from its competitors in the GTA as the only property management company to have been certified for both.
ISO 9001 Certification in Quality Management
Since 2002, our company met the rigorous operational standards established by the International Standards Organization. Achieving and maintaining this consistency of quality is significant when managing the 2,400-plus suites comprising our property portfolio. This certification mandates that internal and external audits be completed annually to assure these high standards throughout our operations. The ISO 9001 certification functions as an industry benchmark for management service, and it helps us strive to constantly improve our efficiency and quality.
ISO 14001 Certification in Environmental Management
In addition to ISO 9001 certification, we also lead the industry in environmental management, earning the ISO 14001 certification. This environmental certification acknowledges the continuing efforts we make to curtail energy consumption while engaging greener operational practices. Some of these practices include:
- reducing water consumption by the installation of water efficient toilets and monitoring water consumption in buildings to ensure track our consumption to discover leaks and areas we can improve.
- reducing gas consumption by installing high efficiency boilers, replacing rooves and windows, and monitoring gas consumption to make sure we are as efficient as possible.
- reducing electrical consumption by installing LED lighting and energy efficient refridgerators.
- having a waste diversion program at all buildings that encourages tenants to sort all waste properly and having recycling and green bins at each building. This program results in on average 75% of waste being diverted away from landfills per suite across our portfolio, which is much better than the overall diversion rate from residents living in apartments and condos in Toronto (27%).
Apartment Renovation Program
O'Shanter is dedicated to making providing the best our rental suites can be. For this reason, we are currently undergoing a renovation program across our entire portfolio. Upon turn over, unrenovated apartments receive a full kitchen and bathroom renovation. In 2016, we renovated 138 apartments and since we started our program we have renovated over 1,700 apartments across our portfolio.
Tenant Satisfaction
Tenant satisfaction is an essential part of our commitment to service. Our tenant satisfaction is extremely high, over the past decade over 80% of our tenants have been highly satisfied, based on the results of our annual batch of tenant surveys. In 2016, we had a satisfaction rate of 87%. This illustrates that we take the needs of our tenants seriously, maintain apartments and buildings, and respond to issues as soon as they arise. We are proud to continue to meet and exceed the expectations of our tenants.
Awards
O'Shanter has been designated as an "Energy Innovator" by Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, an outcome of combining big ideas with simple solutions, such as implementing a strategic recycling program in every O'Shanter building. O'Shanter provides tenants with re-usable shopping bags, as well as providing clear and understandable posters answering the question "What Is Recyclable".
In 2008 the Recycle Council of Ontario awarded O'Shanter for excellence and commitment to a sustainable environmental. O'Shanter managed to decrease the use of electricity by 15%, the water consumption was reduced by a staggering 43%, and the use of gas decreased by 45%!
In that same year O'Shanter was praised for being environmentally aware and awarded the Environment Award of Excellence on behalf of the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO). FRPO is Ontario's leading advocate for quality rental housing, promoting a vigorous industry by ensuring that the impact of legislative and regulatory changes are benefiting landlords and tenants.
