PROJECT ENFIELD — LONGFORM CASE STUDY

Opening

There’s a certain type of call I get that I can recognize within seconds — the tone in the investor’s voice, the stress, the confusion.
It’s the “I thought this was a great deal, and now I realize I’m in real trouble” call.

And that’s exactly how Project Enfield started.

A building purchased in good faith.
Rents increased dramatically.
Tenants paying well above registered limits.
Renovations done too long ago to count.
And a looming rent rollback of nearly $200,000.

For many investors, this kind of situation is the end of the story.

For Arete?
It’s the beginning.

THE FULL STORY OF PROJECT ENFIELD

PROBLEM

Our client had purchased the property and immediately renovated the units, with the honest intention of increasing the rents and stabilizing the building. And to be fair, the work was done well.

The issue?

The rent increases weren’t legal.

Here’s what we uncovered:

The previous rents were registered at ~$600, but new tenants were being charged $1,100–$1,300.
Renovations were completed more than two years prior, making them ineligible for normal above-guideline increases.
The Residential Tenancies Branch was now involved.
A rollback order was coming — and it was massive.
The building’s cashflow could collapse overnight.
The investor was staring at a loss that could wipe out years of effort.

And to make it worse, the building still had deficiencies:

Roof issues
Mechanical inefficiencies
Poor energy performance
No rebates claimed
Higher-than-normal expenses

The building looked stable on the outside — but financially, it was hanging by a thread.

Our client wasn’t negligent — he was simply misinformed, like many landlords who don’t understand Manitoba’s rent regulation rules.

This is where Arete stepped in.

The Strategy

Reconstruct the Entire Rent History

The first step was forensic work:

Review registered rent records
Compare with actual rents charged
Evaluate the renovation timeline
Identify what improvements qualified
Document deficiencies

We built a complete picture of the building’s financial compliance — something the investor had never done.

This allowed us to build a negotiable, defensible case.

3

Complete Fresh Renovations That Counted Toward Increases

We rebuilt a targeted improvement plan with two goals:

Capitalize on allowable above-guideline rent increases
Boost the building’s efficiency and NOI long-term

We completed:

A new roof
Hot water tank upgrades
A reworked boiler system
Energy-efficiency improvements
Repairs and replacements eligible for rebates

This achieved two outcomes:

New renovation capital that counted within the proper time window
Lower operating expenses that improved NOI and value

1

2

Request and Secure a Rare 3-Year Lookback

This was the turning point.

Under Manitoba’s regulations, landlords can only claim renovations completed within two years.

But because we understood the RTB system, we submitted a request for a discretionary three-year lookback, allowing:

Older renovation work to be considered
More capital expenses to count toward increases
A significantly stronger case for raising rents

Most landlords don’t even know this option exists.
We leveraged it strategically — and it extended the allowable renovation window.

This move cut the client’s potential losses in half before we even made new improvements.

4

Work with Efficiency Manitoba to Recover Cash

A big part of Arete’s advantage is knowing where money is left on the table.

We submitted the project for:

Energy rebates
Efficiency funding
Incentive programming

This helped offset renovation costs and added credibility to our AGI (Above Guideline Increase) application.

The Execution

We collected documentation, created a full ledger of improvements, and prepared a complete AGI submission. We met with tenants, updated contracts, and clarified rental terms. Once filed, the above-guideline rent increase became the foundation for correcting the entire rent structure.

After approval, we issued one-year leases with proper notice periods, ensuring that every rent level was both lawful and tied directly to the improvements completed.

By the end of the process, the property’s rent structure had been legally rebuilt from the ground up.

The landlord moved from a position of uncertainty and exposure to full compliance. The registered rents were doubled in some cases, fully aligned with the renovated condition of the suites, and positioned for long-term increases.

RESULTS

The building’s valuation improved.

This case study highlights the importance of rent-control strategy and long-term planning. Many landlords assume renovations justify higher rents, but without formal legislative steps, the income profile is vulnerable. By stabilizing the registered rents early on, we protected both the asset and the client’s long-term investment.