Real Insights by Richard Lyall

Richard Lyall

Construction Expert

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Areas of Expertise

  • Residential
  • Market Analysis
  • New Home Sales
  • Presale
Richard Lyall is president of RESCON, the Residential Construction Council of Ontario. He has represented Ontario's building industry since 1991. To contact him, reach out to media@rescon.com.
Under Construction

Municipalities Cannot Impose Their Own Building Standards

RESCON is seeking an order that would enforce the Ontario Building Code Act and prohibit Toronto from imposing building regulations on planning applications as they are beyond the legal authority of the city.

Under Construction

It's Time For Ontario To Get On The Offsite Construction Bandwagon

With 5.8 million new homes needed in Canada by 2031, and the homebuilding sector increasingly under the gun to produce more units, it is time to look towards offsite construction, argues RESCON President Richard Lyall.

Under Construction

"A Recipe For Disaster":  Bureaucracy, Taxes Continue To Add To Housing Crisis

While there has been a cultural shift and recognition by all levels of government that the problem is very real, taxes, fees, and levies have pushed the cost of housing to astronomical heights.

Under Construction

Taxes, Fees, And Levies Keep The Cost Of Homebuilding From Adding Up

Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), breaks down the cost of doing business when it comes to building new homes in the province, and the math is hard to swallow.

Under Construction

"The Only Way Forward": Regulatory Hurdles Must Be Removed On New Housing

RESCON CEO Richard Lyall argues that a combination of factors have contributed to create a dysfunctional housing market that's made it increasingly difficult to build new homes people can afford.

Under Construction

Municipalities Going Off 'Green' Script Is The Last Thing The Housing Crisis Needs

Residential builders already have to overcome numerous obstacles just to get shovels in the ground, and municipalities that push the envelope with their own green building standards will only make it even more difficult to meet housing targets.

Under Construction

Just When We Need To Be Leaders In New Home Building, Canada Continues To Fall Behind

Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), highlights the lowlights of Canada's ongoing home building crisis.

Under Construction

Canada Needs 160K New Construction Workers – Are High School Students The Answer?

Canada’s residential construction industry is facing an acute shortage of skilled trades in the next decade, but Ontario has a plan – The Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training program, which will allow Grade 11 and 12 students to participate in apprenticeship learning through co-operative education credits while completing high school.

Insiders

Lack Of Affordable Housing Is Undermining The Social Fabric Of Society

The social value cost attributed to housing unaffordability in the GTA is about 1.75 times greater than that of cancer in the GTA, according to a new study. Moreover, the social value cost related to housing unaffordability aligns closely with the costs associated with diabetes and represents 76% of the social value cost of heart disease, further emphasizing its impact.

Opinion

Canada's Housing Supply Has Been Choked And Taxed To Death

Red tape and bureaucracy continue to plague our housing system. The development approvals process is too slow and needs to be digitized and streamlined.

Opinion

Why Is New Home Construction Down? Simple, It’s Too Expensive For Builders And Buyers

There are many reasons for the dire situation. Interest rate hikes, rising construction and labour costs, hefty taxes, fees, levies, and exorbitant municipal development charges are taking a toll.

Opinion

Overly Restrictive Construction Regulations Are Hurting Ontario Homebuilding

It's a tricky balancing act, but cities like Toronto need to find ways to accelerate the building of homes, not make it more cumbersome with restrictive noise bylaws.