DBRS Discontinues Ratings for Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT

DBRS has today confirmed the ratings of Chartwell Seniors Housing Real Estate Investment Trust (Chartwell or the Trust) at BB and STA-4 (high) and removed the ratings from Under Review with Developing Implications where they were placed on November 1, 2006. The removal from Under Review reflects that Chartwell has indicated that upon review of the proposed income trust tax legislation announced in late October 2006, it will continue with its existing business and financing strategies until more information is available to further assess the impact of the income tax changes.

Although the proposed tax legislation is an evolving issue, which could result in changes for the Trust in the future, DBRS does not foresee any imminent changes for Chartwell at this time. In addition, while the Trust’s ability to continue its distribution in the future at current levels could be impacted by the new legislation, DBRS stated in its November 1, 2006, press release that any reduction in distributions due to the imposition of new taxes would be viewed as a one-time event, with the subsequent analytical focus on the stability and sustainability of the revised distributions.

Finally, DBRS has elected to discontinue Chartwell’s credit ratings. DBRS notes that the action to discontinue the ratings is unrelated to the Company’s credit profile and is not related to the potential impact, if any, from the implementation of the taxation of trusts in 2011.

Notes:
All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
These ratings are based on public information.