B.C. renters, you could pay up to 2.6% more next year

Landlords can increase their rent next year by as much as 2.6 per cent, the B.C. government says.

The housing ministry announced the maximum rent increase for 2020 in a statement Wednesday, a number it says is tied to the province's annual rate of inflation.

The same rate applies to residents of mobile home parks, plus a proportional amount for the change in local government levies and utility fees, the ministry said.

Landlords must provide three months' notice of rent increases, which can only be applied once a year.

The increase may not be welcome news to renters, especially in Metro Vancouver where a median one-bedroom is now listed at about $2,200 a month, according to listings site PadMapper.com.

An extra 2.6 per cent on the median means a renter would pay $57.20 more a month, or $686.40 a year.

• Read more: Here's how hard it is for minimum-wage workers to rent in Canada

But the NDP government claims it could be worse. It used the announcement to tout its actions earlier this year.

The previous government allowed rent increases of two per cent above inflation, it said. About a year ago, Premier John Horgan announced as of Jan. 1 that extra two per cent would no longer be tacked on to the annual rent increase maximum. 

The policy meant that this year, the maximum increase was 2.5 per cent, not 4.5 per cent.

Across B.C. – where the average rent is $1,250, according to the province – renters will "save" up to $300 in 2020 because of this policy, the ministry said. However, if their landlord chooses to apply the maximum increase, they'll still pay another $390 next year.

The executive director of B.C.'s Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre said in a statement that last year's reduction in maximum allowable increases isn't enough, but it's a start.

"Although more can still be done to improve rental affordability in B.C., reducing rent increases by two per cent is a step in the right direction," Andrew Sakamoto said in a statement through the province.

The province says it's also working to protect renters and limit evictions forced by renovations.

The ministry said it's increased compensation for bad-faith evictions, strengthened requirements for eviction notices. The Residential Tenancy Branch is under new guidelines meant to ensure landlords evicting their tenants are completing repairs that actually require the home to be vacant, and there have been improvements made to programs that help low-income seniors and families find rentals.

A new Compliance and Enforcement Unit was also created to investigate illegal renovictions and landlords trying to skirt the rules, hiking rents more than permitted.

"We want renters to feel secure in their homes and to know their rights, and the compliance unit is ensuring that landlords understand that there will be serious consequences for deliberately not following their obligations with the tenancy laws in the province," the unit's director, Scott McGregor, said.