Landlords 'very disappointed' by B.C.'s capped rent hike, tenant group wants full freeze
The announcement that B.C. is capping next year's annual allowable rent increase at two per cent was welcome news to many renters – but the province is still facing criticism from advocates for landlords and tenants alike.
Premier John Horgan confirmed the 2023 rent increase Wednesday while unveiling a number of measures intended to ease the financial burden on British Columbians facing what he called "unprecedented" inflationary pressures.
Rent hikes in the province are normally tied to inflation, matched with the rate of the Consumer Price Index from the previous summer – a formula that left many tenants anxious they could face a painful increase next year.
"During this extraordinary time, an inflationary increase in rents would be debilitating for 1.5 million British Columbians," Horgan said. "We're not prepared for that. We're going to continue to work with the landlords of B.C. to find other ways to engage with them, to assist with costs, but this year's rent increase will be limited to two per cent."
CALLS FOR RENT FREEZE, VACANCY CONTROL
While a capped hike softens the blow, the Vancouver Tenants Union said members would have preferred to see a resumption of the rent freeze enacted earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, cautioning that renters are "more squeezed than ever" due to the rising costs of groceries, gas and other necessities.
"We previously had a rent freeze for two years and the sky didn't fall. Landlords carried on with their record profits," the group told CTV News in a statement.
Tenants' advocates have also pushed for the province to adopt vacancy control, a system that ties rent to the unit, rather than the renter, preventing huge jumps between tenancies.
Finance Minister Selina Robinson, who joined Horgan at the announcement, said the issue of vacancy control came up "a fair bit" during the province's Rental Housing Task Force, but provided no indication of whether the government might adopt such a policy.
"The housing minister is looking at what else we might need to do in order to help the 1.5 million British Columbians who are renters. No decisions have been made," Robinson said.
B.C.’s rental market has increasingly attracted real estate investment trusts, who see rental buildings as reliable profit-generators, even though the government decreased the amount of annual rent increases by two per cent in 2018, and has made considerable efforts to crack down on renovictions.
LANDLORDS FACING ‘HUGE CHALLENGES’
Meanwhile, LandlordBC, an organization whose members include everyone from property investment companies to regular homeowners with mortgage-helper suites, said it was "very disappointed" by the province's cap.
"Our sector is facing huge challenges due to inflation and the impacts of the pandemic. These challenges are especially pronounced for the many small landlords who form the majority of rental housing providers in B.C.," CEO David Hutniak said in an email.
"Government can't expect positive results like continued investment in existing rental stock and construction of new purpose-built rental when they place the burden of the rental crisis solely on our sector."
Tenants pointed out the provincial government has already implemented a system that allows landlords to pass on the costs of repairs and maintenance projects to renters – as well as cosmetic upgrades, in some circumstances.
The Vancouver Tenants Union called the policy "a disgrace."
B.C.'s announcement also came hours after the Bank of Canada hiked its interest rate to 3.25 per cent, which could leave homeowners with variable mortgage rates spending thousands of dollars more per year. Horgan insisted the government is conscious of the needs of small landlords facing increased costs as well.
“That’s why we’re continuing to work with the landlords of B.C. to try and find ways that we can meet their needs in the long-term,” the premier said. “But we have a short-term crisis, quite frankly, and 1.5 million British Columbians who rent will benefit from this (cap) – and it still is an increase.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.