Rent rate cap of 4.5% should be cut says Rental Task Force

B.C.’s planned rent increase cap of 4.5% should be reevaluated says the province’s Rental Housing Task Force (RHTF).

The announcement comes weeks after the BC NDP approved the 4.5% hike, which is the largest increase since 2004 and the sixth consecutive year the maximum rate has increased.

"Renters were clear that rent increases that far outstripped cost-of-living increases were becoming increasingly unaffordable, and landlords were clear they needed help to maintain their properties," said Spencer Chandra Herbert, RHTF chair.

The MLA said the recommendations “follow the approach of Ontario and Manitoba and will keep rent more affordable while ensuring rental homes are maintained and improved.”

I thank the Rental Housing Task Force for their excellent work and urge government to accept the first recommendation. #bcpoli https://t.co/aiIveq2dGL

— Andrew Weaver (@AJWVictoriaBC) September 24, 2018

These recommendations include:

• Changing the maximum rent increase formula, from the current formula of inflation plus 2%, to inflation only (2.5% for 2019), which would remove the automatic 2% yearly increase;
• Giving landlords the ability to apply for an additional increase “if they can show the formula would not cover maintenance and other costs incurred.”

According to the RHTF, the task force noted that the annual allowable rent increase formula, put in place by the previous government in 2004, was a frequent topic of concern during the public engagement process.

The RHTF intends to release a full-recommendations report with other ways to improve residential tenancy for people in BC, later this fall.

A decision will be made on these early recommendations from the RHTF before Oct. 1, 2018.