By Greg Fry

Victoria cuts rent increases

Sep 26, 2018 | 1:57 PM

VANCOUVER — The provincial government has announced its cutting the annual allowable rent increase by two percent, limiting it to inflation.

That means effective Jan. 1, 2019, the annual allowable rent increase will be 2.5 per cent.

The previous formula set in 2004 allowed annual rent increases of 2 per cent plus inflation.

According to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing the cut means people living in a $1,200 per month apartment (average rent in B.C.) could save up to $288 in 2019 over what they could have paid under the old formula. People in an average two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver could have faced up to $432 more.

The ministry says the Residential Tenancy Branch will work with landlord advocacy groups on expanded circumstances under which landlords could apply for an additional rent increase to reflect the costs of maintaining their rental properties.

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Kamloops-South Thompson Liberal MLA Todd Stone isn’t a fan of the announcement, calling it another “big fail by the John Horgan government to seriously address the housing affordability challenge in B.C.”

“This decision is actually going to have the inverse impact on housing supply and therefore on renters than it intended,” he says.

“What we fear is going to happen is the developers and landlords, because they’re not going to have the resources that they need to make the upgrades and to do the maintenance that’s required, there’s going to be a chill in the market rental industry. Landlords and developers won’t build new product.”

by Greg Fry

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Victoria cuts rent increases

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