National

B.C. caps allowable rent increases at 3.5 per cent, 2 points lower than inflation

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 11 Sep, 2023 01:10 PM

The British Columbia government has set the allowable rent increase for next year at 3.5 per cent.

The rate is more than two percentage points below the 12-month average inflation rate of 5.6 per cent.

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says in a statement that costs have been increasing, especially for housing, at a rate that's unsustainable for many people, and this increase is a balance to protect renters, while keeping units on the market.

The increase can be effective on or after Jan. 1, 2024.

Opening 58 new homes with @MableElmore under a co-operative model that secures residents ongoing affordable housing with below market rates.

We know there is more work to do - but today we ensured 58+ more seniors in Vancouver have increased access to housing in their community. pic.twitter.com/na3JdDnGmP
— Ravi Kahlon (@KahlonRav) September 11, 2023

The government says landlords must provide three months' notice to tenants and they are only allowed to hike the rent once a year.

Before 2018, the annual allowable rent increase was based on inflation plus two per cent, a freeze was put in place during the pandemic and then the province set rent increases at two per cent for this year.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Series of trailer and skid-steer thefts result in over $150K

Between May and June 2023, a suspect male has attended various Home Depot locations in Langley, Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam to steal Bobcat510 wheeled skid-steers and trailers. In all five incidents, the suspect rented the skid-steers using a false name, removed the GPS trackers and never returned them.

Series of trailer and skid-steer thefts result in over $150K

Lack of B.C. transplant surgeons means donated kidneys are sent elsewhere: doctors

Dr. David Harriman, a kidney transplant surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital, said between eight and 10 surgeons are needed in B.C. so residents waiting for a kidney can benefit from the organs that were donated in the province. The B.C. Health Ministry said the province had six kidney transplant surgeons in 2018.

Lack of B.C. transplant surgeons means donated kidneys are sent elsewhere: doctors

New Chinese Canadian Museum opens its doors in historic Vancouver Chinatown building

The museum opens its permanent location in Chinatown's historic Wing Sang Building after more than six years of planning, starting with then-premier John Horgan mandating the province's Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to establish the institution.

New Chinese Canadian Museum opens its doors in historic Vancouver Chinatown building

Family appeals to public on one-year anniversary of Port Coquitlam shooting

Around 1 A-M on June 30th last year, police responded to reports of gunshots. Officers arrived to find 37-year old Mehdi “Damian” Eslahian suffering from gunshot wounds outside a home in Port Coquitlam, and he died at the scene.

Family appeals to public on one-year anniversary of Port Coquitlam shooting

B.C. must urgently change forest strategies or face more wildfire disasters: report

British Columbia's independent forests watchdog is calling for the provincial government to make critical changes to how it manages forests to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. It comes as the largest wildfire in the province's history, the Donnie Creek wildfire, continues to burn out of control in the remote northeast.

B.C. must urgently change forest strategies or face more wildfire disasters: report

BOC outlook survey

The Bank of Canada's latest business outlook survey suggests businesses still anticipate larger-than-normal wage and price increases over the next year. The central bank reports expectations are shifting closer to what they were before the pandemic.