Your rent could go up next year. Starting Jan. 1st, landlords on Vancouver Island and across B.C. will be able to raise the rent by 1.5 per cent.
This comes as officials scrap the province-wide rent freeze that first came into play at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s set to expire on Dec. 31st.
If they choose to bump up prices, the Province says landlords can only do so once a year, providing their tenants with at least three months’ notice via a rent increase form.
That said, the 2022 maximum allowable rent increase is “significantly less” than what it would have been prior to changes made a few years back, officials note.
That’s because the Province actually limited rent increases to inflation in 2018. Prior to the change, they say maximum rent increases could include an additional two per cent on top of inflation.
However, the rent increase doesn’t include commercial tenancies, non-profit housing tenancies where rent is geared to income, cooperative housing, or some assisted-living facilities.
And if a landlord served a tenant with a notice of rent increase that takes effect in 2021, the Province says it’s now null and void, which means the tenant doesn’t have to pay it.
As well, illegal renovictions — evictions to complete renovations to a property — were recently banned in B.C., so landlords must now apply to the ‘Residential Tenancy Branch’ for pre-approval before ending a tenancy.
Renters and tenants can find more details about the annual allowable rent increase here.
