Close to 800 P.E.I. tenants see rent increases despite zero per cent rent cap
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Regardless of a legislation handed final fall that set P.E.I.’s lease management quantity at zero per cent, virtually 800 tenants have seen lease will increase to date this 12 months, starting from one per cent to greater than 30 per cent.
As of June 26, the rental workplace of the Island Regulatory and Appeals Fee had obtained 182 purposes for “higher than allowable” lease will increase.
In an e-mail to SaltWire, Jaclynne Hamel, a consultant of the Island Regulatory and Appeals Fee (IRAC), confirmed that 91 purposes – representing 790 rental models – have been authorised.
Will increase
The breakdown of the quantity of the lease will increase are as follows:
- Lower than 5 per cent will increase: 115 models
- 5 to 10 per cent will increase: 268 models
- 10-20 per cent will increase: 233 models
- 20-30 per cent will increase: 124 models
- Will increase higher than 30 per cent: 49 models
The province’s rental workplace has additionally denied purposes for higher than allowable lease will increase for 12 purposes, representing 134 models.
One other 79 purposes – representing 775 models – have both been withdrawn or are nonetheless pending earlier than the fee.
These will increase come after a invoice, launched by former housing minister Matt MacKay, was handed within the P.E.I. legislature final fall, setting 2023 lease enhance quantities to zero per cent. This invoice quashed an order by IRAC that will have allowed lease will increase for 2023 of both 5.2 per cent or 10.8 per cent, relying on if models have been heated by oil.
IRAC had cited rising prices to landlords as causes for its order. MacKay stated permitting lease will increase of as much as 10.8 per cent would have resulted in homelessness for “a whole lot” of Islanders.
However MacKay’s invoice didn’t cap the quantity landlords may apply to IRAC for below what is called “higher than allowable” lease will increase.
Previous to April, P.E.I.’s earlier tenancy legislation – the Rental of Residential Property Act – allowed landlords to use for lease will increase above the lease management quantities if they might reveal a monetary loss. This legislation didn’t set a most cap on how a lot lease might be elevated if the fee authorised these greater-than-allowable lease will increase.
The Rental of Residential Property Act was changed by the brand new Residential Tenancy Act within the spring of 2023. This new legislation set a 3 per cent most on higher than allowable lease will increase. Nevertheless, by the point it was enacted by cupboard on April 8, the backlog of purposes for lease will increase had gathered earlier than IRAC’s rental workplace.
The purposes submitted previous to April 8 have been judged primarily based on the older tenancy legislation, which set no maximums on higher than allowable lease will increase.
Stu Neatby is a political reporter with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He might be reached by e-mail at [email protected] and adopted on Twitter @stu_neatby.
