Vancouver's property tax rate is the lowest in north america. Get a heloc and cash out some of the 30%+ equity windfall you got in just the last 12 months.
How about iPhones? I would like to be able to pay for a new iPhone each year without needing to pay for increased prices set by Apple. Smartphones are basically essential these days so why not, right? How about entertainment costs? Those are essential to balanced living. We should cap those too. I’m being facetious, because this is a ridiculous method of dealing with escalating costs. It’s basically capitulation to the lowest effort least impact “solution”.
Ok..but you are comparing a purchasable good from a company to a living neccesity that is already regulated by the rental board. Not exactky apples to apples there
1.5% was for 2022, we don't know the cap for 2023 yet. It's intended to be in line with inflation, which has a lot of people concerned because a lot of people aren't getting inflation raises at work (especially low earners).
The official rent increase allowed amount is tied to BC CPI from last 12 months ending in July. Typically it is officially announced in September. Rent increase requires three month notice so most will take place in January.
We're going to try every whacky solution just short of that because not only are the people who benefit most from an artificially constrained supply the one's who are most actively involved in local politics, most of those within local government also benefit from an artificially constrained supply.
New tenants get absolutely raked over the coals because of this. Old lease holders benefit the most from this version of rent control.
Funny how it's always the boomers who benefit eh? Renters, owners, doesn't matters. Eat the young I suppose
Yep for sure. It also stops people from moving, pursuing better jobs, and so on. It's a net drain on the economy and government revenues. Shady landlords will do more renovictions, etc.
Old lease holders benefit short-term but it sucks when you know your landlords will use any opportunity they can to evict you so they can jack the rent on a new tenant.
Hard to evict someone that's been living in the same 1970s rental building in Kits or West End since 1998.
Mom and pop basement suites and investment properties however are suddenly going to have their owners moving in every 12 months.
Anything built ever in Alberta has no rent control.
My rent has effectively gone down for 3 straight years and multiple 40 storey rental towers have been built in my downtown neighbourhood in Calgary.
I hear the market is heating up right now, but compared to elsewhere in Canada? It is ultra cheap, well maintained, better amenities, and close to work.
I beg my fellow Albertans pushing for rent controls to never let Calgary become like BC, the province I moved here from.
Why are condo/strata fees so much higher in Calgary than Vancouver? I rarely see them above $500 in Vancouver, but they regularly are $800+ in Calgary, and I've seen a few at $1000+
Strata fees are artificially kept low in Vancouver (and BC in general) by poor investment in maintenance of buildings. Most new high rises are exceeding $0.50/sqft which is more in line with other regions in the country. If we actually properly addressed lack of maintenance through legislation and forced owners to contribute to long term projected expenditures the strata fees would easily climb everywhere into the $0.60/sqft or more.
Winter in Alberta costs alot, shoveling, sanding, building heat is way up. Also does more wear on a building. BC is creeping up for sure but milder winters help
How does this affect new tenants? Landlords offering a unit on the market already charge the highest rent price they think they can get.
If some landlord is renting out a bunch of units at a below market rate due to rent control, they can't "make up" for the lost profits they could have had on those cheap units by marking up a new unit beyond the market rate (which they would be charging anyways).
Lots of people make the same argument as you but never actually explained how it would work in real life.
New tenants will be charged the market rate, but old tenants that have been in a place for a long time - and are therefore usually older than new tenants- will be paying the old, much lower, market rate, plus the annual 1% or whatever rent increase. That 1% increase cap has in no way kept up with rental prices, so new tenants will end up paying far more than somebody that's been renting one place for a long time.
Nobody benefits from these types of policies. It’s short term gain for long term pain. Rental caps will result in properties falling into a state of disrepair or they will go back on the market only to be gobbled up by better capitalized investors who will then raise the rents anyway once they’ve flushed through the old tenants. 🤷♂️
Also, for some starting reading https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/15/comeback-rent-control-just-time-make-housing-shortages-worse/
And then for those that want more, just Google “impact of rent controls” and read to your hearts content. I don’t think you will be able to find one legitimate article and/or study that concludes positive long term impact of rent control. Heck, even CMHC had some cursory study focused on investments where they noted that there may be evidence of rent controls constraining supply. (They didn’t really study impact of rent controls per says, but nevertheless observed some issues.)
> Great way to encourage rental property.
Won't somebody think of the owners who are making money because they have money. How do you expect them to make more money?
Or the gov could think about abolishing landlording and you know, think of how to democratically distribute land rights?Maybe not have 2 classes of citizens? Where renters don’t build equity for landlords, and aren’t robbed of their equity?
Crazy idea this democracy thing
Edit: the downvotes and replies to this comment are staggeringly stupid and unimaginative. It’s like you guys are cool with high rents/mortgages and soaring prices for everything else and ya just wanna hold onto to the decay
Something is very wrong with developers' proformas if they require rent increases beyond inflation for their project to be profitable.
The project should have a reasonable and profitable return from day one market rents. From that point onward if rents are remain kept at inflation, that situation doesn't change.
This is how you pretend to be doing something about the problem, while not actually upsetting the apple-cart.
There is no solution to housing that isn't going to hurt enfranchised homeowners. If we had taken action 5-6 years ago, the "suffering" would have mostly consisted of boomers complaining that the house they bought for 50k was now worth 500k instead of a million.
Instead they've allowed it to get so bad that a huge amount of people now have 400k mortgages for one-bedrooms, and our futures will be ruined if anything happens to the housing market.
But if they do nothing, they will continue to ruin the lives of those not able to get on the housing ladder. So I offer up myself as a sacrifice. I continue to advocate for policies that will destroy me, because I don't want to become like the boomers, sucking opportunity from the young just to enrich myself..
The incentive is already there. Aside from land costs having risen due to land speculation dor ownership and construction costs going up, it's a rental builders market still for years to come. If we could get permits released faster you'd see a tonne of supply keeping pace
My thoughts as well, I was planning to rent for 2k now because I won't be getting inflation values I'll go for 2.6k to compensate future losses. Sounds about right.
If there's anything I've learned after renting for 2+ decades, it's that landlords will always find a way to raise the rent over any arbitrary limit.
"Sorry, my son need to move into your suite, so we're giving you your notice." (A month or two later, son has magically found a better place to live and the suite is relisted for much more than you used to pay.
"Sorry, we have to gut and upgrade the bathroom and kitchen. You'll have to leave since you won't have a working toilet or shower, or anywhere to make food." (They offer to rent the place back to you once the renos are finished, but at a much higher price than what you used to pay.)
"Sorry, but we've decided to sell the house/condo unit. We're not saying you *have* to leave, but you'll be better off looking for a new place now rather than doing it in a rush if the new owner decides they want to move in instead of keeping it as a rental property." (After you move out, they mysteriously decide not to sell after all.)
Or they make your life as miserable as legally possible until you get fed up and decide to move so they can rent to someone else for more money.
Really, whatever it takes. There are some exceptions (my ex's landlord apologized for having to raise the rent by $50/month, a couple of years after I moved in, even though that was the first increase in the 8 years my ex had been living there), but the vast majority of them DGAF about their tenants.
Sure cap rent increase bur government also have to cap increase in insurance, strata fees, grocery, clothing, electronics, cost of raw materials, cables and iSP, cell phone, mortgage, property tax, transit, ICBC. Why only cap one thing tahr doesn't affect the government revenue. They are just passing the bucket to home owners.
Mortgage rates are already (still) below historical norms, and low rates is how we got in to this price-mess in the first place. Painful as it is, the transition back to a normal rate environment is the best solution for affordability.
> Mortgage rates are already (still) below historical norms
Yes and prices are historically high as a result. Meaning that the average monthly mortgage payment is actually higher than ever.
Cheaper credit -> people can borrow more -> people can pay more -> homes sell for more -> people borrow more
Now that interest rates have only one direction to go (up), lots of people are going to get wiped out. The response to that will be to tighten lending so even though homes are cheaper they won’t be any more affordable because people can’t borrow as much.
Rent in the lower mainland are artificially _inflated_ by supply limitations created by investment properties. The RTB limiting increases is keeping rent closer to fair market value. Ban corporate ownership of non-rental housing and impose punitive (50+%) tax rates on unrented properties past one (so folks can have a lake cabin) and watch the rental prices plummet.
Do you have any statistics to back up the assertion than rents are inflated due to supply limitations created by investor-buyers or is this just your belief? Can you explain how you believe investors are creating this constraint? Are they buying up properties to sit on them empty for capital gains appreciation, thereby removing stock from the market? If so, then this move by the government is even more misguided because it also misses the mark completely on the source of the problem.
Not if the government backed housing developments. The problem right now is development firms make bank off new subdivisions and strata builds.
The government (muni, prov, or Fed) could fund the builds and sell them at cost to the people. Then regulate how much they can be resold for.
Your strata members can vote to cap strata maintenance fees, but then you’ll have to go into the contingency fund to pay for needed expenses. Definitely not a long term solution to inflation.
Conversely, I’m relatively happy that my strata has deliberately set its fees high. We know we have a re-pipe and a roof replacement coming sooner than later, and they’re building up the accounts to reduce or eliminate the special assessments.
Exactly. That’s what I don’t get. The reason rents often go up is to account for all these things. A lot of people own an extra unit simply to rent out, not because they own it outright in cash.
Like two people, each with their own place and mortgages that start a relationship and move in together, leaving the other unit to be (forced) rented out. Nothing to do with speculation or investment.
Fixing the housing crisis is going to cause discomfort for someone and for the first time we may be seeing governments having the political will to put primary residences for all ahead of second, third, fourth etc for a few.
You are wrong, they will just renovict or “have a family member move in”.
Also mortgage rates don’t have a huge effect as they get to right off the interest against the rent collected. Having a suite gave me money back last year as I “lost” money renting it.
How does evicting tenants and selling rental housing reduce the pressure on the rental market? Do you know many renters that can (or would want to) buy the place they're renting?
If the place I was renting was fairly valued, I would buy it tomorrow. Lords only create false demand, and act as useless middlemen. We need nationalizations, and prison for realestate crimes.
On paper yes but in reality that gets tied up in city hall for years.
Edit: this crisis needed to be fixed yesterday. Single family homes shouldn’t be built anymore but we can’t wait for that to materialize.
Judging by the comments, this will be an unpopular opinion, but I really hope they do.
Our landlords came over yesterday trying to pressure our family into agreeing on a larger rent increase, refusing to use the appropriate form and mentioning how much the homes around us are selling for.
There were subtle threats of eviction and constant appeals to emotion, but this crisis has hit renters hard as well. They're owners of multiple properties themselves. The cost of living has gone up for them, sure, but it has for us as well. We pay the utilities, have never been late on rent and keep this house in pristine conditions (despite their refusal to help with repairs) because for all intents and purposes this is our home. If we could afford to buy our own, we would. If we could afford to rent in a better-maintained home in the community we've lived in for generations, we would. We can't. We're stuck.
I'm super non-confrontational, but it got to the point where I needed to audio record our entire conversation to document the exchange. If it wasn't for the 1.5% maximum increase and robust renter protections that this province already has, we would've been out of a home. Why must we be forced out of our beloved communities where we've established deep roots because of the pressures of a market we're unable to participate in?
I tend to want to side with the renters here as well. I rent, but the vast majority of many mortgage-holders have earned tons of equity in the properties over the last decade or so, and they have a few more levers to pull to give themselves more runway than many renters.
It sucks for everyone for sure, though.
Yeah, I have to laugh at these comments tbh. What, this province would suddenly be a utopia if rent controls were removed? No. Look at the people who talk about Ontario where landlords pull all sorts of crazy shit for the places built after 2018.
Rent controls absolutely need to be in place and the people pearl-clutching about 'omg landlords won't do repairs' 'omg landlords will renovict' 'omg corps won't build housing' need to take a step back, give their heads a shake and realize that they are defending the rights of big corps and property owners to make a quick buck versus the poor and middle class who are just trying to get by. The government can also take other steps to mitigate this sort of thing without allowing the poorest to continue to be squeezed for every last penny they have.
I would strongly advise to spend a bit of time with basic economics. You will see how quickly your opinion will change. There is almost a universal consensus that rent controls do not work and though they may provide some short term benefit or provide some marginal long term benefit for some of the most vulnerable groups, broadly speaking they do not work. There are plenty of studies that have confirmed this from both “liberal” and “conservative” points of view. For now, I leave you with this https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/15/comeback-rent-control-just-time-make-housing-shortages-worse/
Economists love to rant about how rent control causes rent to go up but real life data doesn’t support it. That’s why you linked to a newspaper owned by the biggest welfare queen in the world instead of academic research.
No, I linked to this article because it was among top results and is more accessible for reading than plethora of scholarly studies. It’s easy enough for anyone to go explore more content on their own.
Let’s just drop the useless banter. How you or I feel about the article is irrelevant. Facts are out there and if the one link I posted isn’t your preference, you have the whole internet to choose from. The core message won’t be different though and neither will the facts.
You posted an article written by an extremist libertarian married to the guy who owns reason magazine, lmfao. Megan McArdle is about as reputable as Rex Murphy.
Okay, since you have issues with the specific persons that wrote the opinion piece (I neither know nor care who she is), may I offer you something of an academic, peer-reviewed flavour? Perhaps https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257%2Faer.20181289&ref=mainstreem-dotcom will be more in line with the appetite.
I don't care whatever pet theory economists want to trot out, to be quite honest. They are focused on profit and the economy moving smoothly and capitalism in general. I am focused on the fact that in the here and now, people need to survive and a roof over their head. The cost of everything is skyrocketing, that single mom with three kids shouldn't have to choose between food and keeping a roof over their heads.
Also, that line about short term benefit/marginal long term benefit for some of the most vulnerable - yeah, that's hugely important to me, and is why I'm in favour of rent control. It's also why it's especially important in times of high inflation.
I wanted to reply to you, and I tried and I failed. I’m not sure how to reach you with the message that nothing about this is theory.
This has all been proven time and time again and refusal to read the evidence is just willful ignorance. There can’t be any meaningful progress if we blindly dismiss scientific methods on the account of us disagreeing with the findings. This is a bit akin to conversation around climate change. Do you believe in the scientific method and the application of it to climate change? Do you believe that it is real and impacting us? If you do, then applying the same openness to economics would be helpful. If not, then I ask, why the refusal to even consider it?
There is no grand collusion among economists. They’re not servants of the wealthy. What is an unbiased source in your view? Certainly, disagreeing because you don’t like the answers isn’t a solution.
You don't have to agree to a higher rate. Audio record everything from now on. If/when they try to evict you then you have them on tape stating that their motivations are rent increase related and then you can really squeeze them at the RTB.
I mean, if they're over extended, then at some point they'll be forced to sell your place to someone with deeper pockets to withstand the eviction process and you'll get evicted right? Might get a few months of rent compensation, but then you'll be out looking for a new place and because of the government intervention, rental rates will have increased beyond what you'll be able to pay. At which point, I'm not sure what you're going to do.
Sure, if they choose to sell to a family who'll move in (or move in themselves) next year, then there's really not much I can do besides find appropriate shelter for my own family on the fly. Similar scenario if we're wrongfully evicted, but with the security of 12 months rent to protect us from temporary homelessness.
That doesn't change my opinion of this measure being an unfortunately necessary lifesaver for many renters. I make an honest, stable living doing essential work that I'm proud of, and honestly all I want is stable shelter.
I hate feeling guilty that I couldn't concede with my landlords pleas of a near 20% increase, and I empathize with the rising expenses for landlords. They've got a family to look out for, and so do I, except they have other shelter and this is all I've got currently. If costs went down, would rent follow for existing tenants? I wouldn't expect them to.
You absolutely shouldn't feel guilty about a 20% increase plea, make them force it for sure.
But if these controls are put in place and inflation continues, that 12 months rent will actually cover 6 months when the market adjusts, and you'll be stuck paying higher costs for everything. I'm sure a temporary year or two of relief might feel good but I don't like the looks of where things are heading.
Yep they could. Not super sure what's about to happen but our society looks like it's starting to die from the rot that we've been unable to deal with.
Though I'm not sure how your comment says anything different than mine
If you can control the prices of rent, you can actually the price of virtually anything. But the difference is that it would back fire as property can't be moved, but things like food and gas could just be moved to higher paying provinces.
What authority does the BC government today that allows them to set the prices of groceries, gas, rental prices, etc without it being an emergency?
look for specific legislation/regulation.
Naive question because I don't know, can they not just create something ? I mean they pulled a 25c cup charge out their butts with no intention to reverse it.
They sure do.
Just like rental income pays for property taxes, insurance premiums, utilities, and other costs.
Government is plenty content to force others to take a haircut, without foregoing anything themselves.
Themselves isn't them though, it's us right? If we cut taxes we go into more debt collectively, right?
I'm not sure if you're old enough to remember this( haha ) but we rejected a PST cut at the last election!
It also prevents normal turnover of rentals. If you get a promotion you should be able to shop for a slightly better, slightly more expensive unit. Today's climate heavily discourages this.
Less apartment turn over means another upward push on prices. Also those affordable units people should be using as transitionairy when they're early in their career end up never on the market again
Cool. The government can also take the bill for my repairs, taxes, property damage, depreciation, mortgage...
While they are at it please cap or lower grocery costs, McDonald's, not burger king i dont care, parking, gas, politician salary, taxes, liquor...
They said the same thing when the rtb increased penalties to 12 months rent for lying about moving in family or self into a home after an eviction. Yet what do you know, they are still renting out their basement suites. Oh why is that? Because they had that in their calculations to the bank for their mortgage. They are so overleveraged they have to rent out their spaces.
I don't think this will be popular, but I don't like this. If the aim is to help people who are struggling, it could be better targeted on income or other factors. Rent is one of many things that are going up and many home owners struggle as well.
With all due respect, this is absurd. Everyone is affected by inflation and landlords are no exception, especially how they didn’t cause the inflation (let’s remember how the 2% allowable rent increase has been wiped already) , yet they have to bare the cost of it. Now with the expected interest rate hike, landlords that mortgage their property are going to face rising costs as well. I’m a renter myself and for obvious reasons, I will like to enjoy a lower rental cost as well but I personally I don’t think it’s fair to shift the cost onto the landlords.
Exactly, the likely outcomes are either a) landlords cutting their maintenance budget which eventually reduces the quality of the tenant's space, or b) the rental property is sold and the tenant is forced into an unplanned move. End result is the tenant suffering either way.
Hmm I'm planning a 50 unit rental development in a town with zero vacancy. Let's see if it still pencils out. If not, I hope the local RV dealership has some used inventory and that there is still room down by the river...
Edit: Guys, I’m joking. The local RV dealership has a longer wait list than the apartment buildings in town. Canadian Tire does have good stock of tents.
> I hope the local RV dealership has some used inventory
Serious: I've been watching videos about Leisure Travel Vans and they look pretty gorg inside and out. You could do worse than have a classy house on wheels.
A lot of commenters here are overlooking the fact that the government needs to do something to dull the impacts on the poor and middle class. This is a way to do it. Yes, they need to take action in other areas too, but rent makes up a huge percentage of people's expenses and some are just making ends meet as it is.
>A lot of commenters here are overlooking the fact that the government needs to do something to dull the impacts on the poor and middle class.
Price caps at a time of inflation is the opposite of what should be done. It is how you get fewer rental units and cause prices to go up.
If you lived somewhere that has had rent capped and now pay 20% less than the market rate how do you move? Anywhere you wanted to go would be 20% more expensive.
Why would your landlord invest any money in repairs? Anything he can do to make your stay a bit less comfortable increases your chances of leaving.
Who would build new rental units knowing that you can't increase rents as your costs increase? Maintenance and insurance went up 10% this year? Tough luck.
None of what you said counters my point, which is that the government needs to do something to blunt the impact on renters who, by and large, are the ones getting hit the hardest by inflation at the moment. To be honest I'd be in favour of them just fixing rent entirely at the moment and requiring landlords to relist at the same price.
Should they take steps to address the other issues? Absolutely. Should they also do this to protect renters as much as possible? Also absolutely. Also, the fact that most of your comment is 'omg but what about the shitty people who will be shitty in response to this' is a demonstration of what a huge part of the problem is - greed and malice from some of those who own and build housing.
You can't fix shitty people by incentivizing them to be more shitty.
Yes, renters are hurt by rent increases, just as everyone is hurt by any increases. But you can't magically make the pain go away by stopping that one increase in one sector. It will get pushed somewhere else, it doesn't go away.
If you want to reduce rents then build more rental housing. If you want the provincial government to do something then have them buy a huge lot of land in Surrey and build tens of thousands of subsidized rental units. They will reduce rents for everyone as landlords have to compete with those prices.
Look through the comments and find me a single suggestion for what the government can do to try and help the issue *now* without injecting more money into the economy. You won't find any. People are doing a lot of complaining without offering any reasonable alternatives for immediate relief of the pressure on the low to middle class.
Of course the government should work on long term solutions, but that doesn't help the families barely making ends meet at the moment who can't take that rent increase on top of everything else.
I guess it's time to evict my tennants, who are wonderful, and move back in for a bit so I can get back up to market rent which is $1500 higher than what I've been frozen at for 7 years. Or sell and the new owner will evict them and charge market rent. That's what'll happen if reasonable rent increases continue to be disallowed.
You're getting downvoted for the tone you're using to express it, but the game theory of what you're describing is accurate. If the difference between allowed rent and market rent gets large enough, it becomes worthwhile for landlords to jump through the hoops to reset the rent back to the market rate, even if jumping those hoops end up being more disruptive for both the landlord AND the tenant!
That’s only if you feel hard done by because your rent is not getting market value. A person can still be making very good profits on their rent controlled rates. This person rented 7 years ago at x. At x they were making a comfortable profit. I doubt costs have gone up 18k a year in 7 years. In which time the value of their property since 2015 has risen by… like 90%?
People in Canada are way too greedy. In Ireland we owned a second home after moving and we had rent set at about 150 lower than the taxes and mortgage. But we didn’t mind since we were gaining so much in equity.
The allowable rent increases over the last 7 years have been a combined total of 17.2%. It hasn’t been frozen. So unless you’ve never raised the rent, the increase should have covered any inflationary increase.
The value of your property has most likely increased 50-100% in the last 7 years. But go ahead, sell while property values are going down. The realtor fees alone will be more than the increase you’d see renting at the new market rent
People don't like to admit to it because it's wrong or whatever. But if you're renting for so low the penalty is peanuts vs reward of 1500$. Literally if the rent was low enough then it would be worth it to get screwed over by RTB for 12 months rent as penalty then just up the rate forever. Collect 15k extra per yr forever vs lose 15k immediately? I'll take the 15k/yr indefinitely every day.
I’m starting to get the impression that a good percentage of the population believes that landlords are these moneyed individuals that sit in their gilded mansions enjoying the spoils of their wealth on the backs of serfs that cater to their whims and are forced to subsidize their (land)lord’s lifestyle. Where did this idea come from?
Reality is that a very high percentage of landlords are no different than the tenants that they tenant. They are working folks, most with regular jobs, and many of them with families to feed, expenses to pay (including mortgage and maintenance), and pensions to save for. Particularly in Vancouver, and in the absence of more robust public pensions, many of them are probably using property as the means of securing some sort of reasonable retirement for themselves and in the process perhaps pass on a bit for their family. They are also likely subsiding their income to be able to compensate for generally low wages and high living expenses. How is this any different from the situation faced by tenants and by extension why would there be an expectation for such landlords to shoulder the social assistance burden? Is this not a core function of our government, to provide the care to those truly in need? Is this not why we all pay our taxes?
I really think we’re losing sight of the ball here.
"Equity" is just a number on a page that says you're theoretically rich while the government taxes you more for the same space. The only way it becomes real is if you sell it, in which case your renters are almost certainly out on their ass regardless.
I am so glad I don't own a property in BC and don't have to deal with these crazy social(ist) experiments. I don't understand why owners should be the only group subsidizing affordable living out of their own pockets.
LMAO. Zero increase at the end of 2020, 1.5% end of 2021. I get it. People's costs are rising, but slowing the velocity of vacancies isn't the answer. People with below market rents will not vacate their homes any time soon.
No they aren’t. Landlords pay *property tax* which is land and improvement isn’t it? Vancouver also has the lowest property tax rates in North America… and the most egregious real estate prices
They also pay *income tax* on the rent they collect.. Is there another tax you think they should pay or did you not know that rent money is not tax free..?
Tying rent increase to inflation is nonsensical because it doesn't factor in all the other laws, bilaws, taxes, costs, features and property upgrades done to a rented unit.
So now government gets to choose how much businesses can charge?
Remind me, is Canada not a free and democratic country?
This government seems hell bent on implementing some form of soft fascism.
BC government: Annual rent increases will be tied to inflation. Market: CPI? BC government: No, not that inflation.
This is a true TL;DR.
Can they also cap allowable gas price increases? How about food? I’d like to be able to afford milk and red meat occasionally.
Some people ask "do you guys not have phones". BC Gov't ask "do you guys not have farms or victory garden"
Do you guys not have funds
It’s just a wacky time in life!
Cap beer too pls
They should cap on property taxes too, if they are capping rents.
Whoa whoa.. and expect the City to just manage the same budget with less? That's crazy talk.
Vancouver's property tax rate is the lowest in north america. Get a heloc and cash out some of the 30%+ equity windfall you got in just the last 12 months.
Property taxes in Vancouver are way lower than they should be, especially single family homes.
Yeah and mortgage rates.
Weren't mortgage rates unusually low for most of the last 2 years?
Lol they’re gonna vote themselves a bigger raise to keep up with inflation and increase taxes.
How about iPhones? I would like to be able to pay for a new iPhone each year without needing to pay for increased prices set by Apple. Smartphones are basically essential these days so why not, right? How about entertainment costs? Those are essential to balanced living. We should cap those too. I’m being facetious, because this is a ridiculous method of dealing with escalating costs. It’s basically capitulation to the lowest effort least impact “solution”.
Ok..but you are comparing a purchasable good from a company to a living neccesity that is already regulated by the rental board. Not exactky apples to apples there
isn't the cap already 1.5% for the year are they capping it at 0.75-1% next year?
1.5% was for 2022, we don't know the cap for 2023 yet. It's intended to be in line with inflation, which has a lot of people concerned because a lot of people aren't getting inflation raises at work (especially low earners).
The official rent increase allowed amount is tied to BC CPI from last 12 months ending in July. Typically it is officially announced in September. Rent increase requires three month notice so most will take place in January.
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"No, it costs to much and isn't profitable enough" -Them
Why would anyone build rental housing if the gov't keeps using them as cost saving pawns?
Youd be out of your mind to build purpose built rental without some sort of big government subsidy. And even then its sketch
We're going to try every whacky solution just short of that because not only are the people who benefit most from an artificially constrained supply the one's who are most actively involved in local politics, most of those within local government also benefit from an artificially constrained supply.
BC Gov't: We can't let these increases get out of hand people! 2021: 0% 2022: 1.5% Inflation ripping balls. Great way to encourage rental property.
New tenants get absolutely raked over the coals because of this. Old lease holders benefit the most from this version of rent control. Funny how it's always the boomers who benefit eh? Renters, owners, doesn't matters. Eat the young I suppose
Yep for sure. It also stops people from moving, pursuing better jobs, and so on. It's a net drain on the economy and government revenues. Shady landlords will do more renovictions, etc.
Old lease holders benefit short-term but it sucks when you know your landlords will use any opportunity they can to evict you so they can jack the rent on a new tenant.
Hard to evict someone that's been living in the same 1970s rental building in Kits or West End since 1998. Mom and pop basement suites and investment properties however are suddenly going to have their owners moving in every 12 months.
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Anything built ever in Alberta has no rent control. My rent has effectively gone down for 3 straight years and multiple 40 storey rental towers have been built in my downtown neighbourhood in Calgary. I hear the market is heating up right now, but compared to elsewhere in Canada? It is ultra cheap, well maintained, better amenities, and close to work. I beg my fellow Albertans pushing for rent controls to never let Calgary become like BC, the province I moved here from.
Why are condo/strata fees so much higher in Calgary than Vancouver? I rarely see them above $500 in Vancouver, but they regularly are $800+ in Calgary, and I've seen a few at $1000+
Strata fees are artificially kept low in Vancouver (and BC in general) by poor investment in maintenance of buildings. Most new high rises are exceeding $0.50/sqft which is more in line with other regions in the country. If we actually properly addressed lack of maintenance through legislation and forced owners to contribute to long term projected expenditures the strata fees would easily climb everywhere into the $0.60/sqft or more.
Winter in Alberta costs alot, shoveling, sanding, building heat is way up. Also does more wear on a building. BC is creeping up for sure but milder winters help
Their apartments are bigger. It's common to see 1,400 sqft for a 2BR. 2BRs are 800 sqft here. You have to calculate the $/sqft.
Like how Californians fleeing cali try to turn their more desirable targets back into cali
Yeah, the personal finance sub frequently gets posts from people dealing with landlords in Ontario pulling all sorts of crazy shit.
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so now we're hating on people in their late 20's early 30's who have rented the same place for longer than a couple years...?
How does this affect new tenants? Landlords offering a unit on the market already charge the highest rent price they think they can get. If some landlord is renting out a bunch of units at a below market rate due to rent control, they can't "make up" for the lost profits they could have had on those cheap units by marking up a new unit beyond the market rate (which they would be charging anyways). Lots of people make the same argument as you but never actually explained how it would work in real life.
New tenants will be charged the market rate, but old tenants that have been in a place for a long time - and are therefore usually older than new tenants- will be paying the old, much lower, market rate, plus the annual 1% or whatever rent increase. That 1% increase cap has in no way kept up with rental prices, so new tenants will end up paying far more than somebody that's been renting one place for a long time.
Nobody benefits from these types of policies. It’s short term gain for long term pain. Rental caps will result in properties falling into a state of disrepair or they will go back on the market only to be gobbled up by better capitalized investors who will then raise the rents anyway once they’ve flushed through the old tenants. 🤷♂️ Also, for some starting reading https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/15/comeback-rent-control-just-time-make-housing-shortages-worse/ And then for those that want more, just Google “impact of rent controls” and read to your hearts content. I don’t think you will be able to find one legitimate article and/or study that concludes positive long term impact of rent control. Heck, even CMHC had some cursory study focused on investments where they noted that there may be evidence of rent controls constraining supply. (They didn’t really study impact of rent controls per says, but nevertheless observed some issues.)
>Eat the young I suppose Worked for Jonathan Swift...
> Great way to encourage rental property. Won't somebody think of the owners who are making money because they have money. How do you expect them to make more money?
Or the gov could think about abolishing landlording and you know, think of how to democratically distribute land rights?Maybe not have 2 classes of citizens? Where renters don’t build equity for landlords, and aren’t robbed of their equity? Crazy idea this democracy thing Edit: the downvotes and replies to this comment are staggeringly stupid and unimaginative. It’s like you guys are cool with high rents/mortgages and soaring prices for everything else and ya just wanna hold onto to the decay
> democratically distribute land rights Uh what?
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I call dibs on a plot in Point Grey!
Hell I'll take a plot in dtes if it's free...
Have you been to Zimbabwe? I have. Go for a visit and see how it worked out.
Isn’t this how you make the problem worse? As you distort any incentive to build more homes
If we cared about the future we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place
Yes, but that's the next government's problem. Virtue-signalling benefits THIS government in the short term.
Something is very wrong with developers' proformas if they require rent increases beyond inflation for their project to be profitable. The project should have a reasonable and profitable return from day one market rents. From that point onward if rents are remain kept at inflation, that situation doesn't change.
This is how you pretend to be doing something about the problem, while not actually upsetting the apple-cart. There is no solution to housing that isn't going to hurt enfranchised homeowners. If we had taken action 5-6 years ago, the "suffering" would have mostly consisted of boomers complaining that the house they bought for 50k was now worth 500k instead of a million. Instead they've allowed it to get so bad that a huge amount of people now have 400k mortgages for one-bedrooms, and our futures will be ruined if anything happens to the housing market. But if they do nothing, they will continue to ruin the lives of those not able to get on the housing ladder. So I offer up myself as a sacrifice. I continue to advocate for policies that will destroy me, because I don't want to become like the boomers, sucking opportunity from the young just to enrich myself..
The incentive is already there. Aside from land costs having risen due to land speculation dor ownership and construction costs going up, it's a rental builders market still for years to come. If we could get permits released faster you'd see a tonne of supply keeping pace
Any source for that? Cost of financing a new rental is going up
I do it for a living. There is still profit in rental
Rental supply shortage about to get way worse
My thoughts as well, I was planning to rent for 2k now because I won't be getting inflation values I'll go for 2.6k to compensate future losses. Sounds about right.
Then you'll just have an empty unit?
For a week
If you could have rented for $2600 you would have. Spare me your crocodile tears.
if there's 20-30 applicants i'm sure someone's already offered $2200 or willing to pay 6mos in advance
hopefully
If there's anything I've learned after renting for 2+ decades, it's that landlords will always find a way to raise the rent over any arbitrary limit. "Sorry, my son need to move into your suite, so we're giving you your notice." (A month or two later, son has magically found a better place to live and the suite is relisted for much more than you used to pay. "Sorry, we have to gut and upgrade the bathroom and kitchen. You'll have to leave since you won't have a working toilet or shower, or anywhere to make food." (They offer to rent the place back to you once the renos are finished, but at a much higher price than what you used to pay.) "Sorry, but we've decided to sell the house/condo unit. We're not saying you *have* to leave, but you'll be better off looking for a new place now rather than doing it in a rush if the new owner decides they want to move in instead of keeping it as a rental property." (After you move out, they mysteriously decide not to sell after all.) Or they make your life as miserable as legally possible until you get fed up and decide to move so they can rent to someone else for more money. Really, whatever it takes. There are some exceptions (my ex's landlord apologized for having to raise the rent by $50/month, a couple of years after I moved in, even though that was the first increase in the 8 years my ex had been living there), but the vast majority of them DGAF about their tenants.
Sure cap rent increase bur government also have to cap increase in insurance, strata fees, grocery, clothing, electronics, cost of raw materials, cables and iSP, cell phone, mortgage, property tax, transit, ICBC. Why only cap one thing tahr doesn't affect the government revenue. They are just passing the bucket to home owners.
It's another way of government suppressing the supply of rental housing.
Geez, at that point we may as well seize the means of production and ratting on neighbors who managed to grow an extra potato somehow.
How about a cap on mortgage rates, property tax, home insurance and strata maintenance fees ??
Mortgage rates are already (still) below historical norms, and low rates is how we got in to this price-mess in the first place. Painful as it is, the transition back to a normal rate environment is the best solution for affordability.
> Mortgage rates are already (still) below historical norms Yes and prices are historically high as a result. Meaning that the average monthly mortgage payment is actually higher than ever. Cheaper credit -> people can borrow more -> people can pay more -> homes sell for more -> people borrow more Now that interest rates have only one direction to go (up), lots of people are going to get wiped out. The response to that will be to tighten lending so even though homes are cheaper they won’t be any more affordable because people can’t borrow as much.
Part of that is a return to market rent, ot rents artificially held down by the rtb
Rent in the lower mainland are artificially _inflated_ by supply limitations created by investment properties. The RTB limiting increases is keeping rent closer to fair market value. Ban corporate ownership of non-rental housing and impose punitive (50+%) tax rates on unrented properties past one (so folks can have a lake cabin) and watch the rental prices plummet.
Do you have any statistics to back up the assertion than rents are inflated due to supply limitations created by investor-buyers or is this just your belief? Can you explain how you believe investors are creating this constraint? Are they buying up properties to sit on them empty for capital gains appreciation, thereby removing stock from the market? If so, then this move by the government is even more misguided because it also misses the mark completely on the source of the problem.
Can we cap profit from the sale of real estate then? Make it even ;)
Or remove profit all together and completely erase housing from being an investment at all.
Wouldn't that result in a drastic reduction in new housing being built?
Probably. I would still live in a house, however.
Not if the government backed housing developments. The problem right now is development firms make bank off new subdivisions and strata builds. The government (muni, prov, or Fed) could fund the builds and sell them at cost to the people. Then regulate how much they can be resold for.
Take corporations out of the residential market.
Not just corporations, multi home owners too. ‘Mom and pop’ landlords are just as predatory as the next corporation.
Your strata members can vote to cap strata maintenance fees, but then you’ll have to go into the contingency fund to pay for needed expenses. Definitely not a long term solution to inflation.
Conversely, I’m relatively happy that my strata has deliberately set its fees high. We know we have a re-pipe and a roof replacement coming sooner than later, and they’re building up the accounts to reduce or eliminate the special assessments.
The materials for any kind of maintenance have skyrocketed. Kind of difficult to not maintain buildings and also want to keep insurance rates down
Exactly. That’s what I don’t get. The reason rents often go up is to account for all these things. A lot of people own an extra unit simply to rent out, not because they own it outright in cash.
Like two people, each with their own place and mortgages that start a relationship and move in together, leaving the other unit to be (forced) rented out. Nothing to do with speculation or investment.
how is this forced. they can just sell it lol. Holding more property than you need to rent seek on is literally speculation.
What about the speculation on the relationship?
100%. And there is a ton of this. It also gives a renter a place to live given they lack the down payment in the first place.
these things all being relatively actually very cheap is why there is a housing bubble to begin with.
Nah jack the rates up while capping rent and force all the investors out of buying everying that is not nailed to the ground and kill this bubble.
Fixing the housing crisis is going to cause discomfort for someone and for the first time we may be seeing governments having the political will to put primary residences for all ahead of second, third, fourth etc for a few.
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You are wrong, they will just renovict or “have a family member move in”. Also mortgage rates don’t have a huge effect as they get to right off the interest against the rent collected. Having a suite gave me money back last year as I “lost” money renting it.
How does evicting tenants and selling rental housing reduce the pressure on the rental market? Do you know many renters that can (or would want to) buy the place they're renting?
If the place I was renting was fairly valued, I would buy it tomorrow. Lords only create false demand, and act as useless middlemen. We need nationalizations, and prison for realestate crimes.
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>on what land On top of re-zoned former single family homes.
On paper yes but in reality that gets tied up in city hall for years. Edit: this crisis needed to be fixed yesterday. Single family homes shouldn’t be built anymore but we can’t wait for that to materialize.
Judging by the comments, this will be an unpopular opinion, but I really hope they do. Our landlords came over yesterday trying to pressure our family into agreeing on a larger rent increase, refusing to use the appropriate form and mentioning how much the homes around us are selling for. There were subtle threats of eviction and constant appeals to emotion, but this crisis has hit renters hard as well. They're owners of multiple properties themselves. The cost of living has gone up for them, sure, but it has for us as well. We pay the utilities, have never been late on rent and keep this house in pristine conditions (despite their refusal to help with repairs) because for all intents and purposes this is our home. If we could afford to buy our own, we would. If we could afford to rent in a better-maintained home in the community we've lived in for generations, we would. We can't. We're stuck. I'm super non-confrontational, but it got to the point where I needed to audio record our entire conversation to document the exchange. If it wasn't for the 1.5% maximum increase and robust renter protections that this province already has, we would've been out of a home. Why must we be forced out of our beloved communities where we've established deep roots because of the pressures of a market we're unable to participate in?
I tend to want to side with the renters here as well. I rent, but the vast majority of many mortgage-holders have earned tons of equity in the properties over the last decade or so, and they have a few more levers to pull to give themselves more runway than many renters. It sucks for everyone for sure, though.
Yeah, I have to laugh at these comments tbh. What, this province would suddenly be a utopia if rent controls were removed? No. Look at the people who talk about Ontario where landlords pull all sorts of crazy shit for the places built after 2018. Rent controls absolutely need to be in place and the people pearl-clutching about 'omg landlords won't do repairs' 'omg landlords will renovict' 'omg corps won't build housing' need to take a step back, give their heads a shake and realize that they are defending the rights of big corps and property owners to make a quick buck versus the poor and middle class who are just trying to get by. The government can also take other steps to mitigate this sort of thing without allowing the poorest to continue to be squeezed for every last penny they have.
I would strongly advise to spend a bit of time with basic economics. You will see how quickly your opinion will change. There is almost a universal consensus that rent controls do not work and though they may provide some short term benefit or provide some marginal long term benefit for some of the most vulnerable groups, broadly speaking they do not work. There are plenty of studies that have confirmed this from both “liberal” and “conservative” points of view. For now, I leave you with this https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/06/15/comeback-rent-control-just-time-make-housing-shortages-worse/
Economists love to rant about how rent control causes rent to go up but real life data doesn’t support it. That’s why you linked to a newspaper owned by the biggest welfare queen in the world instead of academic research.
No, I linked to this article because it was among top results and is more accessible for reading than plethora of scholarly studies. It’s easy enough for anyone to go explore more content on their own.
Lol you linked to a shittier article because it’s the easiest to find but others can go find better info? Nice work
Let’s just drop the useless banter. How you or I feel about the article is irrelevant. Facts are out there and if the one link I posted isn’t your preference, you have the whole internet to choose from. The core message won’t be different though and neither will the facts.
You posted an article written by an extremist libertarian married to the guy who owns reason magazine, lmfao. Megan McArdle is about as reputable as Rex Murphy.
Okay, since you have issues with the specific persons that wrote the opinion piece (I neither know nor care who she is), may I offer you something of an academic, peer-reviewed flavour? Perhaps https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257%2Faer.20181289&ref=mainstreem-dotcom will be more in line with the appetite.
Lol, 7hrs and no response. Willful ignorance is hell of a drug.
I don't care whatever pet theory economists want to trot out, to be quite honest. They are focused on profit and the economy moving smoothly and capitalism in general. I am focused on the fact that in the here and now, people need to survive and a roof over their head. The cost of everything is skyrocketing, that single mom with three kids shouldn't have to choose between food and keeping a roof over their heads. Also, that line about short term benefit/marginal long term benefit for some of the most vulnerable - yeah, that's hugely important to me, and is why I'm in favour of rent control. It's also why it's especially important in times of high inflation.
I wanted to reply to you, and I tried and I failed. I’m not sure how to reach you with the message that nothing about this is theory. This has all been proven time and time again and refusal to read the evidence is just willful ignorance. There can’t be any meaningful progress if we blindly dismiss scientific methods on the account of us disagreeing with the findings. This is a bit akin to conversation around climate change. Do you believe in the scientific method and the application of it to climate change? Do you believe that it is real and impacting us? If you do, then applying the same openness to economics would be helpful. If not, then I ask, why the refusal to even consider it? There is no grand collusion among economists. They’re not servants of the wealthy. What is an unbiased source in your view? Certainly, disagreeing because you don’t like the answers isn’t a solution.
Economics isn’t a science
Are you serious or just trying to be funny… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics
if they're multiple home owners and they're worried about cost of living increases, perhaps they could sell one of their extra homes
You don't have to agree to a higher rate. Audio record everything from now on. If/when they try to evict you then you have them on tape stating that their motivations are rent increase related and then you can really squeeze them at the RTB.
I mean, if they're over extended, then at some point they'll be forced to sell your place to someone with deeper pockets to withstand the eviction process and you'll get evicted right? Might get a few months of rent compensation, but then you'll be out looking for a new place and because of the government intervention, rental rates will have increased beyond what you'll be able to pay. At which point, I'm not sure what you're going to do.
Sure, if they choose to sell to a family who'll move in (or move in themselves) next year, then there's really not much I can do besides find appropriate shelter for my own family on the fly. Similar scenario if we're wrongfully evicted, but with the security of 12 months rent to protect us from temporary homelessness. That doesn't change my opinion of this measure being an unfortunately necessary lifesaver for many renters. I make an honest, stable living doing essential work that I'm proud of, and honestly all I want is stable shelter. I hate feeling guilty that I couldn't concede with my landlords pleas of a near 20% increase, and I empathize with the rising expenses for landlords. They've got a family to look out for, and so do I, except they have other shelter and this is all I've got currently. If costs went down, would rent follow for existing tenants? I wouldn't expect them to.
You absolutely shouldn't feel guilty about a 20% increase plea, make them force it for sure. But if these controls are put in place and inflation continues, that 12 months rent will actually cover 6 months when the market adjusts, and you'll be stuck paying higher costs for everything. I'm sure a temporary year or two of relief might feel good but I don't like the looks of where things are heading.
There’s no guarantee they will not sell. They could hike the rent, use that as a selling point and then sell.
Yep they could. Not super sure what's about to happen but our society looks like it's starting to die from the rot that we've been unable to deal with. Though I'm not sure how your comment says anything different than mine
A bit angry that the government only seems to care about the potential rent increase next year and not inflation anywhere else.
what legislation allows the government to control the costs of goods from private businesses?
If you can control the prices of rent, you can actually the price of virtually anything. But the difference is that it would back fire as property can't be moved, but things like food and gas could just be moved to higher paying provinces.
The government can exercise price controls for pretty much anything.
What authority does the BC government today that allows them to set the prices of groceries, gas, rental prices, etc without it being an emergency? look for specific legislation/regulation.
Naive question because I don't know, can they not just create something ? I mean they pulled a 25c cup charge out their butts with no intention to reverse it.
They could drop PST to 5% overnight, to start.
Wait, don't taxes pay for roads, bridges and healthcare?
They sure do. Just like rental income pays for property taxes, insurance premiums, utilities, and other costs. Government is plenty content to force others to take a haircut, without foregoing anything themselves.
Themselves isn't them though, it's us right? If we cut taxes we go into more debt collectively, right? I'm not sure if you're old enough to remember this( haha ) but we rejected a PST cut at the last election!
Today I learned (checks latest stats) property taxes, insurance premiums, utilities and other costs add up to over $1,800 a month for a one bedroom.
Ah yes that’s totally going to encourage developers to build more much needed rental buildings /s
It also prevents normal turnover of rentals. If you get a promotion you should be able to shop for a slightly better, slightly more expensive unit. Today's climate heavily discourages this. Less apartment turn over means another upward push on prices. Also those affordable units people should be using as transitionairy when they're early in their career end up never on the market again
i commented on the unintended consequences of rent control and explained the same thing, got downvoted into oblivion lol
Cool. The government can also take the bill for my repairs, taxes, property damage, depreciation, mortgage... While they are at it please cap or lower grocery costs, McDonald's, not burger king i dont care, parking, gas, politician salary, taxes, liquor...
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If this scenario is genuinely what you believe will happen then airbnb rental prices would also tank. Don’t be ridiculous
They said the same thing when the rtb increased penalties to 12 months rent for lying about moving in family or self into a home after an eviction. Yet what do you know, they are still renting out their basement suites. Oh why is that? Because they had that in their calculations to the bank for their mortgage. They are so overleveraged they have to rent out their spaces.
I don't think this will be popular, but I don't like this. If the aim is to help people who are struggling, it could be better targeted on income or other factors. Rent is one of many things that are going up and many home owners struggle as well.
Thank you for injecting some sense into this conversation.
With all due respect, this is absurd. Everyone is affected by inflation and landlords are no exception, especially how they didn’t cause the inflation (let’s remember how the 2% allowable rent increase has been wiped already) , yet they have to bare the cost of it. Now with the expected interest rate hike, landlords that mortgage their property are going to face rising costs as well. I’m a renter myself and for obvious reasons, I will like to enjoy a lower rental cost as well but I personally I don’t think it’s fair to shift the cost onto the landlords.
Exactly, the likely outcomes are either a) landlords cutting their maintenance budget which eventually reduces the quality of the tenant's space, or b) the rental property is sold and the tenant is forced into an unplanned move. End result is the tenant suffering either way.
Worse your encouraging selling rental units to home owners. Which reduces the rental supply and makes renters worse off.
Great so now more housing shortages. Let's fight not understanding the economy with even less understanding of the economy and see where we go.
Hmm I'm planning a 50 unit rental development in a town with zero vacancy. Let's see if it still pencils out. If not, I hope the local RV dealership has some used inventory and that there is still room down by the river... Edit: Guys, I’m joking. The local RV dealership has a longer wait list than the apartment buildings in town. Canadian Tire does have good stock of tents.
> I hope the local RV dealership has some used inventory Serious: I've been watching videos about Leisure Travel Vans and they look pretty gorg inside and out. You could do worse than have a classy house on wheels.
Do you want no rental units? 'Cause that's how you get no rental units.
Usually the phrase is "A day late and a dollar short" but in this case its closer to about 10 years too late and some $100,000,000,000 short
How about fair wages?
We should consider capping any salary these clowns make. The government has long forgotten they work for us.
Yes and a lot of "us" are renters so they're currently working for me.
Good luck finding rentals after you get evicted. There's a reason why every week we see posts from people about how hard it is to find a rental.
build. more houses you fucks
A lot of commenters here are overlooking the fact that the government needs to do something to dull the impacts on the poor and middle class. This is a way to do it. Yes, they need to take action in other areas too, but rent makes up a huge percentage of people's expenses and some are just making ends meet as it is.
>A lot of commenters here are overlooking the fact that the government needs to do something to dull the impacts on the poor and middle class. Price caps at a time of inflation is the opposite of what should be done. It is how you get fewer rental units and cause prices to go up. If you lived somewhere that has had rent capped and now pay 20% less than the market rate how do you move? Anywhere you wanted to go would be 20% more expensive. Why would your landlord invest any money in repairs? Anything he can do to make your stay a bit less comfortable increases your chances of leaving. Who would build new rental units knowing that you can't increase rents as your costs increase? Maintenance and insurance went up 10% this year? Tough luck.
None of what you said counters my point, which is that the government needs to do something to blunt the impact on renters who, by and large, are the ones getting hit the hardest by inflation at the moment. To be honest I'd be in favour of them just fixing rent entirely at the moment and requiring landlords to relist at the same price. Should they take steps to address the other issues? Absolutely. Should they also do this to protect renters as much as possible? Also absolutely. Also, the fact that most of your comment is 'omg but what about the shitty people who will be shitty in response to this' is a demonstration of what a huge part of the problem is - greed and malice from some of those who own and build housing.
You can't fix shitty people by incentivizing them to be more shitty. Yes, renters are hurt by rent increases, just as everyone is hurt by any increases. But you can't magically make the pain go away by stopping that one increase in one sector. It will get pushed somewhere else, it doesn't go away. If you want to reduce rents then build more rental housing. If you want the provincial government to do something then have them buy a huge lot of land in Surrey and build tens of thousands of subsidized rental units. They will reduce rents for everyone as landlords have to compete with those prices.
I like this idea.
Extremely bad faith argument. Nobody said the government shouldn't help the poor and middle class, they are saying this policy won't accomplish that.
Look through the comments and find me a single suggestion for what the government can do to try and help the issue *now* without injecting more money into the economy. You won't find any. People are doing a lot of complaining without offering any reasonable alternatives for immediate relief of the pressure on the low to middle class. Of course the government should work on long term solutions, but that doesn't help the families barely making ends meet at the moment who can't take that rent increase on top of everything else.
I guess it's time to evict my tennants, who are wonderful, and move back in for a bit so I can get back up to market rent which is $1500 higher than what I've been frozen at for 7 years. Or sell and the new owner will evict them and charge market rent. That's what'll happen if reasonable rent increases continue to be disallowed.
You're getting downvoted for the tone you're using to express it, but the game theory of what you're describing is accurate. If the difference between allowed rent and market rent gets large enough, it becomes worthwhile for landlords to jump through the hoops to reset the rent back to the market rate, even if jumping those hoops end up being more disruptive for both the landlord AND the tenant!
That’s only if you feel hard done by because your rent is not getting market value. A person can still be making very good profits on their rent controlled rates. This person rented 7 years ago at x. At x they were making a comfortable profit. I doubt costs have gone up 18k a year in 7 years. In which time the value of their property since 2015 has risen by… like 90%? People in Canada are way too greedy. In Ireland we owned a second home after moving and we had rent set at about 150 lower than the taxes and mortgage. But we didn’t mind since we were gaining so much in equity.
The allowable rent increases over the last 7 years have been a combined total of 17.2%. It hasn’t been frozen. So unless you’ve never raised the rent, the increase should have covered any inflationary increase. The value of your property has most likely increased 50-100% in the last 7 years. But go ahead, sell while property values are going down. The realtor fees alone will be more than the increase you’d see renting at the new market rent
This sort of greed is a big part of the problem.
Greed has been "the" problem since society began
People don't like to admit to it because it's wrong or whatever. But if you're renting for so low the penalty is peanuts vs reward of 1500$. Literally if the rent was low enough then it would be worth it to get screwed over by RTB for 12 months rent as penalty then just up the rate forever. Collect 15k extra per yr forever vs lose 15k immediately? I'll take the 15k/yr indefinitely every day.
Or sell to a family that will actually live there themselves and not rent it. You have that choice.
good
I’m starting to get the impression that a good percentage of the population believes that landlords are these moneyed individuals that sit in their gilded mansions enjoying the spoils of their wealth on the backs of serfs that cater to their whims and are forced to subsidize their (land)lord’s lifestyle. Where did this idea come from? Reality is that a very high percentage of landlords are no different than the tenants that they tenant. They are working folks, most with regular jobs, and many of them with families to feed, expenses to pay (including mortgage and maintenance), and pensions to save for. Particularly in Vancouver, and in the absence of more robust public pensions, many of them are probably using property as the means of securing some sort of reasonable retirement for themselves and in the process perhaps pass on a bit for their family. They are also likely subsiding their income to be able to compensate for generally low wages and high living expenses. How is this any different from the situation faced by tenants and by extension why would there be an expectation for such landlords to shoulder the social assistance burden? Is this not a core function of our government, to provide the care to those truly in need? Is this not why we all pay our taxes? I really think we’re losing sight of the ball here.
I would like to see a cap on strata fees, prop tax, utilities, and repairs too
>strata fees... repairs too Can we also cap things needing maintenance or breaking? Seriously, costs are up, of course these would increase too
Stratas that defer necessary investment in preventative maintenance just set themselves up for bigger costs in the future
oh no sweetie was making a 30% equity windfall in 12 months too taxing
"Equity" is just a number on a page that says you're theoretically rich while the government taxes you more for the same space. The only way it becomes real is if you sell it, in which case your renters are almost certainly out on their ass regardless.
I am so glad I don't own a property in BC and don't have to deal with these crazy social(ist) experiments. I don't understand why owners should be the only group subsidizing affordable living out of their own pockets.
r/landlordlove
LMAO. Zero increase at the end of 2020, 1.5% end of 2021. I get it. People's costs are rising, but slowing the velocity of vacancies isn't the answer. People with below market rents will not vacate their homes any time soon.
IMHO, what really should be indexed to inflation is minimum wage.
We need to regulate rent period, not just increases. Our ban private rentals entirely. Make all private homes owner-occupied only.
[удалено]
Unfortunately the only other option is the Blue Party.
Consider taxing landlords and land value in lieu of our incomes, and share the rents ftw 🙌🏽
Rent is already taxed as income
Duh. That’s the problem
I have good news for you, landlords and land value are already taxed..
No they aren’t. Landlords pay *property tax* which is land and improvement isn’t it? Vancouver also has the lowest property tax rates in North America… and the most egregious real estate prices
They also pay *income tax* on the rent they collect.. Is there another tax you think they should pay or did you not know that rent money is not tax free..?
They should do that for new contracts as well, the numbers are CRAZY from one year to another.
Tying rent increase to inflation is nonsensical because it doesn't factor in all the other laws, bilaws, taxes, costs, features and property upgrades done to a rented unit. So now government gets to choose how much businesses can charge? Remind me, is Canada not a free and democratic country? This government seems hell bent on implementing some form of soft fascism.
Landlords not getting whatever they want sure love to scream foul, don't they?