Rent control: What tenants should know as rental prices surge across Canada
Global News
'Landlords use a variety of strategies and tactics to push and price tenants out of their homes,' said one community legal worker in Toronto, Ont.
As inflation and high housing costs continue to bite Canadians, Toronto resident Annie Gibson is concerned and frustrated at the prospect of the rent going up for her one-bedroom apartment.
The owner of her building in the west-end neighbourhood of Parkdale is looking to increase the rent by 5.5 per cent — which is above the provincial guideline set at 2.5 per cent — due to renovation work done.
“Their rationale for the above guideline increase is they repaired the balconies in the building,” said Gibson, 41.
“I don’t have a balcony, but I’m still beholden to pay this extra money,” she told Global News.
The rent increase has not been approved yet by the landlord and tenant board, but Gibson and other tenants of the six-storey apartment building have taken issue, demanding the property owner, Akelius Canada, Ltd, to withdraw its application.
If the rent increase is approved, it would take effect retroactively to February 2023, a representative from Akelius confirmed to Global News.
For Gibson, that means a $65 bump in her rent, which she says she could squeeze out.
“I don’t think it’s fair to ask tenants to pay for cosmetic improvements.”