Rent increase protections for New Brunswick tenants weakened by provincial changes

Rules in place to help protect New Brunswick tenants against rent increases that exceed the rate of inflation for the coming year have been weakened by the province.  

New provincial regulations raise the level of rent increases landlords can impose — before a tenant can ask for the amount to be phased-in gradually — from the current level of 3.6 per cent to 4.7 per cent. 

The change will be in effect for 12 months beginning in July.

The province hasn't said who, if anyone, asked for the change but tenant groups say they were not consulted.

"This came as a shock," said Peter Jongeneelen with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a community group more commonly known as ACORN.

"We were not informed. We try and educate tenants, so we need that."

Over the last four years New Brunswick renters have experienced some of the largest average increases in housing costs in the country.  

According to Statistics Canada, between January 2020 and April this year average rents in New Brunswick increased 34.2 per cent, nearly double the rate of inflation over the same period.

New Brunswick does not set a hard cap on annual rent increases by landlords like most provinces do, including the other two Maritime provinces.  

Instead, New Brunswick allows landlords to raise rents once each year by any amount, if the new rent generally matches local market conditions.   

Tenants facing an increase that exceeds certain thresholds are then allowed to apply to have a large amount phased-in gradually.

Those thresholds had been tied to the rate of inflation from the previous calendar year.

In 2023, tenants could seek a phased-in rent increase if it was above 7.3 per cent (the inflation rate in 2022). This year the threshold was lowered to 3.6 per cent (the inflation rate in 2023), but has now been raised by the province to 4.7 per cent.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the province said raising the threshold at which tenants can ask for help is part of a larger reform that is beneficial to landlords this year but would have benefited tenants last year had it been implemented earlier.