Legal loophole allows local landlords to increase rents
Posted August 7, 2016 8:22 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Imagine being told your rent is going up by 100 per cent and realizing there’s nothing you can legally do but pay up or move out. It’s a growing problem in Vancouver’s tight rental market and it’s called Fixed Term Rental Agreements. And they allow landlords to set whatever price they want at the end of one year.
Andrew Sakamoto with the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre says they are hearing about these types of leases more and more in the city.
“What’s happening is there are rent controls in the Residential Tenancy Act but landlords are using this tactic to circumvent those rent controls.”
He hopes the provincial government will step in to close this legal loop hole soon, while he, the City of Vancouver and NDP push for changes. “We’ve discussed this issue before and there seems to be a consensus around the table that this practice — it doesn’t align with the intent and the spirit of the Act, but unfortunately based on the legislation it’s a bit of a loophole and it’s legal as of right now.”
With traditional month-to-month leases, rent increases are capped at 2 per cent plus inflation.
