B.C. Liberals: NDP needs to re-think rent increase formula

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The B.C. Liberals are calling on the province to re-think the formula for increasing rents, a formula that party created back in 2004.

Renters across the province are preparing for a hike of 4.5 percent in 2019, meaning tenants are seeing their rents go up by more than eight per cent in the last two years.

But B.C. Liberal MLA Todd Stone says the current government should reconsider how that number is calculated.

“That’s the largest two-year increase in rent that we’ve seen in almost 15 years in this province” he says. “A re-think on how those rents are calculated is certainly something that we think is order.”

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Stone says the large increase in rent doesn’t quite fit with the NDP government’s commitment to making living in the province more affordable.

“The best way to ensure rents are affordable is ensure there is an ample supply of market rentals in the Lower Mainland,” he said.

The provincial government is currently reviewing the formula as part of the rental housing task force, which will include looking at how other provinces decide on this issue.

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