Today in the Legislature, MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky Jordan Sturdy underscored the urgent need to provide relief for renters in British Columbia. As BC continues to face an affordability crisis, the cost of renting a home is skyrocketing, he said.
Since 2017, renters in B.C. are paying $2,856 more per year, and in Squamish, residents are paying an additional $5,760 in rent annually, Sturdy said.
He said these rising costs illustrate the rental market’s supply issue. He called attention to the extremely low vacancy rates in B.C. and rising demand for rental housing due to inter-provincial and international migration.
He pointed out the gaps in government support for renters, including the $400 annual renters’ rebate that has yet to be seen. Although the government capped rent increases at 1.5 per cent for all landlords, he noted that tenants on Crown land do not have the same protection. Sturdy emphasized that British Columbians are simply unable to keep up with these rising costs, and relief is needed now.
Sturdy has also introduced a private member’s bill that proposes immediate action be taken by the NDP to address skyrocketing residential rents on Crown land.
“Rent for tenants who live on Crown land is based on a percentage of the assessed value of the property and in the last year, due to booming property values places like the Sea to Sky region, tenants are seeing rent increases of up to 300 per cent,” said Sturdy. “It’s hard to understand how the government could cap rent increases in 2022 at 1.5 percent for every landlord but themselves.”
