Québec solidaire wants a cap on rent increases
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for Québec solidaire and deputy for Gouin.
To help “hundreds of thousands of tenant households” to cope with the rising cost of living, Québec solidaire is asking the Government of Québec to decree a cap on rent increases.
The left-wing party proposes capping rent increases based on the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) rent-setting index. Each year, it makes public suggestions to landlords for a rent increase depending on the economic context.
In 2021, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation indicated that Quebec tenants experienced an average increase 3.6% of the price of their rent. During the same period, the TAL recommended a 0.8% increase in rents.
“Rent increases need to be capped. The government of Prince Edward Island is preparing to do this, and Ontario has already done so. We can do it here in Quebec. This can be done easily by returning the rent fixing index, which is calculated each year by the TAL”, mentioned the deputy for Laurier-Dorion, Andrés Fontecilla, during a press briefing on Friday morning.
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The CAQ government must face the facts: the rise in rents has gotten out of control and many landlords are not respecting the index recommended by the Housing Tribunal. Fighting inflation without doing anything to curb the explosion in rental prices is like a sword in the water.
Andrés Fontecilla
“It’s a simple and effective solution to better manage rent increases. Not only is it a zero cost measure, but for many honest owners who already refer to the TAL increase index, it will not change anything. But for speculators who bend the rules to skyrocket rents, it's going to be the end of the recess,” he adds.
“Instead of raising Quebecers' bills with his project law on government tariffs, François Legault should take care of the expense that costs the most to households: housing. The CAQ is going all out with its anti-inflation shield, but the truth is that the government is missing out on the crisis that is hitting Quebeckers hard, day by day. If François Legault really wants to help people in the face of galloping inflation, he must act to put an end to abusive rent increases,” said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
While the City of Montreal announced this week a 4.1% increase in property taxes on residential buildings from next year, FRAPRU reminds that it is not up to tenants alone to absorb tax increases by increasing rents.
