A loophole that some landlords used to seek inflated and unfair increases in hot rental markets will soon no longer exist.
Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert announced Saturday that government is eliminating the geographic rent increase clause in the Residential Tenancy Regulation and in the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Regulation.
Executive director of the Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre, Andrew Sakamoto says they have too often seen landlords use the threat of excessive geographic rent increases to bully tenants into lesser but still significant increases that exceed the annual allowable percentage-4% for 2018.
“This change means an end to one more loophole that some landlords have taken advantage of, and builds on the other steps our government has taken to increase protections for renters, such as closing the fixed-term lease loophole and increasing resources for the Residential Tenancy Branch, said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson.
The removal of the geographic rent increase clause and fixed-term leases will go into effect on Monday, December 11, 2017.