Rent increases cause a major loss of affordable rental housing in Manitoba, severely impacting low and moderate-income tenants. This is due to loopholes in the rent control system allowing unreasonable rent increases. In 2022 the Residential Tenancies Branch permitted an average rent increase of 9.8%, but documented increases have been as high as 30%, 50% and 126% in recent years.
Tenants have no real protections against these increases, which can force them to move – with limited affordable alternatives – or cut back on critical expenses, like food and medicine, to pay rent. In the fall of 2024, the NDP government introduced Bill 26, The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act, to limit above-guideline rent increases, but the Bill did not move forward. The Manitoba government must keep its promise to protect tenancies and affordable rental housing by passing a strong new Bill in the Spring 2025 legislative session with the following five key elements:
- Apply rent regulations to units renting for more than $1,640 monthly;
- Replace the 20-year rent regulations exemption for buildings first occupied after 2005 with a 5-year exemption;
- Limit above-guideline rent increases to no more than 9% above the rent increase guideline and no more than 3% a year;
- Calculate rent increases for capital expenses over a 10 to 25-year amortization period, after which the rent increase should be reversed; and
- Disallow rent discounts while ensuring renters keep existing discounts.
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Take Action!
- Tell the Premier and the Minister responsible for reintroducing the new Bill that you support rent regulations:
- Meet with your MLA to discuss your support for rent regulations. Contact us at betterrta@righttohousing.ca if you would like to set up a meeting and we can support you!
Thank you for working with us to protect renters and affordable rental housing!
Get in touch with us at betterrta@righttohousing.ca