A three percent rent cap goes into effect on Saturday in New Brunswick. However, tenant advocates say the legislation may actually lead to more bad-faith evictions.
When Emanuel Melo received a letter from his landlord saying he had to vacate his Waterloo apartment of six years so workers could renovate the unit, he started looking for another place to live. But after speaking with his neighbours in the 15-unit building at 145 McGregor Cr., they invited an organizer of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to a meeting.
Under the new cap, landlords must give tenants a six-month notice ahead of any three per cent rent increase, which can only be done once every 12 months. ACORN New Brunswick, a tenant advocacy group, says before the rent cap there were multiple reports of landlords raising rent by 60-to-70 per cent throughout the year. Nichola Taylor, chair for the New Brunswick branch, says it has been a long fight to get a rent cap in place for the province.
ACORN, a tenants’ rights advocacy group, invited residents of Waterloo Region to a community town hall on Saturday with the goal of providing a platform for residents to share the challenges they’re facing, brainstorm solutions, and help determine ACORN’s priorities for 2025. “We don’t want people to think we’re just [focusing on] renovictions,” Ryan Murdock, secretary for Waterloo Region ACORN told CTV News. “It’s an important aspect, but everything we do is member led, member driven.”
A housing advocacy group is trying to get a better overall picture of the issues renters and low-income earners face in the region. They’ve been fighting against renovictions across the province, after seeing a rise in issues since the Ontario government removed rent control on buildings built in 2018 or after.
Residents and advocates in Kitchener are pleading with city council to take action against landlords who are using renovations as an excuse to evict them from their homes in order to turn a profit. The process is known as a renoviction when a landlord evicts a tenant by claiming they will complete renovations, which range from complete overhauls to a simple paint job. The price of the unit will often increase, sometimes dramatically, when the landlord begins to search for a new tenant.
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