[homeles_ot-l] Ottawa FW: Rent Legislation fails to protect tenants in 2012

[Lynne Browne]

FYI . . . "Ottawa has the third highest rents in Canada, with an average two-bedroom apartment going for $1,056 per month."  More below.
Lynne Browne
Executive Director, Alliance to End Homelessness 
613-241-7913 ext. 205, lbrowne at ysb.on.ca

-----Original Message-----
From: Rob MacDonald [mailto:robm at housinghelp.on.ca] 
Sent: December-12-11 9:41 AM
To: Rob MacDonald
Subject: Rent Legislation fails to protect tenants in 2012

Press Release
December 12, 2011
For Immediate Release

The provincial government has announced legislation to cap rent increases on rental housing in Ontario.  The current rent increase guideline is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  The legislation proposes placing a 2.5% cap on all future rent increases commencing in 2013, and allowing a minimum of 1% when the CPI falls below that amount.

Tenant advocates decried the legislation for failing to protect the tenants in the coming year, when residents will be hit with a 3.1% increase.  This is the highest amount tenants have faced in the past decade.  “We feel the legislation is a step in the right direction but unfortunately, tenants are still forced to pay an increase in 2012 that exceeds any cost of living allowance,” says Rob MacDonald, an Advocate for Tenants at Housing Help, a non- profit agency that helps tenants with their housing problems.  "Essentially, it fixes the problem after the fact.  Tenants are still paying one of the highest rent increases during recessionary times."

Ottawa has the third highest rents in Canada, with an average two-bedroom apartment going for $1,056 per month.  In addition, landlords have the right to raise the rent to whatever they want when a unit becomes vacant, which will also lead to significantly higher rents since the vacancy rate in Ottawa is 1.8 per cent.  Landlords also continue to raise the rents of sitting tenants at the Landlord and Tenant Board through Above Guideline Increases.  The increase can be compounded with additional costs for maintenance, security, utilities, and municipal taxes.

“We need to stop tinkering with minor percentage points and bring forward a holistic system that provides real protection for tenants.
A major step towards doing that would be reinstating real rent controls,” says MacDonald.

For further information, please contact:

Rob MacDonald,   Housing Help   613-563-4532, extension 226 OR
Diane Wade,   Ottawa Tenant Duty Counsel

--
Rob MacDonald,
Advocate for Tenants

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