B.C.’s maximum rent increase set at 1.4% for 2021

Renters in B.C. will be seeing a smaller rent increase come January.

B.C.’s maximum allowable rent increase for 2021 has been set at 1.4 per cent, nearly half of what was permitted this year.

Prior to the provincial government’s rent freeze amid the coronavirus pandemic, landlords were allowed to increase rent by 2.6 per cent.

1:52 COVID-19 crisis could be lowering rents

In March, the province placed a ban on rent increases, which will remain in place until the end of the year.

Other measures to help renters during the COVID-19 crisis, including a moratorium on evictions and a rental benefit worth up to $500 a month, ended on Sept. 1.

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The province said tenants who received a rent increase notice for 2020 that was set to go into effect after March 18 should continue to pay their current rent until Nov. 30.

The NDP government capped the maximum increase at the rate of inflation two years ago. Prior to that, landlords were allowed to raise rents by two per cent plus the rate of inflation.

Landlords can raise the rent once a year and must provide tenants with at least three months’ notice.

— With files from Richard Zussman