Halloween horror? BC's rent increase notice could haunt your home next week
We knew BC’s rent increase was coming, but for many renters, the dreaded news of that jump might be the scariest thing about October 31.
That’s the date that landlords have to provide the ominous “Notice of Rent Increase” letter to their tenants directly in order for the landlords to legally raise the rent in three months’ time, so February 1, 2025. Next year’s increase is at 3%, so if you pay $2,000 right now, that will mean an additional $60 a month and $720 a year. That’s a trip to Vegas!
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Many landlords have said that the freakiest thing about the increase is that it isn’t enough to offset their sky-high mortgages, interest rates, and, in some cities, massive jumps in property taxes. Not to mention that some longtime renters might be paying well below market prices (like $1,000 for an ocean view in the West End kind of prices), but landlords can’t evict them in most circumstances.
Landlord BC’s David Hutniak told Daily Hive they want more solutions to ensure the “critical” service landlords provide stays viable.
āThis is not enough, obviously, but itās finding that balance. We know the government is concerned about how much traditional rent renters have to pay. We get that. But you know, again, not to sound too redundant, as Iāve said to [the housing minister] many times, āYou canāt keep helping renters while harming landlords,'” Hutniak shared in August 2024.
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But, many renters have argued that those costs shouldn’t be passed onto them.
“3% of my rent is $51.60 per month ā¦ I donāt cost my building $620 in new expenses in a year. Basing rent increases by percentages now, doesnāt make sense. It is literally fuelling inflation,” one argued on X.
Another commented, “Renters continue to pay off the mortgage of their landlord’s asset, which has likely appreciated in value at a far greater pace than inflation over the last decade. And some landlords are upset about not being able to increase rent more than 3%? Cry me a river.”
The increase in 2025 is lower than 2024’s, which was at 3.5%
Some people might have received their notice at the end of September, and some renters might not get a notice for months or at all. The rules are that rent can be increased once every 12 months, so if yours went up in the spring last year, expect a notice this winter potentially. Also, landlords aren’t required to raise the rent at all, and some might not.
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Don’t pay your rent on the 1st of the month? You can find out the dates for your notice (and the amount) here.
That said, if you think you’re in the clear, there are exceptions. This jaw-dropping 23.5% two-year increase was awarded to a landlord who argued that their unforeseen mortgage rate made their renter’s payments way too low, and the Ministry of Housingās Residential Tenancy Branch agreed, bringing up plenty of reactions over the ruling.
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But that’s not all the ways a tenant could see an increase above 3%. We rounded up all the other ways landlords can increase your rent, like home repairs, which have a whole other set of rules and potentially scary financial impacts.