Landlords make case for changes to P.E.I.'s Residential Tenancy Act
CBC
A group representing Island landlords is calling for a loosening of P.E.I.'s rent controls which went into effect 17 months ago.
June Ellis, executive director of the non-profit Residential Rental Association of P.E.I., and board member Soubhi Abla appeared before a legislative committee Wednesday to plead their case.
The Residential Tenancy Act became law in April, 2023. It capped annual rent increases at three per cent, but allows landlords to apply to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission for an additional three per cent if warranted.
The rental association, which represents 7,500 units on P.E.I., wants three amendments to the legislation:
Abla pointed to a case where rent had not been increased for years on a long-time tenant, but the landlord could not increase rent to market value after the tenant left voluntarily.
"We're not asking for rent control to be completely removed," Abla said.
"We're asking that on voluntary tenant turnover that landlords would be allowed to charge fair market value on rent, so no renovictions. If a landlord evicts a tenant, that would not fall under voluntary tenant turnover."
In her presentation, Ellis said the "restrictive" rent controls are contributing to the housing crisis on P.E.I. She said rental operators are leaving the industry because they are unable to maintain their buildings effectively, and invest in necessary upgrades.
"Rental operators do not build more units because the industry is unsustainable," she said.
Ellis said the restrictions are leading to more apartments and mobile home parks being turned into condos or housing developments.
Committee member and Green Party MLA Peter Bevan-Baker agreed more needs to be done to solve the housing shortage, but questioned the association's assertion that the new legislation is contributing to a downturn in housing investment on P.E.I. that will only get worse.
"If we look at the investment in the first two quarters of this year, we see that it's actually increased substantially."
P.E.I.'s housing minister has said he's prepared to table changes to the law this fall if necessary, but hasn't said what those could be.
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