Tenant advocate decries ruling that let B.C. landlord hike rent 27% after interest rates rose

Lawyer Rob Patterson says the phones at B.C.'s Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre never stop ringing — but he worries a decision allowing a landlord to impose a 27 per cent rent increase will fuel even more demand for its services.

Lawyer Rob Patterson says the phones at B.C.'s Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre never stop ringing — but he worries a decision allowing a landlord to impose a 27 per cent rent increase will fuel even more demand for its services.

Patterson, a legal advocate with the centre, said a regulation allowing landlords to apply to British Columbia's Residential Tenancy Branch for such rent increases, above an annual limit set by the province, should be struck from the books.

In a May ruling that was posted on social media this week, an arbitrator with the board allowed landlord Kriss Canada Ltd. to raise rent beyond the 3.5 per cent limit set by the province for this year because its mortgage costs ballooned with rising interest rates.

The regulation, Patterson said, has been rarely utilized in his years with the centre, and he said the province should take swift action to strike it from the books.

"If this is indeed an opening-of-floodgates situation, it's pouring gasoline on a fire in terms of housing affordability in the province," he said. "Pretty decisive action is needed in a pretty quick turn-around to nip this in the bud."

He said provincial housing policy shouldn't insulate investors from losses if they make risky bets on the housing market.

The arbitrator's decision outlines how the company bought the four-plex property in October 2021 with a variable-rate mortgage that started at 1.9 per cent but more than tripled by June 2023.