Landlords' group eager for details on P.E.I. government compensation plan
CBC News | Posted: November 21, 2022 10:25 PM | Last Updated: November 21, 2022
Rents capped at 0% for 2023, or until new Residential Tenancy Act kicks in
The Residential Rental Association of P.E.I. is calling on the province's minister of social development and housing to release details of the government's proposed compensation plan for landlords.
On Nov. 3, Housing Minister Matt MacKay introduced a bill in the legislature that would set rental increases for 2023 at zero per cent.
The province said that freeze would remain in place until the new Residential Tenancy Act passed.
That long-awaited piece of legislation, tabled last week, would cap rental increases at three per cent unless the landlord appealed successfully to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, in which case an individual rent increase could reach six per cent.
The province has said regulations will still have to be drawn up for the Residential Tenancy Act. While no enactment date is included in the legislation, government says the new law could come into force as early as spring 2023.
Chris LeClair, the senior policy adviser for the Residential Rental Association of P.E.I., said it's important to address the compensation plan sooner rather than later.
"When the zero rental cap was put in place, the minister publicly stated — and this was over two weeks ago — that he would do something from a compensation perspective. We wrote to the minister indicating how we thought that could happen.
"We also agreed to play a part in any discussion about how it could happen to make it as, you know, as expedited as possible."
Corrections:- An earlier version of this story said a bill introduced by Housing Minister Matt MacKay setting rental increases for 2023 at zero per cent had passed in the legislature on Nov. 3. The bill passed second reading on Nov. 2, and still has to pass third reading and receive royal assent to become law. November 22, 2022 3:30 PM