A Continuing Threat to BC’s Rental Housing Ecosystem
Stakeholders genuinely concerned about BC’s rental housing ecosystem understand that rent control is harmful to all renters and especially future renters. Endless layers of regulation discourage investment in purpose-built rental housing thereby threatening the security of tenants at a time when we need it most. The unintended consequences of more restrictions on the sector, including and especially the ability to increase rents between tenancies (ie: vacancy control), will be a bare minimum investment in the existing rental stock, and no new purpose-built rental housing getting built to make communities across BC more accessible for families. Furthermore, repressive rent control encourages more gentrification, not less (more high-end condos for sale and less purpose-built rental).
In 2019 LandlordBC published a report titled Understanding BC’s History of Rent Controls and Tax Policy To Improve Today’s Rental Housing Crisis. The report analyzes the history of rent controls and tax policy in BC and how past approaches and policies contributed to today’s rental housing crisis impacting British Columbia. We invite you to read this report to draw upon the lessons that can be learned from this history to improve the rental housing ecosystem today, and into the future, for the benefit of all British Columbians. The stakes are very high.