Housing activists hold ‘mock funeral’ for rent cap, call for province to resurrect short-lived policy
New Brunswick’s short-lived rent cap may end up haunting the government of Premier Blaine Higgs.
ACORN NB, a group that advocates for tenants’ rights, held a “mock funeral” for the 3.8 per cent cap this week in downtown Moncton, complete with a faux-coffin and mourners dressed in black.
Listen to the report that aired on CHMA FM on Thursday, January 5, 2023:
“The rent cap was a dearly loved housing policy for working-class tenants across the province, providing much-needed relief from rent gouging,” ACORN NB co-chair Peter Jongeneelen said in a eulogy for the policy.
Following widespread reports of massive rent increases, the Higgs government introduced a budget in March 2022 that included the temporary rent cap, retroactive to January. The policy expired at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Jongeneelen said rent control prevented his own landlord from raising his rent by 11 per cent.
He called the government’s decision to end rent control a “slap in the face” for low- and moderate-income tenants, especially considering recent tax cuts for landlords.
Last year, the provincial government reduced property taxes on non-owner-occupied housing by 50 per cent. For years, landlords have insisted that New Brunswick’s so-called “double tax” on rental properties inhibits the construction of apartments, limiting supply and driving up prices.
