Province dumps rent cap for complaint-driven, case-by-case rent increase protection system
On Thursday at the provincial legislature, Service NB Minister Jill Green effectively ruled out an extension of the current temporary rent cap in New Brunswick, which had limited rent increases in 2022 to 3.8%. Instead, Green introduced a bill to add a phase-in mechanism that could be used by the Residential Tenancies Tribunal on a case by case basis. If landlords raise rents by more than the Consumer Price Index in a given year, and if a tenant formally complains to the tribunal about that increase, the tribunal would then have the power to require a ‘phase-in’ of the increase over two to three years.
“The rent cap is off the table right now,” Green told reporters after the law was introduced Thursday. But she also left open the possibility that the government could react later if needed. “Last year, if we needed to make a change quickly, we did it and we will do it again,” she said. “We will not hesitate to do more should we find there’s a bigger problem than we understand.”
In the meantime, the new system will “requires everybody to be working together,” said Green. “We need the landlords to step up. And we need the tenants to talk to us and tell us when they have a rent increase that they think is inappropriate.”
One housing researcher says requiring tenants to complain about rental increases is not reasonable, given the power dynamics between tenants and landlords.… Continue
‘Disheartening to hear’: housing expert on REITs and why Sackville should be worried about the sale of 82 rental units to one
An investor group that says it is buying six Sackville buildings with a combined 82 units expects to close the deal today.
Some tenants in the buildings have received emails from a new property management company, K Squared Property Management, even though they have not yet been given notice of new ownership.
Local landlord Charles Estabrooks currently owns the six buildings and Sunset Investments is the investor group that claims to be buying them. DJC Properties has also posted on social media, advertising for investors for the deal.
A social media post late last week from DJC Properties says that the “82-unit acquisition is closing earlier at the Banks request.”
An earlier post by Sunset Investments says that building inspections have been completed, and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation financing has been approved. The post says all buildings are in excellent condition but for one older 4-unit building.
It’s not clear what the plans are for the buildings. CHMA has reached out to Estabrooks and Sunset Investments for further details on the deal. Estabrooks has not responded to a CHMA interview request, and Rachel Godbout of Sunset Investments says she has no comment since her company does not yet own the buildings.
Earlier this summer, Sunset Investments bought another Sackville building, and proceeded to evict all tenants in the 16-unit building in order to perform renovations. Among other things, Sunset converted 2-bedroom units to 3-bedroom units, and dramatically increased the total rent for each unit.… Continue