BC announces maximum rent hike for 2022

A man speaks behind a podium with British Columbia's government logo.
David Eby, BC Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing, speaks at a press conference in April 2021. Photo via the Ministry's Flickr.
Anastasia Avvakumova - CKTZ - Cortes IslandBC | 22-09-2021
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The British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General responsible for Housing has capped the maximum allowable 2022 rent increase for residential units at 1.5 per cent.

According to the Ministry,

  • landlords must provide their tenants with at least three months’ notice (forms can be downloaded here)
  • the first date the rent can increase is Jan. 1, 2022
  • the rent freeze in effect since the start of the pandemic has been extended to Dec. 31, 2021
  • rent can only be increased once every 12 months
  • the maximum allowable increase applies if the same tenant remains once a fixed-term lease ends

The Residential Tenancy Regulation sets out that the annual rent increase percentage is equal to the inflation rate, as determined by the 12-month average percent change in the all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) for B.C. ending in July of each year. The CPI is a measurement to determine the average change in prices over time that consumers pay for goods and services such as food, clothing, medical care and even haircuts. The CPI is helpful in identifying and measuring inflation or deflation, which is the purchasing power of our dollar," Public Affairs Officer Shima Ghailan emailed CKTZ News.

Sandra Wood, Executive Director for the Cortes Community Housing Society says that, “The government is being proactive setting a maximum 1.5% rent increase for 2022, because the cost of most other goods and services is much higher than that, thus giving renters a break on their housing expense as an essential service.”