'Our housing struggles are not going to end with this': Tenants' rights advocate on new rent cap

The provincial government has introduced legislation that would limit rent increases to three per cent annually, fulfilling a major campaign promise on the second day of the Legislative Assembly under Premier Susan Holt.
Tenants’ rights advocates who have pushed for rent control welcomed the news, but said more changes will be necessary to resolve the ongoing affordable housing crisis in New Brunswick. The bill, tabled on Wednesday by Housing Minister David Hickey, is expected to pass swiftly through the Liberal-majority legislature and will come into effect Feb. 1.
A spokesperson for the NB Coalition for Tenants’ Rights said that without provisions limiting rent increases between tenants, it will ultimately fail to ensure the affordability of housing in New Brunswick.
“Our housing struggles are not going to end with this,” said Matthew Hayes, a professor of sociology at St. Thomas University. “Cynically, one could see it as window dressing.”
The coalition is calling for rent control tied to the unit, not the tenant. In its current form, the legislation means that “on tenant turnover, landlords can set the rent at whatever they want,” Hayes said.
He’s concerned that the bill may in fact stimulate more “renovictions” - evictions carried out under the guise of necessary renovations - and other measures meant to dislodge current tenants in order to raise the rent.
“If the landlord finds that the rents are below what they should be getting, they can actually be incentivized to find ways to get rid of existing tenants,” he said.
Go to nbmediacoop.org for the full story.