Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Residential Tenancies Act of the Northwest Territories was first enacted about 25 years ago, in 1987. It was modelled on legislation that was in effect across Canada at that time. It’s been amended over the years since, but only on a piecemeal basis. There are three areas of the act in particular which require some amendments: rent increases, the lack of power in the rental officer position, and coverage in the act for residents in transitional housing. Today I want to talk about rent controls.
The Residential Tenancies Act does not currently control the amount by which a landlord may increase a tenant’s rent. It does restrict increases to one in any 12-month period and it requires the landlord to give three months’ notice in writing of any increase. Beyond that, tenants have no protection from unscrupulous landlords who can increase rents every year, year after year, and can raise rents as much as they think they can justify to a court should the increase be contested.
The issue of rent controls has been brought to this House a number of times but no action has been taken yet. The government generally considers the imposition of rent controls as a major intervention in the housing market. Every indication is that rent control as a way of dealing with excessive rental increases would be expensive to implement and administer, and the negative aspects could well outweigh the positive by a large measure.
Research in the experience of other jurisdictions suggests that rent controls could divert resources away from the provision of housing and could even contribute to existing housing problems. That may be so, but the Justice Minister needs to revisit this issue and consider potential solutions.
To quote a local lawyer, one who sees the impact of rent increases on her clients, “This supply and demand monopoly is created by the low vacancy rate, and middleclass families are sinking under the poverty line because of this.” If rent controls are not the answer, this government has to look outside the box and find something that can be the answer.
I will have questions for the Minister of Justice at the appropriate time.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Nadli.
