Rent increases Duranceau is banking on existing measures to help

Rent increases: Duranceau is banking on existing measures to help renters

Despite rent increases exceeding the Housing Court’s recommendations, Minister Duranceau is banking on existing measures to help lower-income households.

“The beacons given by the [Tribunal administratif du logement] yesterday, it’s an effect of inflation (…). On rents, it affects landlords, it affects tenants, so everyone is affected,” said Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau, who was called upon to respond to excessive rent increases complained of by tenants.

The Administrative Court for Housing (TAL) published its annual recommendations on Tuesday and proposed a general increase in rents for unheated apartments by 2.3%.

For comparison, last year the TAL suggested an average increase of 1.28% for the same accommodation.

However, many Québec tenants are now receiving demands for significant rent increases. In the Capitale-Nationale, some tenants have even received up to 8%, even if no major work has been carried out in their building in the last year.

“The increases are guidelines that are being proposed but of course each owner will look at their situation and assess what is relevant. Everything increases. This is also having an impact on rents,” explained Ms. Duranceau.

“There is not much to do, the minister added immediately, but there is the help that we otherwise provide with the inflation protection shield and specific programs.”

The minister is therefore building on existing measures to support renters, including the housing benefit scheme, which targets those most at risk and which, Ms Duranceau recalls, “can make it possible to get $100 to $170 a month to pay the rent.