Tenant advocate decries RTB's 27% rent increase decision

The regulation, Patterson said, has been rarely used in his years with the centre, and he said the province should take swift action to strike it from the books.

Lawyer Rob Patterson says the phones at B.C.'s Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre never stop ringing — but he worries a decision to allow a landlord to impose a 27 per cent rent increase will fuel even more demand for its services.

Patterson, a legal advocate with the centre, said a regulation allowing landlords to apply to British Columbia's Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) for such rent increases above an annual limit set by the province should be struck from the books.

In a May ruling posted on social media this week, an arbitrator with the board allowed landlord Kriss Canada Ltd. to raise rent by 23.5 per cent beyond the 3.5 per cent limit set by the province for this year — an increase totalling 27 per cent —because its mortgage costs ballooned with rising interest rates.

The regulation, Patterson said, has been rarely used in his years with the centre, and he said the province should take swift action to strike it from the books.

"If this is indeed an opening-of-floodgates situation, it's pouring gasoline on a fire in terms of housing affordability in the province," he said. "Pretty decisive action is needed in a pretty quick turn-around to nip this in the bud."

He said provincial housing policy shouldn't insulate investors from losses if they make risky bets on the housing market.