A new method for calculating rent in Quebec came into effect Thursday.
The government says the rules are meant to simplify how increases are calculated for tenants and landlords.
Under the new system, landlords can pass a larger share of renovation costs onto tenants, and rent hikes remain tied to the cost of living.
But housing advocates say that tenants won’t have access to all the information landlords use to calculate increases, making it difficult to know if rent is fair.
“This regulation does little to correct the meager regulatory framework that has allowed the housing crises to rage unchecked since 2020. The minister is neglecting her responsibilities to tenants: to rebalance the rental market, she should decree an immediate freeze on rent increases until measures ensuring real control in Quebec are put in place,” explained Émile Boucher, community organizer, Regroupement des comités logement et associations des locataires du Québec (RCLALQ).
Nearly 15,000 tenants and supporters signed a petition this fall opposing the regulation, warning it could lead to historically high rent increases and saying it misses the chance to address Quebec’s ongoing housing crisis.
The changes to the Regulation respecting criteria for setting rents include:
- Replacing the calculation of operating revenues and expenses with the average change in the general consumer price index (CPI) for Quebec over a three-year period;
- Maintaining the healthcare component of the CPI for Quebec for the indexation of expenses related to personal services in private seniors’ residences, while providing for separate indexation for the base amount;
- Taking into account all assistance related to the addition of new services as well as taxes and insurance.
- Encouraging landlords to maintain their properties by accelerating the recovery time for investments associated with capital expenditures through the introduction of a fixed threshold of 5 per cent;
- Including a list of the types of work considered to be capital expenditures.