January 1st, 2014
BC Landlords Are Asking “How Much Can I Raise the Rent In 2014?”
It’s news from the Residential Tenancies Branch that landlords all over the province are interested in.
Each year the government announces how much BC landlords can raise the rent for their tenants.
British Columbia Has Rent Control
Lots of new people who invest in residential rental properties in British Columbia are unaware we have what is called ‘Rent Control’ in this province.
This means the provincial government interferes with the rental market and controls how landlords run their rental businesses.
It doesn’t matter if you are a Vancouver landlord or if your properties are in Surrey or elsewhere, you have to obey whatever the government thinks is right when it comes to rent increases for the new year.
We are in a similar situation to what Ontario landlords face each year.
And those landlords aren’t happy with it.
Go check out the Ottawa Landlords blog to see what they face and they feel about their tiny 0.8% allowable rent increase.
How Much Can British Columbia Landlords Raise the Rent in 2014?
BC landlords can raise the rent 2.2% in 2014.
The Rent Increase for 2014 at 2.2%… It Just Feels Far Too Low!
We’ve received lots of emails already from landlords who feel the same way.
After all, the Rent Increase Guideline for BC landlords was 3.8%.
And many landlords don’t think their increased costs are lower than what we faced in 2013.
A Kelowna landlord emailed us the following message:
Property taxes go up. Hydro costs go up. Heck, even water bills are going through the roof!
Does the government really want people to invest in rental properties? Because it sure doesn’t seem like it.
I thought we decided against the NDP!
Why can’t we have the same rules as what Alberta landlords get? My cousin is a landlord in Calgary and she is going to raise the rent over $100 for her $900 rental apartment.
That’s where the government keeps their Big Brother/Big Sister ideas away from good landlords who just want to make a profit of some sort by providing great properties to good tenants??
BC Landlords and Getting Good Results in 2014
As we have read, BC landlords faced a lot of challenges in 2013.
With a low rent increase for the new year landlords must be extra careful who they rent to.
Make sure you do proper tenant screening and don’t rent to someone who will not only give you a headache, they can stay in your property and enjoy very small rent increases for years on end.
To discuss this and other landlord matters go to the BC landlords forum.
Tags: British Columbia landlords, Kelowna landlords, ottawa landlords, Rent Increase Guideline 2014, Surrey landlords
