The BCGEU is welcoming today’s announcement from Premier John Horgan that the provincial maximum allowable rent increase for 2023 will be set at two per cent.
The province’s existing formula for maximum allowable rent increases during a tenancy is set to the rate of year-over-year Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases. Adhering to the current formula could have meant a 5.4 per cent rent increase for 2023.
On August 3rd BCGEU President Stephanie Smith sent a letter to Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Housing Murray Rankin on behalf of the BCGEU’s 85,000 members, urging the province to intervene on the issue of the maximum allowable rent increase for 2023.
The BCGEU also recently commissioned a Research Co. poll on housing affordability that found almost 60 per cent of renter households in B.C. are currently spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing.
Recognizing that wages cannot keep up with runaway housing costs, the BCGEU’s Affordable BC campaign was launched in 2017 after members directed their union to push for housing affordability at the 2017 convention. Since then, BCGEU members have been active advocates for housing affordability with particular interest and expertise in campaigns and initiatives related to rental housing and renter protections.