NDP MPPs looks to close 'loopholes' on rent hikes
Ontario’s NDP wants to make it more difficult for landlords to jack up rents.
“If passed, this bill would ensure that when you move into a new apartment you pay the same rent as the previous tenant did,” said London North Centre NDP MPP Terence Kernaghan at a Tuesday news conference at the corner of Western Road and Platts Lane in London.
He was joined by NDP colleagues in Toronto and Ottawa who also held news conferences announcing the introduction of the Rent Stabilization Act: Pay What the Last Tenant Paid. The bill is to stabilize rents and crack down on renovictions.
“One of the most common stories I hear from renters is that when they move out their apartment goes back on the market costing anywhere from $200 to $400 more,” said Kerhnahgan.
He was joined by tenant Davis Whittington-Heeney, who said he and his partner have a baby on the way and they’re having a hard time finding a more suitable place to live than the unit they’re currently renting.
“I don’t know where I’m going to find an actual space where I can add a bedroom, still keep it in our budget, and still be able to live in this province,” said Whittington-Heeney.
Kernaghan said under the bill the only allowable increase would be limited to the annual government-regulated increase based on annual inflation.
In 2018 Premier Doug Ford’s PC government scrapped rental controls for new units. The government said it was meant to encourage more builds and increase the housing supply.
This was paused during the pandemic, but tenants in new builds will soon face a return to unrestricted rent hikes as the freeze comes to an end at the close of 2021.
Kernaghan said it’s a system that favours developers.
“It’s in their financial interest to keep moving tenants out and keep the rent prices going up.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.