Nova Scotia government extends cap on rent increases to the end of 2025, raising it to 5% - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia government extends cap on rent increases to the end of 2025, raising it to 5%

The Nova Scotia government is extending the cap on rent increases until the end of 2025, but raising the cap to five per cent beginning next year.

Landlords say that's still not high enough to keep up with their rising costs

A for-rent sign.
Renters in Nova Scotia say they can't keep up with rapidly rising rents and have asked the government to keep a cap on rent increases. (David Horemans/CBC)

The Nova Scotia government is extending the cap on rent increases until the end of 2025, but raising the cap from two per cent to five per cent beginning next year.

Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services Minister Colton LeBlanc introduced the legislation on Wednesday. During a briefing, he said the move is a recognition that renters are struggling financiallywhile also nodding to the challenges some landlords face with the cost of maintaining their properties.

"We chose five per cent to allow landlords to catch up to inflation, while avoiding any large rent increases for tenants," he said.

LeBlanc noted that when the former Liberal government introduced the rent cap, it was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and at a time when many people were unable to work due to public health measures.

"Two per cent today doesn't work."

A man wearing a suit looks at the camera.
Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services Minister Colton LeBlanc says the five per cent limit will help both landlords and tenants. (Robert Short/CBC)

The goal, said LeBlanc, is to balance the rights and needs of tenants and landlords in the province until enough new housing stock can be added to the market. The government estimates about a third of Nova Scotians are renters and the province has about 6,000 landlords.

In what could be a sign that LeBlanc found the balance he was seeking, landlords and housing advocates gave the proposed changes mixed reviews.

"[The cap]should have come off entirely," developer Peter Polley told reporters at Province House.

Inflation raises landlord's costs

Polley's company, Polycorp Properties Inc., manages 500 units in the Halifax area and Annapolis Valley. He said the limits on rent increases meanlandlords can't keep up with higher costs from inflation.

Polley sees little change ahead until more housing is available.

"It's not good for anybody, but to the degree that the government is limiting what's happening in the rental market, it's long-term negative for the housing industry."

A woman with short hair looks at the camera.
Landlord Amanda Knight said her rental units include the cost of utilities which have been rising dramatically. (Jean Laroche/CBC)

Landlord Amanda Knight said she wantedto see some recognition by the government of the different challenges rural landlords experience.

Knight said her leases include the cost of utilities and their risingcost, combined with the rent cap, has her contemplating selling units.

"As anyone knows in the province and across the country, utilities have gone up exponentially and when they're included in rent, I'm basically paying for them," she told reporters.

Fixed-term leases ignored

Joanne Hussey, a community legal worker with Dalhousie Legal Aid, said she was relieved to see the government extend the rent cap and listen to the concerns renters have expressed through protests, petitions and calls to MLAs.

But Hussey said she was disappointed the government is not taking steps to limit the use of fixed-term leases. Many renters have reported landlords making the switch to fixed-term leases because they are not subject to the rent cap.

That, in turn, is increasing demand for affordable units that were already scarce, she said.

"We're actually seeing increasing pressure on that affordable housing stock from people who are middle-income earners because we know that it is just disappearing so quickly."

LeBlanc said "it's fair to acknowledge" that some landlords are using fixed-term leases for unintended uses, but he said he did not want to "create another problem by addressing one problem."

There is a role for fixed-term leases when used appropriately, said LeBlanc. He said hehopesincreasing the rent cap to five per cent will reduce instances of landlords using fixed-term leases to get around it.