Landlords are partly responsible for the rise in rents seen in the province in recent years, according to an expert.
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Rents are not only more expensive, but they are also climbing more and more rapidly, according to Martin Blanchard of the Regroupement des Comités Logement et Association de Tenants, who analyzed advertisements published between February and May.
“In 2020, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) average gap, that is, between the price of rents for tenants who do not move and available rents, was 30%. This year, the gap between the rents that are offered for rent on Kijiji and the accommodation occupied by tenants is 50%, ”explained Martin Blanchard, in an interview with TVA Nouvelles, Sunday.
In Granby, the increase is one of the most intense in Quebec with a rate approaching 55%. The average price of housing has gone from $800 to $1200.
In Gatineau, the price of a two-bedroom apartment is $2,220 on average.
“These regions are not ready to face the crisis of available housing and that of housing affordability,” mentioned the specialist.
According to him, one of the factors which aggravates this problem is the fact that the owners do not respect the law which obliges to offer the same rent to the new tenants as the price paid by the old tenants.
“This is not what is happening in practice, and our study shows it year following year that there is very broad and generalized disobedience to this law,” said Mr. Blanchard.
According to him, there should be “compulsory rent control” which would make the increase in rent obligatorily follow a rate which would take into consideration construction costs, inflation, the profit of the landlord, etc.
“A public and universal rent register” might also be part of the solution, he added.