Canada is set to implement a Bill of Rights for renters following an announcement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from Vancouver. This landmark legislation is slated for introduction in the forthcoming Budget 2024.
According to a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announcement, the Canadian Renters’ Bill of Rights will mandate landlords to openly and honestly provide a complete history of rental rates for flats. With the help of this legislation, newcomers to Canada will be able to determine reasonable rental rates when they arrive and will have more negotiation power.
The Bill would also create consequences for renovictions, which will deal with cases in which landlords evict residents supposedly for remodeling but then rent out the apartment again. It will also implement a uniform lease agreement across the country.
The PMO states that future modifications will include regular rent payments into people’s credit scores. According to Trudeau, Canadians need credit recognition that is relevant to mortgage applications because of the high cost of renting.
In order to include rental history in credit evaluations, he intends to amend the Canadian Mortgage Charter and encourages cooperation between banks, fintech companies, landlords, and credit bureaus.
With the help of this effort, immigrants to Canada may be able to get mortgages at lower interest rates for their first residences.
The government will establish a $15 million Tenant Protection Fund to aid legal aid organizations in protecting tenants from unfair rent increases, renovictions, or unsatisfactory landlords.
Rental Costs for Newcomers in Canada
The rental market in Canada is at its height; according to Rentals.ca, the average asking rent for all residential homes is $2,193. This represents a noteworthy 10.5% rise over the prior year. Nonetheless, this increase is even more noticeable in the nation’s biggest cities. A one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver costs, on average, $2,653, whereas in Toronto, it costs somewhat less, $2,495.
For example, the average cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Canada as of March 21 was $1,685.
When they first arrive in Canada, newcomers frequently bear the burden of these rising rental expenses. According to Statistics Canada data from December 2023, one in six newly arrived immigrants in the nation has to find rental housing. Moreover, data from February shows that more than one-third of recent immigrants devote a sizeable amount of their pre-tax income to housing costs.
The Canadian federal government launched a number of programs the year before to help Canadians and recent immigrants with the difficulties associated with renting. One such policy was the Affordable Housing Fund, a nearly $14 billion program designed to encourage the development of new rental housing with the goal of reviving the stock of existing homes.
In order to incentivize the development of new apartment complexes, especially those intended for elder and student accommodation, the government also removed GST for developers.
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