N.S. renters face jump in costs

There's a new rental cap reality for Nova Scotians.

On Jan. 1, the province's cap on rent increases went up from two per cent to five per cent.

“It sounds like a small amount, only three per cent, but it’s going to be a problem, especially for seniors on fixed incomes,” says Bill van Gorder, spokespersons for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons.

Van Gorder says for some, it's going to be the difference between buying milk and eggs and not eating.

In order to make ends meet, van Gorder says a lot of seniors are returning to work or are moving in with friends and family.

“Beyond that they’re just cutting out any of the nice things that they might do in life whether that’s no new clothes, no extra food, no entertainment, and it makes for a very unhappy life for people who should be living the better years of their life,” he says.

Kevin Russell, the president of the Income Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia, has a different take on the cap increase.

“The issue is still the fact that the five per cent will not cover the operating costs for a lot of rental housing providers in Nova Scotia, particularly the smaller owners who have been hit the hardest,” says Russell.

Russell says the rent cap is just one of the obstacles that is making the idea of owning a rental property less appealing.

“You have your mortgage rates coming up, a lot of renewals. You also have more bureaucracy coming down with the HRM landlord registry so it’s getting very difficult to manage a small rental property,” he says.

Van Gorder is sympathetic and he's calling on the government to step in and help both sides.

“The bottom line answer somehow is to increase the amount of affordable housing that’s available for older Nova Scotia and doing that it has to be subsidized and probably the government has to do that,” he says.

Van Gorder will be taking the concerns of seniors straight to the province at an upcoming meeting with Nova Scotia's Department of Housing.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.