The Nova Scotia government has denied legislation from the provincial NDP that would restrict residential unit rent increases in Halifax.
NDP Community Services spokesperson Susan Leblanc introduced the bill Tuesday, with hopes of addressing inadequate incomes in the province.
"It would mean that landlords could only raise rent once a year, and even if someone moves out of a unit, they can't raise the rent on that unit," Leblanc said.
According to new research from PadMapper, an online apartment search site, the average price for a one-bedroom apartment in the Halifax area is now $1,020, up from $908.82 just one year ago.
That didn’t come as surprise to many Halifax residents.
"I've never even considered living in the downtown core just for the fact that rent is going up there so fast," said one north-end Halifax resident.
"Over the years the prices have just been insane. I started off renting like $400 or $500 a month. Now it’s about $1,400 or $1,500,” said another Halifax resident, who says she decided to stop renting due to high prices.
According to PadMapper, the cost of renting in Halifax has gone up two per cent over the last month, putting it on par with Hamilton, Ont., a city with 137,000 more people.
"People are finally realizing that rent, it isn't because people lack income. It's because of rent not being checked and costs just keep going up,” said Jonethan Brigley of the Benefits Reform Action Group, an income assistance advocacy group.
While some landlords aren't happy about the possibility of rent controls, others think it would benefit tenants.
"I agree with rent control because I think a lot of times what happens is that people raise the rent for the sake of raising rent. They're not necessarily providing a better place to live,” said landlord Shawn Selfridge.
That’s a feeling echoed by tenants dealing with rising rent.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Priya Sam.
