New N.B. legislation aimed at helping renters falls short, advocates say
With both rent and the cost of construction rising, New Brunswick has introduced legislation for renters and landlords, which includes rent increases being limited to once every year and banning them for the first year of tenancy.
Other changes introduced include tenants getting 30 days to apply for a rent increase review, the rent increase notice period increasing from three months to six, and allowing the Residential Tenancies tribunal to review all rent increases.
"The idea here is, we can't have people living in accommodations and all of a sudden get forced to leave because of a massive increase," says Premier Blaine Higgs. "There has to be some notice, and it has to be timely, and have rationale behind it."
The legislation follows a 90-day review of the rental landscape in New Brunswick, which was announced in January of this year, and resulted in a report which was published in May.
Housing advocacy groups who were calling for rent control and for eviction protection for tenants in the province, however, say that the new legislation falls short.
"(Rent increases) only being limited to once per year could be helpful, but it could backfire" says Jill Farrar of ACORN NB, "in the way that people just start getting yearly large rent increases, because there's still no limit on how much rent can be increased."
The New Brunswick Coalition For Tenants' Rights is also expressing disappointment that they were not consulted as part of the new legislation.
"It's not addressing the real point," says tenant advocate Jael Duarte, it's even increasing the problem, so it's showing that we're addressing the rent increases, but it's not true – because there's not a cap."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.