The B.C. government announced on Tuesday (Aug. 26) that the limits for residential rent increases in 2026 will be 2.3 per cent, based on the 12-month average of inflation up to July this year.
This is less than the three-per-cent increase allowed for 2025 and the 3.5-per-cent increase that was allowed in 2024.
B.C. has had limits on rent increases for decades, but until 2018, landlords were allowed ot raise rates two percentage points above inflation.
The province has changed the way limits are calculated several times since 鈥� including a complete ban on rent increases for a time during the pandemic 鈥� but rates are now being set at the level of the consumer price index, which is the level of inflation as calculated based on the price increase of a broad basket of goods..
"We know that people are feeling pinched by the rising cost of everyday life, and tying rent increases to inflation is one way we can help address those affordability challenges for renters in a balanced way," Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Christine Boyle told Black Press Media.
This is the second year in a row that rates have been set at the rate of inflation. Landlords can raise rents as of Jan. 1, 2026, but must give tenants three months' notice.
Boyle said these limits are part of a suite of programs the government has implemented to make housing more affordable, and the province is starting to see an impact with stabilizing rents and increasing vacancy rates.
"We're seeing it work," she said.
Poverty advocates are not so sure. Doug King, executive director of the Together Against Poverty Society, said that while the market may be "levelling off," it is doing so because rents can't go any higher.
"Rents aren't really able to go up, because they're hitting a point where the vast majority of people cannot pay that rate," he said.
King continues to advocate for vacancy control, which would limit rent increases when a unit changes tenants. He said that without this, landlords are incentivized to evict tenants whenever possible.
"What we see is that some of the most vulnerable tenants who have been in buildings the longest end up being targeted for eviction because the landlord knows they can profit significantly by changing that unit over," he said.
Some protections for landlords remain
To alleviate the burden on landlords who need to fix up a building, the province provides exceptions to the limits when an owner makes major improvements or repairs. King pointed out the danger of abuse of these rules, saying that landlords are now using this exception to pay for repairs that they should be obligated to make.
Landlords must apply to use this exception to raise rents, and Boyle said the government is monitoring for abuse.
"There will be circumstances in which a capital improvement is reasonable and justified, and we also want to make sure, like any rule, that it's not being used or abused inappropriately," she said.
Another concern raised by King is the government's openness to potentially removing supportive housing from Residential Tenancy Act protections altogether. Some housing operators have called for this, arguing that current rules hamper their ability to evict disruptive tenants and unauthorized guests.
Former housing minister Ravi Kahlon said earlier this summer that he may be open to the changes.
Boyle said a working group is gathering information from supportive housing providers and tenant advocates. She has not yet made up her mind.
"I'm not going to make a decision ahead of making sure we've heard from the experts who are living this work
every day," she said.
Boyle expects to have heard back from the working group and have something to announce in the fall.