N.B. tenants not being told rent hikes as low as 4% in 2024 may qualify for phase-in protection

A larger number of rent increases facing tenants in New Brunswick in 2024 will be eligibleto be phased in over multiple yearsthan in 2023 but so far no one appears to beexplainingthat to renters who could be helped by the change if they knew aboutit.

"We have no idea at all," said Nichola Taylor, with the tenants' rights group ACORN, about a major expansion coming on Jan.1in the number of rent increases that will qualify forgovernment intervention and control.

"It's really important that we have all the information up front as soon as possible."

In New Brunswick, landlords can raise the rent on a tenant once a year by any amount that brings an apartment unit up to market rates.

However, according to provincialrules, atenant who receives a rent increase above the previous year's rate of inflation can have the amount phased-in over two or three years, if they ask for that help.

For 2023, phased-in rents were available only to tenants with increases above 7.3 per cent based on the 2022 inflation rate.But for 2024, any rent increase above 4 per cent is likely to qualify for the phasing-in benefit, given inflation numbers available to the end of September.

That is not being explained publicly by the provincebutaccording to Angus Fletcher, with the New Brunswick Coalition for Tenants' Rights, itis a critical piece of information for any tenant deciding whether or notto challenge a rent increase notice, especially those dealing with rules that force them to make those decisions right now.

"That information is absolutely necessary," said Fletcher about thesize of rent increases eligiblefor government intervention.

"Given that the New Brunswick government chose a policy that requires more messaging, I believe it's their responsibility to messagethat moreclearly."

One of the problems with the province's policy of awarding phased-in rent increases is that various timelines in the process do not match one another.

Landlords are required to give a tenant six months' notice of a rent increase, with the tenant given 60 days to challenge the amountor request that it be phased-in.

That means rent increase notices for January are sent in July, with a tenant having to launch a challenge by September. But the inflation rate that governs what size of anincrease will be eligible to be phased inis not finalized until after consumer price index numbers for December are available.

That leaves tenants who are dealing with the issue in September,October and November in the dark about what size rent increase might be eligiblefor help.

Taylor believes there are almost no tenants who realize that a five or seven per cent rent increase in 2024 will be eligibleto be broken up and phased in, given amounts that size were not eligiblein 2023, and she doubts anyone being forced to make a decision on challenging an increase now will ask for that assistance.

"It can cause a lot of confusion," said Taylor. "If they've got 60 days to contest itand they don't because they're not sure what's going on, it's just really important that we have that information."

Fletcher agrees if the province does not directly tell tenants that therent increase sizethat will qualifyfor phase in ismoving significantly lower in 2024, thenfew will act on it.

"One of the core difficulties of that policy is that it relies on tenants to be tracking the consumer price index, which is not a reasonable thing," said Fletcher.

Questions sent to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office on Tuesday about what level of rent increase is likely to be eligible for phased-in protection in 2024 and how tenancy officers are deciding 2024 cases before them now, were acknowledgedbut by late Wednesday a spokesperson said answers were still being compiled.