IRAC seeks input on rent increases

The provincial rental regulator wants Islanders' input on how much landlords should be allowed to increase rents next year.

The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission is asking residential tenants, landlords and the general public to submit written comments on what the maximum allowable rent increase should be for 2020, IRAC said in a news release Tuesday.

IRAC is responsible for setting the allowable rent increase for the coming year. Rent increases are governed by P.E.I.'s Rental of Residential Property Act which states that rent can only be increased once a year and must not be more than the allowable amount.

What IRAC considers

The commission said it considers comments from the public, average rents, minimum wage, the cost of electricity, heat, water, insurance, property taxes and other costs, as well as the consumer price index and statistical data compiled by P.E.I.'s Finance Department.

In 2019 the maximum allowable rental increase was two per cent for rentals heated with oil, 1.75 per cent for electric-heated rentals and 1.5 per cent for unheated, according to the IRAC website.

In 2018 the maximum for heated rentals was 1.75 per cent, and in 2017 it was 1.5 per cent. In 2016 IRAC did not permit any rental increase. In 2013 and 2009 it allowed for increases of five per cent, which are the largest increases on record on the IRAC website which dates back to 1989.

The deadline for written comments is next Friday, July 26. They can be delivered, mailed or emailed.

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