Rent hikes officially capped as P.E.I.'s new Residential Tenancy Act takes effect

Tenants on P.E.I. can rest assured their rent won't rise by more than six per cent a year going forward, but that comes as little consolation to renters whose landlords were allowed larger increases before theResidential Tenancy Act finally came into effect on Saturday.

The new act allows theIsland Regulatory and Appeals Board to set the annual maximum rent increase at no more than three per cent.

Landlords have the right to apply for an extra three per cent a year on top of that.

However, the maximum allowable increase for 2023is still zero per centon all rental units for the period between Jan. 1-Dec. 31, based on separate legislation passed in November. Landlords can still apply for a greater than allowable increase of three per cent by following standard procedure.

The landmark legislation was passed last fall, but required a decision of cabinet to bring it into force. Two days after the April 3 election, Premier Dennis King's cabinet set April 8 as the date for the new act to come into effect.

On Tuesday, IRAC said any applications made before last Thursday at 4 p.m. ATwill be assessed under the old rules, with no limits on increases.

Cory Pater, of the tenants' rights groupP.E.I. Fight for Affordable Housing, said the act came into effect too late for some renters whose landlords scrambled to beat the deadline.

One application for a rent exception shared with CBCNews called for a 96-per-cent increase.

136 applications for rent increases

"It's been an almost astronomical increase for some people," Pater said. "We've had folks who have had to move because they're on [a] fixed income, where they just can't afford it.... Most people who are renters are in more dire financial straits than your average homeowner."

As of March 31, IRAC had received 136 applications for rent increases, involving almost 1,000 rental units.

So far, IRAC has ruled on 21 applications. Of those,13 received the full increase the landlord had requested, four received a partial increase, and four were denied.