Legislation will reset allowable rent increase, minister promises

P.E.I. will see legislation this fall to lower the maximum allowable rent increase for 2023, says Housing Minister Matthew MacKay.

Last month the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission announced the maximum increase for 2023 would be 5.2 per cent, or 10.8 per cent for units that include oil heat. That's the highest in the history of rent control on the Island.

MacKay responded immediately that he would intervene, saying that now is "not the time" to introduce record-high rental increases in P.E.I.

On Saturday, about a hundred Charlottetown residents gathered in the city's downtown to protest IRAC's decision.

Housing advocates told CBC News Islanders were already dealing with cost of living issues, but Fiona's aftermath means they now face even more hardships.

"We are hearing Islanders loud and clear that this increase is something that is not feasible," MacKaysaid in an email Tuesday.

"We are currently mapping out options to bring forward to the fall legislature and commit to working with landlords and property owners in the process."

No new maximum increase has yet been settled on, the email said.

The new limit would apply even if landlords have already issued notices for increases to take effect Jan. 1. Those notices would already have gone out, because landlords are required to give 90 days notice.