By: Bruce Owen
The province introduced sweeping changes to today to protect apartment renters from condo conversions.
The new rules will be phased in over the coming months and will give renters more rights against excessive rent increases and unfair eviction, Consumer Affairs Minister Gord Mackintosh said at a news briefing.
The new rules will spell out for landlords that if they want to upgrade a building, and qualify for whole-building rehabilitation approval, they will have to improve two major building items, such as plumbing and heating, instead of just one, and will have to spend more on a per-unit basis.
Another change is when landlords apply for a rent increase above the provincial guideline, they will have to recover the cost of major repairs over eight years instead of the current six.
That will save renters money as it will be paced over a longer period of time.
For instance, on a $100,000 roof and foundation upgrade to a 12-unit apartment building, which would allow an owner to increase rent above the yearly guideline, each tenant would pay almost $350 less in increased rent each year under the new rules than under the old ones. On a $50,000 upgrade to a 12-unit building, each tenant would pay $172 less in increased rent each year under the new rules.
Other new tenant rights, such as tenure rights, would also be introduced to protect tenants who are evicted for renovations in cases where units are re-rented after conversion to condominiums. The province is also working with students and universities to develop more rights for students living in residences, and with landlords on a package to allow more renters to live with pets. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Province-changes-apartment-rules-to-protect-renters-122178724.html
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