Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn speaking to reporters on March 26th about the Residential Tenancies Act. Photo Courtesy of Macklen Linke/CKRW.
Whitehorse, YT – Landlords will be able to apply for rent increases beyond the cap set in the Yukon’s new Residential Tenancies Act which is currently before the Legislature.
The legislation ties annual rent caps to the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) over two years but allows landlords to seek an additional increase of up to three percent through the Residential Tenancy Office (RTO) to cover costs not reflected in CPI.
The increase could be spread over multiple years.
Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon criticized the bill, arguing it adds complexity and could overwhelm the RTO.
“We’ve heard from landlords and tenants that the RTO process is complex and burdensome, and this is going to make it more so,” said Dixon. “I would anticipate that this process would be would that the RTO process will get gummed up even further by this new bill.”
Minister Richard Mostyn says the RTO has been restructured to handle the workload, including hiring a new investigator. He adds that further adjustments could come if needed.
“We’ve already made some changes to the department, but they’re confident at this time that they’ll be able to handle the appeals they get,” said Mostyn.
Yukon NDP Leader Kate White acknowledged the need for exceptions to cover extraordinary costs but said the process remains unclear.
