British Columbia Rent Increase 2021-2022

British Columbia Rent Increase

2021-2022

Not sure where to begin to discuss rent increase with your tenant this year? Keep scrolling for all the information you need on British Columbia’s new 2022 Rent Increase guidelines.

What’s new for 2022

The British Columbia Rent Increase guideline for 2022 is 1.5%. If the landlord provides a tenant with at least 90 days of proper written notice, they can increase the rent on a residential rental unit from $1,000 to $1,015. The maximum allowable rent increase in British Columbia is usually tied to the average 12-month consumer price index in the province. Like many jurisdictions, British Columbia had implemented a Rent Freeze for 2021, passing legislation to freeze rent at 2020 levels due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rules for increasing rent

Under the 2022 British Columbia Rent Increase guideline, the landlord must give at least 90 days written notice of the rent increase before it takes effect, and can only increase rent once in a 12-month period. In most cases, the rent for a residential unit can be increased 12 months after:

The last rent increase (including assignments)

The start date of tenancy

Residential Tenancy Branch Rent Increase Forms

Use the forms available from the Residential Tenancy Branch to give proper notice. Don’t forget, if you do not give proper notice, or raise the rent by an improper amount, your tenant can dispute it within 12 months after the amount was first changed.

Rent Increase forms include:

Rent Freeze
for 2021

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Government of British Columbia passed legislation freezing rent at 2020 levels for 2021. Most landlords of rented units covered under BC’s Tenancy Laws cannot increase the rent in 2021.

The freeze applies to:

Rented houses, apartments, and condos
Basement apartments
Care homes and retirement homes
Mobile homes / parks
Land lease communities
Rent-geared-to-income units and market rent units in community housing
Affordable housing units created through various government-funded programs

Although the rent freeze ends on December 31, 2021, landlords can give notice 90 days prior to a rent increase taking effect in 2022.

Don’t Forget

Some exceptions also exist, where above-guideline increases approved by the Residential Tenancy Branch prior to October 1, 2020 may be applied to rents in 2021. New above-guideline rent increases may still be approved by the Residential Tenancy Branch and may be applied to 2021 rents if they are for costs related to eligible capital repairs and security services, but not for extraordinary increases in municipal taxes and charges.

2022 Rent Increase Guideline

The guideline is the maximum a landlord can increase most tenants’ rent during a year without approval of the Residential Tenancy Branch.

This means that most residential rents cannot go up by more than the rent increase guideline for every year. For 2022, the British Columbia Rent Increase Guideline is 1.5%.

The guideline applies to most residential rental units covered by the Residential Tenancy Act such as:

The rent increase guideline does not apply to:

Don’t Forget

Exceptions can be granted by the Residential Tenancy Branch for approval to raise rent by more than the rent increase guideline. Guidelines only apply to the rent portion of the bill for care homes, but does not apply to the cost of services like nursing, food, or cleaning.

Resolving Issues About Rent Control

Either tenants or landlords can contact the Residential Tenancy Branch and determine whether a unit is exempt from the rent increase guideline. To show a unit is exempt from rent control, a landlord should include an additional term in the lease stating such, and keep records that prove this is the case.

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