B.C.’s 2027 rent cap may bring short-term certainty, expert says

British Columbia’s maximum allowable rent increase will fall to 2.2 per cent in 2027, from 2.3 per cent, a change that may give existing tenants more certainty but could carry longer-term trade-offs, according to a Rentals.ca representative.

The province says 2027 will be the seventh consecutive year in which the maximum increase has been set at or below inflation. Before 2019, allowable increases included inflation plus an additional two per cent. The province says the old policy could have allowed increases as high as 5.6 per cent in 2024.

Giacomo Ladas, associate director of communications for Rentals.ca, said limits can help tenants plan as other household costs rise. But he said landlords may seek to recover higher taxes, water and hydro costs by raising asking rents when a tenant leaves.

B.C. does not have vacancy control, so landlords can set a new rent when a unit is vacated. Ladas said the cap, which is below inflation, may be particularly difficult for small rental providers with only a few units.

He also cautioned that rent controls affecting sitting tenants do not directly determine asking rents for vacant units. In his view, falling asking rents are also being shaped by softer demand, population policy changes and incentives for purpose-built rental construction.

Rentals.ca data cited in the report show Vancouver’s average asking rent peaked at $3,335 in September 2023 and was $2,686 in July this year. Ladas said a healthy rental market would see rents increase by a few per cent annually in line with inflation and wages.