Victoria – The Province is tying the annual allowable rent increase in 2025 to inflation at 3%, down from this year’s allowable increase of 3.5%.
“Tying the allowable increase to inflation saves renters hundreds of dollars, over the previous government’s policy of inflation plus 2%,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing. “At a time when we know renters are struggling, our rent cap protects renters against unfair rent hikes, while allowing landlords to meet rising costs so that rental homes can stay in B.C.’s housing market.”
The maximum annual allowable rent increase for 2025 cannot take effect prior to Jan. 1, 2025. Government policy prior to 2018 allowed for an additional 2% rent increase on top of inflation, costing the average B.C. family hundreds of dollars in additional rent.
In addition, the Province has implemented the annual renter’s tax credit, which provides $400 a year to low- and moderate-income renters across B.C., and is the first Canadian jurisdiction to support the creation of provincewide rent bank services to provide interest-free loans for tenants in urgent circumstances.
Next year’s change follows multiple years of the Province capping the annual allowable increase well below inflation in 2023 and 2024, as well as a rent increase freeze in 2020 and 2021 to support renters during the COVID-19 pandemic. It represents a return to the standard formula of tying allowable rent increases in B.C. to the Consumer Price Index, as inflation begins to return to more normal levels.
