REGINA — A number of Saskatchewan seniors have joined the call for the province to bring in rent control to address rising rents.
At the legislature Monday, a number of seniors joined NDP Housing critic April ChiefCalf to express their concerns about affordability. Among them was Roger Derby, who collected over 60 signatures from neighbours in support of rent control, including 80 per cent of those at a seniors home.
“When he moved into his East End Regina seniors home in 2021, his rent was $2,495 a month. By next February, it will rise to $3,288, an increase of 31.8 percent,” said ChiefCalf.
“I'm paying over $36,000 a year, and some of them are paying over $50,000 a year,” said Derby of his rents.
“Now, that's more than most people earn. And you know, really, and maybe even today, it's more than a lot of people earn. And I feel that something has to be done because young people as well as us seniors are never ever going to be able to own a home with the rent going up the way it is, because you just can't save a dollar. And I really feel that we need the government to help us, very much to help us, because we can't do it ourselves. We've got to have somebody to do it. And I think it's the government's need to take a look, a serious look at this and do something about it.”
Jean Carroll, who lives in Saskatoon Stonebridge, pointed to an incident last year in which her landlords had given her a lease agreement where they wanted a $425 increase, or 30 per cent.
“And luckily for me, I had a two-year lease, and to show you how intelligent they are, they didn't even bother reading the lease and wrote me out a new one and asked for $425,” Carroll said.
“So this year, I got a new lease in the door, and they're only asking for $200 plus an extra $25 for parking. And when I spoke to them, they felt that they were just being so wonderful that they were only asking for $225 increase. And I feel it's the government's responsibility to look at these absentee landlords in this province that have hundreds, if not thousands, of apartments for rent, and they have absolutely no care as to how much they increase our rents. Anywhere from $25 to $500, and it's just whatever cap they want to put on it.”
When reporters asked about the government’s repeated statements in opposition to rent control, Carroll said “I would like them to go to the landlords in this province and ask them where they are spending their profits. They're in downtown Vancouver and in Toronto. They're not Saskatoon or Regina or Moose Jaw or anywhere else. And they need to be more transparent and say what they're doing.”
Derby said that he was living in a facility whose owners had head offices in the USA, plus another head offices in Toronto and an office in Calgary. He called the rent “atrocious.”
“I mean, the company, they like to have things nice, which is good. But I'm in a single bedroom place, and I'm paying $3,200. My fellow partners, or my fellow friends, are in there. They're paying $3,800 a month. And for the same size suite, but they're on the main floor, I'm on the third floor. And I mean, these things are, you know, when you add 10 per cent, that's a fair hit.”
Derby said rent has been going up approximately 9 to 10 per cent a year in the four years that he has been there. The seniors also raised the prospect that at this rate they will be out on the street.
“It's the financial stress that we're worried about. We want a roof over our heads, and a lot of us are males where I don't do a lot of cooking. I never did. So therefore, I have to have someplace that's going to feed me.”
The NDP reiterated their plans to introduce a private member's bill this fall calling for rent control. But if Question Period on Monday is any indication, it likely will not get very far with the Sask Party majority.
Reiter not a fan of rent control
In his responses to Opposition questions on the topic in Question Period on Monday, Deputy Premier Jim Reiter said Saskatchewan was still the most affordable province in the country. He also pointed to sky high rents in other parts of Canada where rent control was already in place.
“Let’s look where the highest rents in the country are — two provinces that have rent control, Mr. Speaker, Ontario and British Columbia.”
Reiter also pointed to rents in “NDP [New Democratic Party] Manitoba, who has implemented rent control,” as going up faster than Saskatchewan.
“Mr. Speaker, don’t take my word for it. Let’s look at what the experts have to say on this … What does Saskatchewan Realtors Association want to say? ‘Rent control risks moving us in the wrong direction.’”
In speaking to reporters on rent control, Reiter said that ”when you talk to the experts on this, virtually every jurisdiction that's tried this, it tends to backfire.”
He said rent control ends up causing less investment in housing, and for rents to come under even more pressure.
“So while we're certainly sensitive to what's happening, inflationary pressures right across the piece, including rent control, we don't believe that that's the way to go.”
Instead, Reiter says, the way to go is “to encourage investment, get more housing units on the market. That's why we've done things like the Secondary Suite Incentive, which we think is helping.”
In cases of those with very low incomes, Reiter said “certainly Social Services is a possibility for seniors, depending on where people qualify. I believe they've changed some requirements there. I referenced that in the House as well. They've lowered the age, lowered the amount of assets…”
“But the long-term solution is what's important here. That's to get more investment and to get more units on the market.”
