REGINA – Saskatchewan’s NDP is renewing its call for rent control as average rental prices continue to climb across the province.
NDP Leader Carla Beck said her party’s proposed legislation, introduced at the legislature this week, is aimed at helping renters facing what she calls some of the steepest increases in the country. The bill comes after what the Opposition says were months of consultations with landlords, builders, housing groups and renters.
“I want the thousands of Saskatchewan renters out there to know that we’ve heard you,” Beck said. “So many people are working multiple jobs, doing everything right, and still having to choose between rent and groceries. That’s not the future I want for anyone in this province. We need rent control, and we need it now.”
The legislation would cap annual rent increases by tying them to the Consumer Price Index.
Opposition housing critic April ChiefCalf said the goal is to stop corporate landlords from issuing hikes they say can reach 20 or even 30 per cent in one year.
“Big corporate landlords, many of which are headquartered in Alberta and Ontario, should not be able to jack up rents 20 per cent in a single year,” ChiefCalf said. “Saskatchewan has become the wild west of corporate landlords after 18 years of the Sask. Party. People deserve a future where working hard covers the basics.”
Roughly 300,000 people rent in Saskatchewan.
Data from Rentals.ca shows Saskatchewan rents have risen for 40 consecutive months and are up 24 per cent over the past two years, the largest jump in Canada.
The NDP argues other provinces with rent control have still seen stronger growth in new housing builds than Saskatchewan, despite warnings from industry groups that such policies stall construction.
But University of Regina economics professor Jason Childs said history shows rent control often leads to the opposite of what is intended.
Childs said capping rents below market demand typically reduces supply, fuels long wait lists and can push landlords to ration units through other means.
“These policies have been tried in different ways and the results are almost always the same,” Childs said. “You end up with a shortage of rental units, a slowdown in construction and a lower quality of units.”
Childs said Saskatchewan’s growing population, which recently hit a record high, is adding to housing pressure. Without a significant expansion of rental stock, he said rising costs are inevitable.
“Unless and until we expand the supply of housing, that’s going to mean higher rent,” he said.
