1500 renters demand rent control
Posted by Tyler Kinch on January 15th, 2008
Calgary, January 14th 2008—A Facebook group calling for the implementation of rent controls in
Alberta has reached 1500 members.
The group is called “Rent Controls for Albertans” and has reached the milestone in less than a month.
“These are 1500 ordinary Albertans that are fed up with the rental market in Alberta,” states Tyler
Kinch, founder of the Facebook group.
The group was started after the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation released a report that
found Calgary to be the most expensive major city for a renter, in Canada.
The report also found that average rents in the province of Alberta increased 17.2% last year and
13.3% the year previous.
“Alberta renters are being squeezed. It’s time that their right to affordable housing be protected, and
we are urging the Stelmach government to implement rent controls,” declared Kinch, “People should
not have to choose between paying rent or buying groceries, that’s not right and it’s a shame that so
many Albertans have to make that choice.”
The group is asking that all rent increases be limited annually by the Canadian Price Index, plus two
percent. The group is also asking for a moratorium on condo conversions.
The group has a goal of reaching 10,000 members by mid February.
January 20th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Last year I appeared before the Alberta govwernmnet travelling road show tasked with dealing with affordable rent and existing legislation. As we all know, the response was pathetic. In the recently publicised example involving marni armstrong, she describes her situation as economic eviction. It is an accurate description, but it is even more than that, such as I described to the the travelling road show. In any other business transaction, (and a rental agreement or lease is a business transaction), the kind of practices by some landlords that inevitably results in having to move, the economic eviction is a form of extortion, a criminal offence in any other context.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Want to make the housing shortage in Alberta even worse? Put in a rent control system. That will reduce the incentive to build new apartments, and strongly encourage existing apartments to be converted into condos.