Manitoba premier 'needs to fulfil his promise,' pass legislation on above-inflation rent hikes: advocates

A housing advocacy group has served Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew a warning — in the form of a "notice of termination" caution — saying he has breached his contract with Manitobans by failing to pass legislation on above-guideline rent increases.

The "notice of termination" letter from the Right to Housing Coalition — written to mimic the termination forms that landlords can present to tenants before an eviction — was presented by demonstrators during a rally outside Kinew's constituency office in Winnipeg on Friday morning.

"He needs to fulfil his promise to Manitobans," Yutaka Dirks, a member of the coalition, said at the rally. "He needs to fulfil his promise … [on] rent regulation, to keep housing affordable."

Provincial rules set a cap on how much landlords can increase rent each year (currently 1.7 per cent), but landlords can apply for larger increases, if they can demonstrate they've incurred costs that the guideline amount won't cover. Critics have said it's too easy for landlords to get that approval.

While in opposition, the NDP presented a private member's bill in 2021 that called for the Residential Tenancies Act to be changed to include stricter rules to limit rent increases beyond the province's guideline. The then Progressive Conservative government didn't support it.

During the campaign that led to the NDP's election in October 2023, Kinew promised an NDP would limit landlords' ability to apply for rent increases above the cap.

Last year, the NDP introduced a bill that would set conditions for above-guideline increases, limiting them to cases where landlords face a sharp rise in taxes, utilities or security costs, or where they invest in capital projects such as plumbing and heating.

At the time when it was introduced, the bill was hailed by the government as a way to ensure increases aren't approved for cosmetic improvements to properties.

However, the bill hasn't been passed, and the Right to Housing Coalition said the government has let it die. 

"We don't have any legislation in the second session for a second year," Les Scott, a member of the West Broadway Tenants Committee, said at Friday's rally. 

With the spring sitting coming to an end at the Manitoba Legislature, the bill could have to wait months until it can be introduced again.

Scott fears that might not happen until next spring at the earliest. 

"That's two and a half years after they got elected," he said. "Wab Kinew has to keep his promise, or he has to go."

'Renters feel it'

Even though the legislation didn't include fixes to close all rent regulation exemptions, Dirks said passing the bill would have made a "huge" difference to tenants and renters. 

"We were honest when we said we were excited by the legislation," he said. 

The idea behind letting landlords increase rent above guidelines is, in theory, to help them recoup costs from investments in the property where tenants live, said Dirks.

But after the expenses are covered, the rent often doesn't go down, making the increase a way to turn profits, he said.

"We renters feel it the first of every month when the rent is due," he said. 

"This is something that the premier can [fix] that will cost their government almost nothing. It's a legislative change." 

Mintu Sandhu, Manitoba's minister of public service delivery, told CBC News in an interview his government is reviewing the Residential Tenancies Act to see what can be included or changed to protect tenants, but he didn't comment directly on the legislation the NDP introduced last year.

"I want to make sure whatever we are introducing, what we are passing is benefiting the folks that will benefit," he said. 

Sandhu said he will meet with the Right to Housing Coalition on Monday to get feedback as part of the review process. 

"Our government is committed to ensuring that Manitobans have access to safe and affordable housing," he said.