Is it time for Alberta to adopt rent control? A look at the pros and cons

CTV News Edmonton's Nicole Weisberg takes a closer look at rent control as tenants call for protections in Alberta.

As some Edmontonians face exponential rent hikes, the province says it has no plans to adopt rent control, crediting our lack of regulation for record-breaking home builds.

“Every economist agrees that if you bring in things like rent control and regulate rent, you stop construction,” Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon recently told CTV News Edmonton.

“Stopping the housing market from building is not how we fix the housing crisis, Alberta’s process is how we fix the housing crisis.”

Alberta continues to lead the country in housing starts, building 18 per cent more homes in the first quarter of 2025 compared to last year’s record-breaking first quarter.

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“We’re going to continue to focus on supply. The places in our country that haven’t been continue to see rents go up,” said Nixon.

That is no consolation for renters preparing to move because of looming rent hikes.

‘Time to speak up’: renters call for greater protections

“Renters that are facing these sorts of situations are getting tired of this sort of stuff so it’s time to speak up,” said Tim Kenny, a resident of the historic Annamoe Mansion downtown.

Kenny was one of about two dozen residents who received notice late last month that their rent was tripling.

His was supposed to rise from $895 a month to $2,695 a month effective July 1.

“Nothing prepares anybody for a 200 per cent rent increase. That’s unjust, that’s unfair, there is nothing humane about it,” Kenny told CTV News Edmonton April 3.

A week later, he said the building’s new owner told residents the amount of the hike was a misunderstanding and all residents would have to pay $1,800 a month regardless of their unit’s size.

“After six days of sustained media pressure, we got that notice,” said Kenny. “For me, again, that’s double my rent.”

ARH Holdings – the company that bought the Annamoe Mansion in January – said in a statement maintenance on the century-old building has not been kept up and it requires extensive renovations.

Kenny believes the rent hike is an attempt to get rid of the current tenants.

“We need rental caps on rental increases here in the province. This is a human rights issue,” he said.

What other provinces do

The majority of Canadian provinces and territories have rent control with maximum annual increases ranging between 1.7 and 5 per cent.

“We don’t see it perfectly anywhere across the country but certainly it provides renters with just so much more stability and security,” said Sara Beyer with the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights.

Beyer’s organization advocates for adequate, accessible and affordable housing nationwide.

She says it’s a myth that rent control stifles development.

“In reality, there’s really a myriad of factors that impact the rate of rental housing construction, like financing and construction costs, availability of labor, all of these different things.”

Beyer points to Quebec as an example of a place with robust regulations that is still seeing significant development.

“There’s kind of caps on rent increases both when the unit is occupied and also when it’s vacant. And actually, in Montreal this past year, we saw the highest rate of rental housing development all across the country.”

In Quebec, a rental tribunal publishes annual recommendations on what it considers a reasonable rent increase using a formula that considers landlords’ costs.

This year it’s 5.9 per cent – the highest it’s been in at least three decades.

Landlords aren’t bound by that number, it is meant to be used as a negotiating tool.

Renters can also refuse a rent increase, in which case the landlord can take the issue to the tribunal for it to settle.

“It’s just really important to keep in mind that when renters are able to stay in their homes and have that security, it has so many important knock-on effects for the health of our societies,” she said.

“People can plan better for the future and also have more disposable income so they can spend that money in other places in the economy.”

Federal NDP proposes tying rent control to housing funding

While rent control is typically provincial jurisdiction, Canada’s NDP wants to tie federal housing funding to tenant protections.

At a campaign announcement outside the Annamoe Mansion earlier this month, Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson said it’s the only way to ensure provinces like Alberta make change.

“Danielle Smith would rather pick fights with Ottawa than do just about anything for Albertans. What we need to see is that there are strings attached to make sure the provinces are actually dealing with rent that is skyrocketing.”

McPherson said ensuring people have affordable, safe, stable homes is “vital”.

According to a Rentals.ca survey, 50 per cent of renters believe national rent control would be one of the most effective housing policies if implemented, however only 13 per cent of those renters said they plan to vote for the federal NDP.

Rent trends

The most affordable rental markets in Canada are in Alberta and Saskatchewan according to a Rentals.ca report.

Lloydminster leads the country in affordability costing an average of $1,206 per month for an apartment and Fort McMurray comes in second at an average of $1,300 a month per apartment.

The five-year trend however shows some Alberta renters are paying much more than they used to.

Average rents for homes built as rentals rose 38.5 per cent provincewide.

Calgary saw the highest rise in rents for purpose-built rentals among the six largest Canadian markets at 43.5 per cent.

Edmonton tied Vancouver for second experiencing a 26.7 per cent increase in rent rates for purpose-built rentals.