A new coalition wants the province to back down on new rent control measures. Avrom Charach, vice president of Kay Four Properties and a spokesperson for the Manitoba Professional Property Managers Association, worries changes to Manitoba’s rent control regulations will make it harder for landlords to keep up with major renovations. “They’re going to turn it into a situation where any repair or renovation you do automatically loses you money,” he said. “You can’t continue running a business if every action you take loses you money.” Manitoba is upping its monthly rent-control exemption threshold from $1,670 to $2,000 as of Jan.1, capping rent increases to three per cent in 2027. It covers most residential rental properties, with the province touting it as a way to protect affordable housing by increasing the number of rent-controlled units. But Charach believes these changes will have unintended consequences. “It will slow down renovations and repairs. There have already been layoffs publicly shared by renovation companies. There’ll be more layoffs. It’s just, it’s not good for anyone,” he said. He’s part of a new coalition of more than 30 rental providers, construction companies, and industry associations calling on the province to head back to the drawing board. “We want something fair. We want the province to work with stakeholders and design something that works,” he said. However, Yutaka Dirks with the Right to Housing Coalition applauds the government’s changes. He said landlords will still be able to recoup costs of repairs, it will just take a bit longer. “The tenant is still going to pay that 100 per cent of those capital repair costs,” Dirks said. “It’s just they’re just going to pay it over a longer period, and then of course, after that 16 years when they paid it off, the rent does not go back down.” But Charach said it’s not that simple. “You’re taking a mortgage sometimes to do this and you’re paying interest,” he said. “So by the time you recover your capital that you put out and the interest you had to put out over the span of that mortgage, it’s 40 or 50 years. Roofs do not last that long.” In a statement to CTV News, Public Service Delivery Minister Mintu Sandhu said the province is protecting renters from big hikes. “We’re taking historic action to keep life affordable in Manitoba, with the largest expansion of rent control in decades and stronger protections for renters to protect people from big rent hikes,” he said. The minister did not directly address the coalition’s concern in the statement.
