Achi news desk-
The average rent in New Brunswick has risen 10.5 per cent since April of last year, according to new Statistics Canada data, far exceeding the province’s target of 2.5 per cent.
New Brunswick Tenants Coalition spokesman Matthew Hayes says this is evidence that the government is failing to address the housing crisis.
“There is no sense of urgency on the part of the provincial government,” he said.
“New Brunswick renters are being impoverished by the government’s deliberate inaction on this issue.”
The growth rate is second only to Alberta and higher than in previous years. In previous years, rent growth remained around six or seven percent.
Hayes says the fact that rents are now growing at a faster rate is evidence that unit-related rent controls are needed to stem the bleeding.
“Rent control clearly protects access to affordable housing and we really need access to affordable housing,” he said.
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“It is in the public interest and the government has the responsibility to ensure that it is there and the only mechanism it can do in the short term is to regulate rental prices.”
Housing Secretary Jill Green has opposed reintroducing rent controls after the 3.8 percent cap expires at the end of 2022. She told reporters last week that the province did not want to discourage construction.
“We have to look at the entire continuum and examine how each individual index interacts with the next index and that’s what we do, we take our time and make decisions based on facts and data,” she said.
However, housing starts continue to fall short of the target of 6,000 per year. There were just over 4,500 starts in 2023, down slightly from the previous year and falling behind maritime neighbors New Brunswick.
Green admitted last week that more could be done.
“Can we do better? Absolutely, and we will continue to take new steps to try to force this to the next level until we reach the number of housing starts we need to sustain the population,” she said.
But Hayes says the attempt to rely on the market to address the housing crisis is doomed to failure — and that the 380 public units being built over the next few years are needed every year.
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