Rents for tenants staying put in the same apartment have gone up by 32 per cent in the last ten years.

The allowable rent increase cap for 2017 is set at 3.7 per cent

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s that time of year when we can pass on to you how much your rent is likely to increase next year.

The allowable rent increase cap for 2017 is set at 3.7 per cent. The rate has been in the two percent range the last two years.

Although it’s the maximum amount rents can go up in a given year, most landlords do opt to raise rents by the full rate.

The rate is set by the inflation rate plus two per cent.

Andrew Sakamoto with the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre says renters are spending hundreds more per month on the same unit than they were ten years ago, thanks to compound interest.

“If you applied all of the allowable rent increases, you would see a 32 per cent increase over 10 years. A $1,000 rent back in 2008 would be $1,300 per month today.”

But he says a worrying trend is renters being coerced out of their suites so that landlords can boost rents beyond the yearly cap.

“There’s a lot of money to be made in tenant turnover. We’re seeing landlords pressure people out of their suites so they can set a new rent at any amount they want.”

He says the centre hears stories of people being harassed, evicted for spurious reasons or for non-essential renovations, or forced into signing fixed-term leases, all with the purpose of ending their tenancies so that landlords can bring in new tenants and higher rents.

About 30 per cent of people rent in BC, but it’s as high as 50 per cent in Vancouver and 90 per cent in Vancouver’s West End.