Rent control, like communisim, works well on paper but has been proven not to work in practice. Rental properties get turned into condos and no one builds any new affordable housing because they know they cannot control the rates.

Rent control isn't about setting the rates for a place, but to prevent people from doubling the rents for no apparent reason. It sets the rate that you can up the rent to a realistic level, more the cost of living increase rather than the cost of your new truck or Hawaii vacation increase.

when your living in a province and city where your trying to attract investment, rent control isnt what you want to impliment....

buy a smaller house...you'll save money every month...

thats what the government wants you to do...

I'm extremely happy with the Wall government....they'll be getting my vote...

I agree with Zathis. I have lived in places were rent control was brought in and in a very short time there was a shortage of rental properties. The landlord needs to make a profit or he/she will just put the property up for sale or convert it into a profitable property. Contrary to popular belief rent control does not work.
As for the remark about the NDP. It’s true we did not have this problem when they were in power as most people were fleeing from the province in search of jobs. Now under the evil Sask Party prosperity has broken out in our province creating employment and opportunity. So now we have an influx of working class people who coming into the aria and that has driven up property values.

There is also low income rental places, the two things wrong with that is you have to have kids and when ever of if ever you get a raise, your rent goes up accordingly. You never get ahead living in those places.

Rent controls would be nice, to a point. I can see the need for making enough to pay off the main building's mortgage and have some put aside for maintenance and taxes. I'm not saying that rents *shouldn't* increase in some cases. But my rent went up from $450 to $600 in six months and others in the same building pay even more. And for what? There haven't been any major renovations done to the buildings in a couple of years.

Good Evening
As a landlord I would like to be able to give reasonable rent to my tenaants. i have one home that I have not raised the rent in 3 years. But also I have one home that the last tenants left in terrible condition and skipped out on last month rent. I need to replace the carpets (they wont come clean), fix holes, repaint and the list goes on. So the rent on this home is higher to cover repairs and lost rent. So when are the "don't care renters" WE ARE JUST RENTING going to RESPECT the home and maybe rents would not need to keep going up. Just my thoughts.

The issue here is not about controlling the owners but about having places people can afford. The fact is the standard of living is higher that the wages, the Wall government has to deal with that and quickly. SK has many resources that are finally being tapped into, so we need a way to keep our young people here, we can't lose ort labour market. If it is too expensive to live here given the wages the youth will leave. Grads are already planning to leave this province for a better education do we want them to leave because they have no place to live as well? It's never a one issue situation.

"The issue here is not about controlling the owners but about having places people can afford..."
The real issue here is weather we let the government control a persons ability to do business and dictate how much a person can charge for a service. In this case the business is rental property and the service is providing people with a place to rent. So yes it is about controlling the owners.
If the government starts telling the owners how much they must charge then the owners will either lose money or change the property into something profitable. Then we won't have enough rental property and more people will live on the street. Is that what anyone really wants to see??

I dont understand how the place i am renting has went from being $590 a month to $890. I know for a fact that the owners have not had an increase in taxes, and no improvements have been made to the building. I disagree that rent should be raised due to bad tenants. As a landlord you shoud screen your tenants for this purpose and you do recieve a damage deposit. I also feel that landlords are just being greedy. If you could run this building for this long for 500 why the sudden 300 dollar increase. Greed ........they are raising rents because they can. Trust me the extra $3600 a year i pay has had no part in making my home a better more modern place. My landlord is just driving a nicer truck.

I think we do need rent control in this province. I know for a fact that some landlord are just making them selves rich by rent out some pretty run down houses. Then they rent them out for atleast $1000.00 per month for a 3bdrm. Who can afford these prices? I had seen an ad for 3 bdrm house for 1600.00 ! Yah, i couldn"t believe that, is that house made of gold some where in its foundation? Right now, I am renting a 2bdrm,basement suite...Its cold cause the upstairs has control of the heat and I pay extra for the power...oh, its $650.00 a month. Its not a castle for sure and today I am looking for another place to live...I can't freeze in there this coming winter

People look at the cost of housing. Rents need to be close to where they are. $1000 for a whole house is not that bad. Mortgage and taxes would easily cost more then $1000 a month so look at what your getting. If you don't like renting then go out and buy your own house. If you can's do that then pay what you need to pay. In Alberta I payed 600 for a 2 bedroom appartment and that was 5 years ago.

If it was that easy to go buy a house a whole lot of people would, but its not and thats what needs to be changed as well. The wall govnt needs to take a look at the people of sask and take it from those who are wanting change for the better...rental control and ways for the working poor to go out and purchase a home.

I'm for rent control. We have three rentals and we keep the rent within allowed rates. How can people rent in good conscience, knowing people are having to dip into their grocery and utility money? While we're at, how would landlords like to have their homes inspected and to meet some minmum requirements before they are allowed to even rent. Yes, there are lousy renters out there, but there are also a lot of lousy landlords.

4RentControl if you have three rentals and keep the rent within allowed rates (whatever that means) that's your business. What I am against is the government interfering in what a business charges for the cost of a service.
Also since i used to live in Winnipeg and have seen the results of rent control I have seen first hand how the number of rental properties that were governed by rent control went down and those who needed to rent were forced into the more expensive uncontrolled properties or just ended up out of a home.
I don't blame the landlords who were regulated for selling or converting properties, even if the could have still ran them as a viable business. It was their property and they can do as the please with it as long as they are breaking no laws. But to see families show up at homeless shelters because the property they were renting got sold and they ended up homeless was not pleasant. Unfortunately people with good intentions do not always see the negative consequences of their actions until it is too late.

if there is no rent control would you be willing to fork out $2000 bucks for a bachelor pad next year i don think so the cost of housing is just dumb because everyones still working their same jobs for the same amount they we're making before the housing boom if prices on everything are going higher we should all make more money too

there is retal rate laws controlled by the rentalsmen act. There is limits in time and amount a landlord can charge at one time.

Thumbs up 4rentControl !!

All rental properties should be inspected regularly and HEAVY fines imposed on those landlords that do not fix the problems that exist. (ENFORCE the current laws/ bylaws.)

Add another stipulation in the bylaw that does not allow a rent increase until ALL outstanding issues have been brought up to code.

hi, i think as a renter we should have some sort of rentals activist or some sort of office ect where renters can go and seek help about conditions, any issues with a rental property or the landlord. A place where other poeple can go and seek out rental units,good or bad ones which ever the case...besides the rentalsman, kristal

While I am neither for nor against rent control, perhaps some form of rent control would decrease the amount of slum landlords (which we have in abundance) because their profits would be lower.

On the other hand, it may increase their numbers because they'll have to do more volume to make the same amount of money. Hmmmm.

Maybe government should just mind it's own business. The market will decide how much ppl will pay. What's next? I'd like to see grocery and gasoline price control, but it ain't gonna happen!

The economy here is unbalanced probably because of the long term effects of socialism. Rent controls may seem like a good idea in the short term, but they will only contribute to poorer standards in the long run. Let the landlords jack up their rents as much as they like, but eventually they will be wondering why they can't rent their vacant apartments.
Although I am not in favour of rent controls for most multi-family housing, I do wish that there were more stringent inspections of rental apartments in this city. Some of the things that these landlords get away with are really disgraceful. In many cases the rents continue to rise as the standard of maintenance goes down. Some of these clowns don't even deserve to run a hot-dog stand, let alone an apartment complex.
On the other hand, if apartment rents rise and fall with the local supply and demand, then wages should do the same. Unfortunately, I see two wage scales here, generally speaking: one for government employees, and for most everyone else, minimum wage. It must be difficult to afford accommodation when earning $10.00 per hour these days. It's too bad that some business owners cannot see the benefits of paying a little higher wages. This would improve their ability to hire more competent employees while improving their productivity and earnings.

No rent control? Let the landlords price themselves out of tenants? So what happens to those who can't afford to rent a small place? Seniors and other fixed income tenants that actually *do* take care of the property they rent? Shall we throw them out on the streets or would you prefer that the children starve?

For example, I'm on a fixed income. Sixty percent of my income goes to rent. My neighbour, also on a fixed income, pays 75% of her income on rent. We're not in subsidized housing but we are on the long waiting lists for it. How much higher would our rents have to go before you, and others like you, agree that maybe the rents should be curtailed to a point where even the poorest people have a place to live?

Hi Peg,

I am not suggesting that we "throw [anyone] out on the streets." All I was trying to say it that rent control usually leads to a shortage in the supply of affordable housing, and worse conditions in the long run. For example, you mention that subsidized housing is available, but with very long waiting lists.

I believe I mentioned that I was not in favour of rent controls for most multi-family housing. In other words, there does need to be some alternative for seniors and others on fixed income. I agree, it is difficult to find an adequate solution, especially when landlords think that they can take advantage of a perceived housing boom.

Finally, I think that owners of rental properties should be under more scrutiny as to how they maintain their buildings and property.

And that scrutiny had better include PA Housing and some of the other subsidized housing groups.

Thing is, if you rent control only certain types of housing, or certain groups of people, then you run into the 'selection' process. People refuse to rent to certain types of people. Even now, there are people in the city who won't rent to single parents or families. Others won't rent to seniors or people on Social Assistance. For the record, Social Assistance also assists people who are disabled and/or mentally challenged. If you have an SS "pay cheque", you're not allowed to rent some places.

Pets are another problem. Once the kids leave home, parents and grandparents don't need four bedrooms worth of space. They try to find a place to rent and bring Fido or Fluffy with them and it's a no-go. I've seen the insides of some of those smaller places available to buy. I can't say as I'd pay my hard-earned for those, dirt floors in the basement, one electrical outlet per room, a kitchen not big enough to turn around in. And call them what you wiil, I can't see the purpose in buying an apartment. At least a house can be willed to children/grandchildren. I don't believe you can do that with a condo. Not easily, anyway.

Even if the rent increases were tied to the cost of living that would help. A few years ago, my rent went from $450/mo to $600/mo in the space of 6 months and nothing had been done to improve the property. How can that be justified?

Rent goes up when house prices go up. If someone buys a house they take out a mortgage, if they want to make a profit they need to rent for more than thier monthly mortgage payment etc. The government makes more money with higher home prices. Propery tax revenues are based on home values. When home prices correct to lower values in the next few years, then you will see cheaper rent.

Then those U.S cities went on a spending spree getting loans at record low interest rates. Sound like P.A and its Soccer Centre? Imagine the payment almost doubling on our giant loan for that tin can. You think the city cannot afford maintenance now? You would have to be wearing special glasses to not notice the crumbling of our infastructure. The bridges are old, highways old, water infastructure old, roads absolutely crumbling. There has to be a $75 000 000 infastructure deficet in P.A alone, imagine the province with its miles of crumbled roadways. Is this not the biggest boom in Saskatchewan's history? What was provinces revenues over the last three years? Could this boom be the outcome of record low interest rates, causing a record amount of spending? Is this boom real? What if rates double?
See in my opinion interest rates a record lows cause the economy to produce jobs that probably should be there? When interest rates go up most jobs in the housing sector will probably be lost. That sector of the canadian economy is believed to have led canada v shaped recovery out of the recession.

closed

I doubt we'll see cheaper rents. The cost of living will have risen enough, most likely, to make today's high rents seem reasonable. But that doesn't help the people now.

There is more discussion on the subject.

No rent control because the government gets a cut through taxes, so if the rent is higher they get a higher cut. Duh. Solution: RETALIATION. The country belongs to the people, not the government, they're just custodians.

Taxes are based on the value of the property as set out by municipal inspectors and the taxes, from what I can see, stay within the city. How much you pay in rent has nothing to do with the value of the property as far as taxes go. That would be like saying the taxes on a house is governed by the size of the mortgage and not the property itself.

Victim of Canada...that makes no sense at all...

if you dont know what your talking about, dont make a fool out of yourself by commenting...

Thanks

*sigh* So much misinformation about, it makes me sad.

I for one would prefer to see rents remain a little high, for purely selfish reasons which I will explain: I scrimped and saved to buy a tiny house for my family, we mind our own business, but now a few years later we find ourself surrounded by rental houses. Rental houses with a very low quality of renter.

The crime, nuisance, and outright aggravation we experience at the hands of our rental neighbours has driven us to the brink. Police can't or won't do anything and slum landlords don't care, as long as they get their rent cheque from social services. As a result, us [the working poor] are the ones who suffer.

That's just my two cents worth, please don't take offense.

amen brother...thats exactly my situation...it was just fine (6 years ago) when I baught the place....a few houses around the block turn into rental property and then the police dispatchers and bylaw inforcement are on first name basis with you...

Rent rates have gotten so out of control that a single parent family cannot afford a decent place to live unless he/she works 2 jobs which leads to child neglect and family breakdowns. I would like to see a rent rate cap put out asap as even low income housing is becoming out of reach for families.