Breaking News
The much talked about HST rent increase is no longer! On Monday April 12, renters in Ontario got a break. The upcoming harmonized sales tax will not result in a rent increase according to Premiere Dalton McGuinty.
While promising to be fair to both tenants and landlords the Premiere announced today that an HST related increase in energy costs will not cause rent to rise.
Last year landlords warned renters across the province that rent costs will rise because of HST. Todays good news was described as the closing of a ‘loophole’ in rent regulations. The rent ‘loophole’ allowed landlords in Ontario to apply for above-guideline rent increases to counter a 13 percent increase in utilities.
McGuinty described an opportunity to apply for rent increases based on the consumer price index as fairness for landlords. The option means landlords will only be able to request rent hikes when the consumer price index increases, which he predicted will see “very modest” increases.
