Rent cap extension in N.S. useless: advocates [Video]

HALIFAX –

A loophole in Nova Scotia’s rental housing rules is making the provincial government’s proposed rent cap extension essentially useless, housing advocates and opposition parties say.

Last week, Service Nova Scotia Minister Colton LeBlanc tabled legislation that would extend the existing five per cent cap on rent increases for another two years to the end of 2027. But the province’s efforts won’t help renters so long as fixed-term leases are allowed, Tim Allenby, co-chair of the Dartmouth chapter of housing advocacy group ACORN, said Monday.

“The rent cap is already not ideal, given that five per cent is above inflation, so that’s not going to help the affordability problem. But then you throw on top of that this gaping canyon of a loophole,” he said about fixed-term leases.

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A fixed-term lease, unlike a periodic lease, does not automatically renew beyond its set end date. The …