Many residents of retirement homes in British Columbia are facing illegal rent increases, the province’s seniors’ advocate says.
In a report released this summer, Dan Levitt called for increased protections for the 30,000 people in independent living facilities in the province.
“Calls to my office from seniors who are facing unlawful rent increases have more than doubled in the last year,” the provincially appointed seniors advocate said in a statement.
The report, titled Forgotten Rights: Seniors Not Afforded Equal Rent Protection, details how some landlords try to ignore the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) and illegally raise the annual housing costs of their senior tenants by as much as 24 per cent. These landlords, it says, are often large companies that run independent living residences.
Levitt said his investigation into the issue found that some landlords tell their tenants the RTA and its rules on rent increases do not apply to their living situation, or that the rules only apply to rent and not to monthly fees for meals and cleaning.
“The law is very clear that anything a tenant is required to pay to the landlord as part of their tenancy, whether it is for meals or a parking spot, is included as part of the rent and protected by the annual allowable rent increase,” Levitt said.
“If the landlord raises any fees beyond the regulated amount, the law says tenants must be able to opt out of those fees or they form part of the tenancy agreement and are subject to cost protections.”
According to the report, seniors are left to challenge their landlords — often large companies — at the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB).
In these situations the seniors are at a disadvantage because they often cannot afford a lawyer and, due to their age, are less likely to be able to adequately represent themselves at a hearing.
