Back to the Future: The Liberal Record on Rent Control

Halifax -- The Liberals scrapped rent control in 1993 leaving people vulnerable to skyrocketing rent increases. Guy Brown, the Liberal Minister in charge at the time, made it clear that if the situation changed, he would be the first to reactive rent control.

Brown referenced the vacancy rate of 7.1 per cent on the peninsula and 12 per cent in Dartmouth as key reasons to end rent control. Supply outweighed demand and it was felt that people did not need the protection.

Brown said, “I say to all landlords in this province – if you try to rip off the people in this province, then Guy Brown will be one of the first ones to [reactivate] it.”

This is no longer the case. In eight years, the Liberals have built fewer than 200 new affordable housing units and the vacancy rate in Halifax is now 1.7 per cent. The worst of any major city in Canada.

Iain Rankin and Tim Houston are against rent control. So who is paying the price for their indifference?

Today, the NDP heard from Dartmouth resident Terry Madden. Terry lives on a fixed income and before temporary rent control was in place, he got a rent increase. That increase forced Terry to give away his cats as he could no longer afford to keep them, and now he is worried about what happens when Iain Rankin removes rent control again.

The 1993 Liberals did away with rent control but did so with a promise that if conditions change, they would reactivate it.

Hey Iain, things have changed. Removing rent control did not guarantee a supply of affordable housing.

Supply has dried up under your watch and real people are paying the price. Both Iain Rankin and Tim Houston do not support rent control. The Liberals and Conservatives offer no help for people being priced out of their homes.

What does Iain Rankin and Tim Houston say to Terry Madden? He can’t pay his bills and had to give away his cats. Explain to him where he is supposed to go if he’s hit with another rent increase.

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