'It's going to hit people really hard': Housing N.W.T. hiking rent by hundreds of dollars for some units
Housing N.W.T. is increasing its rental rates by hundreds of dollars for residents in some of its units — and some tenants are saying it's a big financial hit for them, at the wrong time.
"The bottom line is they're literally taking food out of people's mouths and putting it in their pocket. That's the general consensus," said Lisa Thurber, founder of the Tenants Association Northwest Territories.
Housing N.W.T. owns and leases both market-rate units and subsidized units. The market units are relied on in smaller communities where housing options are limited, for nurses, teachers, RCMP, other critical workers and community members.
The rent increases are only applicable to Housing N.W.T.'s market-rate units, and not its subsidized income-based public housing units.
CBC News heard from tenants and from Thurber that the increases range from around $300 to more than $700 per month. Housing N.W.T. has confirmed the new rates but declined to say what the current market rates are.
According to a rent increase notice obtained by CBC News, in Tulita the current monthly rent for a three-bedroom unit is $1,610; the new standardized rate will be $1,938 — an increase of $328 per month.
The rent increases will come into effect in August. The last time rents were increased was in 2012, according to Housing N.W.T.
Thurber said the rent hikes are coming at a time when many people in the North are barely making ends meet.
"August is gonna hit, and it's going to hit people really hard, especially the single moms, the single parents out there that cannot take this hit," said Thurber.
Thurber said she first heard from people receiving notices last week and quickly had over 20 messages from people in the territory saying they received one. She said the increases vary by community and the size of the unit.
The 2024 CMHC Rental Market Survey found the average monthly rental rate in the N.W.T. to be $1,974.
CBC News requested an interview with Housing N.W.T. but no one was available.
In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for Housing N.W.T. wrote that notices will be sent to market-rent tenants by May 1. They said the increases are based on a scan of rental rates in the market, which included the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) annual report, and are meant to "ensure alignment with the private market."
In the statement to CBC News, a Housing N.W.T. spokesperson said that updated rates are aligned to average market rates in Yellowknife, with a reduction adjustment of 10 per cent. They also noted that 'actual rates may vary slightly from those shown.' (Housing N.W.T.)
The email also said that rent revenues are "crucial for program funding, especially with declining federal support."
In March, Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek committed an additional $41.6 million in the territorial budget to Housing N.W.T., "to make much needed investments in public housing."
Housing for teachers
Rita Mueller, president of the N.W.T. Teachers' Association, says affordability and lack of available rental units in the North can drive teachers to work elsewhere. She's afraid that increasing rental rates right now is going to make that worse.
"I think that we are going to lose a number of really dedicated teachers who would love to stay there, would love to continue working and serving in those communities, but just can't afford to do that," said Mueller.
Mueller said the announcement also comes during an ongoing teacher shortage.
"If they are fortunate enough to find available housing, often the cost of that rental unit is totally unaffordable, especially for our new and beginning teachers," she said.
Rita Mueller, president of the N.W.T. Teachers' Association, worries that housing costs in the N.W.T., along with a national teacher shortage, is posing a real risk of educators leaving the North. (Submitted by Rita Mueller)
Mueller said that for years teachers in N.W.T. communities have had to share rooms and smaller spaces with colleagues. She says that's also happening now in regional centres like Yellowknife.
"It's not just about the rent going up. It's the ever-increasing costs of food and electricity and heating fuel and all of the expenses that all N.W.T. residents continuously face," said Mueller
No rent cap in N.W.T.
The N.W.T. doesn't have a cap on how much a landlord can increase rent each year, nor does Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Nova Scotia.
Manitoba froze rent increases in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, the province allowed a three-per-cent increase, and this year a 1.7-per-cent increase.
The Yukon set its rent increase cap at two per cent this year.
New Brunswick introduced a maximum rent increase policy this year. British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island all have rent increase limits. Quebec has a rent regulation policy where a renter can refuse any proposed increase within one month of receiving notice of it.
The N.W.T. government looked into implementing its own rental increase policy in 2023, after Thurber started a petition for one and former MLA Katrina Nokelby put forward a motion to the legislative assembly.
Some city and territorial officials argued that a cap would hurt the market and therefore fewer new units might be built.
Jay Macdonald is the territorial justice minister and would be responsible for any changes made to the N.W.T. Residential Tenancy Act. CBC News requested an interview with Macdonald, and N.W.T. Housing Minister Lucy Kuptana, but did not receive a response by the time of publishing.
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