Both landlords and tenants want greater autonomy from Yukon's new Residential Tenancies Act

CBC

03-04-2025

The Yukon's new rules for rental properties aim to strike a "fair balance between tenants and landlords," but voices on both sides of the issue say they don't feel empowered by the changes.
The new Residential Tenancies Act is expected to pass the Legislative Assembly this spring. It will replace the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, as a requirement of the Liberal government's 2023 confidence and supply agreement with the Yukon NDP.
The new act will ban no-cause evictions and provides a list of reasons for ending a tenancy. It enshrines rent control; introduces pet deposits; and adds provisions for mobile home tenancy, roommate and sublet tenancy.
The legislation is in the midst of its third reading at the Legislative Assembly. Yukon NDP Leader Kate White praised the bill during the clause-by-clause debate on Tuesday. She said the new provisions "have really respected people's dignity."
"I feel confident, going forward, that this is 100 times better than the [outgoing] Residential Landlord and Tenant Act," White said.
New legislation still doesn't protect renters, says former tenant
A former tenant in the Whitehorse area says the new legislation has some improvements, but it continues to protect landlords over renters.
The tenant was evicted two years ago and has been intermittently homeless since then. CBC News has agreed to withhold their name because the person fears reprisal from potential future landlords.
The person told CBC they were evicted with only two weeks' notice and shaky evidence against them – and said challenging the situation with the residential tenancies office did not help. They said the process was lengthy, confusing and rife with administrative issues.
"The landlord chose not to support me, the residential tenancies office chose not to support me, the justice system didn't support me. It's humbling and frightening," they said in an interview.
The refurbished legislation doesn't substantially improve on these issues, they said.
"It allows way too much power to the RTO [residential tenancies office], to the lower courts and to landlords to exert power over tenants," they said. "It is not an equitable act. It is not an easily accessible act for tenants."
Both sides looking for safety and autonomy, landlord says
Alessia Guthrie became a landlord in Whitehorse to make homeownership more affordable. When the rent caps were introduced, she was blocked from bringing her tenants up to market rate, and that presented major financial problems, she told CBC News.
She still finds the rent cap – which is tied to the consumer price index – unfairly restrictive, and wishes it was relaxed in the new act. The Yukon set the 2025 rent cap – the maximum amount a landlord can increase a tenant's rent – at two per cent as of May 15.
"The CPI [consumer price index], in my opinion, is not reflective of the costs that I'm experiencing," Guthrie said, noting increases to utility fees, property taxes and interest rates. "I have to take on these costs without being able to adjust my rent."
Guthrie also wishes there was more flexibility around no-cause evictions. The prescribed list of eviction notices doesn't cover all of the reasons a tenancy might not work out, she said.
In response to concerns that the act already gives too much power to landlords, Guthrie said she knows the issue is divisive, and she wants tenants to be treated fairly. She thinks most landlords are trying to provide stable and safe living conditions amid a challenging housing market and skyrocketing cost of living.
"In general, tenants have the ability to leave and give me one month's notice, and I have to figure it out. I don't have the same reciprocal ability," Guthrie said. "I think we're all just doing our best."
The proof is in the regulations
The Yukon Status of Women Council has previously studied the impact of the tenancy legislation on housing instability, particularly affecting women and gender-diverse people. In a 2023 report, it called on the government to more explicitly support tenants with better monitoring and accountability frameworks.
Among the recommendations, it noted that minimal rental standards are legislated for habitability and safety, but the residential tenancies office had no substantial way of holding landlords accountable to that.
Jess Dorward, project manager with the council, says the report's requests still stand – but many of them will be answered by the regulations, not the legislation itself. The regulations will show how the new rules are monitored and implemented, she said.
"That's where a lot of this aim to restore balance hangs," she said.
Dorward also said the goal of striking a balance between landlords and tenants "misses the mark" on equity in the first place.
"Tenants are in a more vulnerable position," Dorward said. "Landlords have housing, and with the support of the [legislation] they're in a position of deciding the cost of accessing that housing, and who gets to have it, right? We know it's not really a tenant's market."