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Burnaby one-bed rents up by more than allowable annual hike (INFOGRAPHIC)

With B.C.'s new rent-control cap not in force yet, city's median annual one-bed rental price is up 5.3 per cent, says rental study
Padmapper November 2018
Source: PadMapper

Burnaby is the third most-expensive rental market in the country for both one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, at $1,580 and $2,250 respectively, according to the latest monthly report from rental website PadMapper, released November 15.

That median one-bedroom price is a 5.3 per cent increase over November 2017, which is far above the allowable annual rent increase in B.C.

The allowable rent hike that B.C. landlords can impose on sitting tenants each year has until recently been two per cent plus inflation, which in 2018 totalled four per cent. However, this does not take into account any increases to rents on units between tenancies, which can in turn increase overall average rental prices. Increases in rents between tenancies are currently at the discretion of the landlord and are not government controlled.

As of 2019, the annual allowable increase for sitting tenants will be reduced to inflation only, set at 2.5 per cent for 2019. There is no sign of a change to the rules allowing landlords to increase rents by a larger amount between tenants.

Burnaby's two-bedroom rental price has not seen the same annual increase as the one-bedroom rate. The $2,250 median rent for a two-bed is in fact 1.3 per cent lower than in November 2017. However, it was still the third highest in the country, after Vancouver and Toronto.

Vancouver was found to be higher than Toronto for two-bed rents, but Toronto was pegged the country's most expensive market for one-bedroom apartments.

As PadMapper uses only its own rental listings to calculate median rents, its results can vary month to month. 

Check out the full list of PadMapper’s national rental prices in its chart below.

Padmapper November 2018 full list
Source: PadMapper, November 2018