A flyer reportedly distributed by the New Brunswick Apartment Owners’ Association is being criticized for “pressuring tenants.”
The flyer includes “Higher Property Taxes Mean Higher Rents” followed by “Premier Blaine Higgs Can Stop This.”
The New Brunswick Coalition for Tenants Rights believes this constitutes harassment meant to pressure tenants.
“Landlords are threatening tenants to raise the rent if they don’t comply with their demands, it clearly shows how the housing crisis in New Brunswick is a human rights issue,” said Jael Duarte, a tenant advocate with the coalition.
Duarte said she has been contacted by many tenants confused by the situation, unaware if the flyer served as their notice for a rent increase.
(Image via New Brunswick Apartment Owners Association)
In the flyer, the NBAOA cites the increased property tax assessments and the “double tax” as the cause for rent hikes; However, the coalition believes “they are forcing a political opinion on tenants” and have inaccurately described the double tax.
Instead, Duarte said it is a tax credit that applies for owner-occupied properties and is used in other provinces.
The coalition continues to call for a system that addresses the “unbalance of power” between tenants and landlords. Duarte called legislation recently introduced a “missed opportunity” because it lacks the implementation of rent control and does not provide more tools for the Residential Tenancies Tribunal.
