A thank you
Thank you, Kate White, for making an apology about the CASAs, which the Liberal and NDP implemented with no consultation. Thank you for realizing the consequences a political decision can have when stakeholders and experts are not consulted. Thank you for taking responsibility for your role in the CASAs. We can only hope your partners in the government will also do so.
It is widely known that the majority of economists are of the view that rent controls, including rent caps, have a detrimental, disruptive effect on rental markets ( https://www.yukon-news.com/opinion/yukonomist-rent-control-the-2023-edition/ ). Simply put, as demand continues to grow but supply stops due to rent control under the CASA, you may also consider apologizing to the following who will also experience “unintended consequences” from the implementation of the CASA:
to the future renters that cannot find units because there will be less supply, all because of CASA;
to future renters that will face higher rental prices because there will be less supply, all because of CASA;
to existing Yukon renters that will face higher rental prices and less rental stock when they move out of their current unit, all because of CASA;
to the hard-to-house tenant who will face higher rent each time they need to find a new place because of less rental stock, all because of the CASA;
to the hard-to-house tenants who will face a more thorough vetting process because landlords cannot end their lease unless they fight to take back their unit at the Residential Tenancy Office, all because of CASA;
to the landlords and tenants that signed contracts in good faith and now have had their contracts altered without either of their consent, all because of CASA;
to the landlords who were charging below-market rent and, as you so clearly pointed out, had to evict tenants because they were caught flat-footed by CASA 2022 price controls, all because of CASA 2022;
to the landlords that knew their only way to correct their below-market rent was to evict their tenants following CASA 2022 but, out of respect to their renters, did not take that last fleeting opportunity to evict and raise the rent, and now are left in an even worse financial place, all because of CASA 2023;
to Yukoners for running on Populist ideas like rent control, even though it is clearly understood that price caps hurt the overall rental market more than they help, generating, as you said before “all the unintended consequences”, all because of CASA;
to the tenants whose units will deteriorate because there is no way for landlords to recoup the cost of the extra investment in their unit while the tenant still lives there, all because of CASA;
to landlords having to absorb the highest inflation rates in 30 years, which is well above the five per cent rent cap you have regulated, all because of CASA;
to the renters that are still in Core Housing need because this rent cap did nothing for them—those renters that paid over 30 per cent of their income for rent before the rent cap are still paying over 30 per cent of their income, no thanks to CASA.
Premier Pillai, Minister Mostyn and Kate White: as our political leaders, please do not make housing harder to find and more unaffordable for Yukoners. Instead, help Yukoners that need support with targeted social policy that does not result in “unintended consequences” for other Yukoners. Through consultation this fall, please champion solutions that help Yukoners live here, help new Yukoners set roots here, and provide support for Yukoners in need.
Yukoners can see through this political game. Let’s move on from making housing so divisive. Yukoners want, need, and deserve better.
Sincerely, your partners in housing Yukoners,
Yukon Residential Landlord Association