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TORONTO - Ontario NDP Housing critic Jessica Bell (University-Rosedale) is calling on the Competition Bureau to investigate the use of rent-fixing software by corporate landlords in Canada.
"Their practices have exposed tenants to the risk of sky-high rent hikes", said Bell.
"The reality today is stark. People are being forced to leave their communities because decent, affordable homes are increasingly out of reach."
A recent CBC investigation found that so-called rent-fixing software first seen in the U.S., such as YieldStar, has likely been used by corporate landlords in Canada to collude on setting rent levels and artificially inflate rent prices.
Earlier this year the FBI investigated U.S. landlord’s use of YieldStar for price-fixing, and the U.S. Department of Justice has since launched a lawsuit to end the software’s use.
In a public letter to Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell, Bell called for the following measures:
- The Competition Bureau should investigate the practices of corporate landlords in Canada to ensure they are not using rent-fixing software to collude on rent prices to maximize their profit margins.
- Provinces should bring in rent control on all buildings, as well as vacancy control, so there’s a cap on how much rent can be raised between tenancies.
Download, print and add your name to our petition to bring in vacancy control here.