Rent Increases
At the beginning of your tenancy, rent is set at the amount you and your landlord agreed upon. "[A]ccording to section 22 of the Residential Tenancy Regulation" (Tenants BC, 2018). Now, your landlord is only allowed to raise your rent once a year "by an amount equal to inflation" (Tenants BC, 2018). In 2018, the allowable percentage is 4%, and for 2019, it is 2.5% (Tenants BC, 2018).
"Section 42 of the Residential Tenancy Act" states that landlords need to provide an approved "Notice of Rent Increase" 3 months prior to the rent increase. Landlords are not allowed to increase rent in the future to make up the difference if they don't raise your rent in a 12 month period, or if they raise it by less than the allowable percentages.
RentYVR
Source:
Tenants BC, (2018). Retrieved from http://tenants.bc.ca/Rent-Increases/