August 3, 2016 | Jon Hernandez

Quoted from the article:

NDP MLA and housing critic David Eby says fixed-term agreements are becoming more and more prevalent across Vancouver, and that it’s alarming to see the practice used to bypass the province’s rental controls.

“I think the way that some landlords have chosen to use the fixed-term lease is definitely a loophole that they’re using to get around the rent control provision of the Act,” Eby said.

Under month-to-month tenancy, and even fixed-term leases without a specified move-out date, landlords are only allowed to raise rent by a set amount that changes year to year, according to the Residential Tenancy Regulation. In 2015, that rate was 2.5 per cent.

But rental hikes at The Lauren exceed these rates.

Eby says the province is failing to recognize that the lease agreements are being misused, and that it would be easy for them to regulate the practice by imposing rent controls on lease renewals.

In an e-mailed statement to CBC, the Ministry Responsible for Housing said if “a tenant signs a fixed-term agreement and anticipates wanting to renew it, they should be aware that rental rate limits will not apply.”

Read the full article: http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/british-columbia/the-lauren-west-end-vancouver-rent-loophole-1.3704675