A Canadian RentersB次元官网网址� Bill of Rights is among housing measures Prime Minister Trudeau announced Wednesday morning (March 27) in Vancouver.

B次元官网网址淚t would create a nationwide standard for lease agreements, give renters a clear history of apartment pricing so they can bargain fairly and make sure they have more agency,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said. B次元官网网址淲e are also going to launch a new legal aid fund (worth $15 million) that will protect tenants against unfairly rising rents, evictions and bad landlords.B次元官网网址�

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland added that the federal government will develop this rentersB次元官网网址� bill of rights with the provinces and territories. She did not give a date when this bill would come into effect.

Trudeau also announced that on-time rental payments will improve future credit scores.

B次元官网网址淭his will make it easier to qualify for a mortgage or even qualify you at a lower rate,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址�(Just) think about all the other things that will come from having a better credit score, to help you start a small business.B次元官网网址�

Trudeau added it is unfair that homeowners paying their mortgages get credit, while renters do not get the same benefit.

Such a change would require legislative changes to the Canadian Mortgage Charter and buy-in from landlords, banks, credit bureaus, and fintech companies.

Trudeau acknowledged this aspect, but noted that some financial organizations and landlords have already started to recognize on-time rental payments as a sign of stability and credit worthiness.

TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 choice of announcing these measure in front of an audience largely composed of people in their 20s and 30s at a South Vancouver community centre was not without design.

B次元官网网址淣early two thirds of young Canadians rent their homes and they spend a greater share of their income on housing than other generations,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚n cities, like Vancouver, where we are today, this is even more true. This is the most expensive to rent in the country. Renters matter and young Canadians put a lot of their hard-earned money towards rent. We think that should count for a lot more.B次元官网网址�

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Almost four of 10 households in Metro Vancouver (37 per cent) rent with more than half of all households (54 per cent) in the City of Vancouver renting. Figures from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation identify Metro Vancouver as the most expensive rental market in Canada with the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom-apartment being $2,181.

This push for younger voters comes as the federal Liberals are struggling in the polls against the federal Conservatives, who have seen their popularity rise among Canadian Millennials, people born between 1981 and 1996. They recently surpassed baby boomers born after the Second World War as CanadaB次元官网网址檚 dominant generation, but unlike boomers, are finding it difficult to enter the housing market.

Trudeau said he entered politics to help young people, when asked whether the measures announced today aimed to bring those voters back to the federal Liberals.

B次元官网网址淚 made working for young people the centre of my campaign to become prime minister and I have focused on them ever since,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he reality is young people, who are key to our present and obviously key to our future, are seeing a system that is stacked against them.B次元官网网址�

The joint appearance by Trudeau and Freeland comes just 16 days after Freeland had stopped in Greater Victoria as part of a budget preview tour. While she did not reveal specifics, she promised that next monthB次元官网网址檚 federal budget (April 16) would be about B次元官网网址渉ousing, housing, housing.B次元官网网址� Both Trudeau and Freeland used the occasion to praise the provincial government.

B次元官网网址淚 want to take a moment to give a shout-out to Premier Eby and the B.C. government,B次元官网网址� Freeland said. B次元官网网址淭he Premier and his team are doing ambitious and exciting thing on housing.B次元官网网址�

Trudeau echoed this point. B次元官网网址淚 have to say being here in B.C., I cannot help but emphasize the positive conversations weB次元官网网址檝e had with a number of governments, B.C. being (at) the forefront among them, on solving the rental and housing crisis that people are facing right across the country.B次元官网网址�

He specifically pointed to the BC Builds program with the federal government having matched B.C.B次元官网网址檚 initial investment of $2 billion. Trudeau said that program is B次元官网网址渦nlocking affordable housing across the province in an extraordinarily impactful way,B次元官网网址� he said.

Experts are less enthusiastic. Alex Hemingway, senior economist and public finance policy analyst with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said B.C. needs more housing supply generally and more non-market housing specifically.

B次元官网网址淭his is a program that can help deliver that,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淏ut does the scale of the program match the scale of the housing crisis? No, it doesnB次元官网网址檛.B次元官网网址�

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon welcomed the plan to make on-time rental payments count toward individualsB次元官网网址� credit score, adding that it will especially benefit new immigrants, who B次元官网网址渁rrive with zero credit history.B次元官网网址� Landlords would also benefit from the measure, because it creates an incentive for renters to pay on-time, he added.

Kahlon also welcomed the fund designed to protect the rights of renters.

B次元官网网址淎s far as the (rentersB次元官网网址� bill of rights) goes, many of the measures that they are talking about, many of the measures we have already done in British Columbia,B次元官网网址� he said, adding later that it might not be necessary. B次元官网网址淔rom a B.C. perspective, it may not have a big impact, but this is a big country. (Many) other provinces do not have any of these protections, so it may be necessary for them.B次元官网网址�

B.C., he added, will monitor the issue.

Kahlon said the federal measures announced today wonB次元官网网址檛 solve the housing crisis, B次元官网网址渂ut it is one additional piece toward a basket of things that we need to do all the same time.B次元官网网址�