A proposal by Victoria Coun. Geoff Young to tie a portion of rents to municipal property taxes will not go forward after being opposed by other councillors.
Young was the only councillor to vote in favour of his motion advocating for a change to provincial rules governing allowable rent increases. He argued that renters would be more likely to get involved with the municipal budget process if they saw the direct impact of property-tax increases in their monthly rent.
Young said he was motivated by concern about the level of spending proposed by councillors as they work to finalize the 2022 budget.
Citing a report that rents in Victoria rose 20 per cent in a year, Coun. Jeremy Loveday said the focus should be on affordability and availability of housing.
“We are a city that has a majority of renters and I think if you asked those people is this motion a priority for them in terms of advocacy? I think they would say no,” he said.
Some councillors expressed interest in looking at the premise of the proposal in the future.
“I don’t think this is the right moment to pursue this particular direction, but that doesn’t preclude the idea, I think, of there being a moment in the future when this could be something that’s explored in a bit more detail,” said Coun. Marianne Alto.
