During the 2017 B.C. election campaign, the B.C. NDP promised to amend the Residential Tenancy Act to prohibit fixed-term leases.

Today, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson took a big step toward fulfilling that pledge by introducing Bill 16, also known as the Tenancy Statutes Amendment Act, 2017.

Robinson declared that once the bill becomes law, it will make it illegal for landlords to use a fixed-term clause to bypass regulations around the magnitude of annual rent increases.

It will also apply retroactively to existing tenancy agreements.

“We are protecting the rights of renters who, for too long, have been left open to unfair and unjustified rent increases,” she said.

Under the current regulations, rents can be increased each year by two percent above the annual inflation rate.

The bill also calls for amendments to the Manufactured Home Tenancy Park Act, which has long been a concern of Surrey-Newton NDP MLA Harry Bains.