Here's Exactly How Valérie Plante Is Raising Rent Prices In Montreal

Mayor Valérie Plante is not in the good graces of Montrealers, especially not renters.

According to Montreal’s 2018 municipal budget, unveiled by the mayor yesterday, Montrealers will face some fairly major tax hikes that will likely lead to higher rent prices. 

On average, Montrealers will be paying 3.3% more in taxes if the 2018 budget is unchanged. 

Renters may see starker changes due to Plante’s proposed budget as some tax changes specifically target apartment buildings. 

Any apartment building with six or more rental units will be taxed by an increase of 5.4%, on average. Certain boroughs will see higher tax rates. For example, apartment buildings in Outremont and CDN-NDG will see a tax increase of 8.2% and 7%, respectively. 

According to city councillor Marvin Rotrand , who spoke to The Gazette, apartment buildings have been “hit harder than any other category” of buildings across Montreal. 

A significant increase in taxation on apartment buildings will likely prompt landlords to raise rents. It is within the scope of a landlord’s powers to increase rent prices in response to tax hikes, so long as they send notices informing tenants of the rent increase. 

Taking the 2018 budget’s tax hike on apartment buildings solely into account, rent prices could jump up by $10-$30 per month, according to Rotrand. 

Prices could increase even more if landlords were already planning on raising rents before the tax hikes were announced.