Opposition calls for help to put money back in the pockets of citizens facing increased rents

Rents in Saskatchewan are going up twice as fast as the national average and the Opposition NDP wants the government to provide some type of relief, specifically cutting the provincial fuel tax.

NDP Opposition Leader Carla Beck raised the topic during the last day of the spring session.

"Rents are rising faster here in Saskatchewan than in any other province," Beck told the Legislature on Thursday. "Families need a break now, Mr. Speaker, not after the election. How can the premier defend the Sask. Party's choice to vote against fuel tax relief?"

According to a recent report from Rentals.ca, rents in the province were up 18.4 per cent year-over-year in April.

The report said the average rent for a two-bedroom unit in Saskatchewan is about $1,300.

The national average asking price for a two-bedroom rental unit was almost $2,300.

Premier Moe countered that rents continue to be the lowest in the country despite the recent increases, and asked how the NDP would pay for cutting the fuel tax.

"This is a government that is not going to cut our highways budget," Moe said. "We have seen the NDP finally come up with one idea. Again, no idea on how they're going to pay for that."

The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Saskatchewan is around $1,300 per month. (Radio-Canada)

That's little comfort for those having to pay high rents, said  DarryAnn Coles.

Coles said she was lucky enough to get into a Sask. Housing apartment last month after spending a couple of years in a City Park basement suite in Saskatoon where she paid $1,200 a month.

"Horrifying," is how she described the experience.

"It wasn't a good place and I was so scared," said Coles, who only needed to rent a place after her husband died a couple of years ago.

Coles said the rent went up every year and she also had to pay $45 a month for parking.

"Some of these places a health inspector should be looking into."

Giacomo Ladas, communications manager for Rentals.ca, told CBC Radio's The Afternoon Edition the high cost of rent elsewhere has people looking for cheaper places to live.

"Because asking rents right now are so unaffordable, Canadians have no choice sometimes but to find provinces with more affordable rents," Ladas said. "And because of that, we're seeing areas like Saskatchewan, Alberta, even the Maritimes have exorbitant increases in rent as demand increases."

People looking to get into home ownership are staying longer in rentals waiting to see if interest rates come down, says Giacomo Ladas, communications manager for Rentals.ca. (Rob Kruk/CBC)

He said in places like Toronto and Vancouver have seen rents go down, though they are still exorbitant.

Coles, who is a senior, gets by on government pension and "a little bit of savings, which I'd like to keep for a little bit of traveling."

While she can pay rent, Coles is worried about those who can't make ends meet.

"II was talking to homeless girl in the park across from where I lived and she was crying," she said.

"I went over to try to comfort her and I said, 'You know, the only difference between you, a street person, and me is my old age pension.'

"This is Canada. We should be doing better," Coles said, adding, seniors have been hit especially hard.

Cam Zalenchuk lives in the same Sask. Housing building, paying a little over $500 a month for his one-bedroom place.

He said without subsidized housing he wouldn't be able to afford rent.

"I really can't afford much more than maybe $200 more a month than what I'm paying right now. And right now I'm only paying $510 a month," Zalenchuk said. "I could not imagine having to raise my family with the rent prices today."

Ladas said there are other factors driving rents up.

"People who want to get into the home ownership market are waiting to see when the Bank of Canada will drop the rates," he said. "When rates do come down a little bit, there should be more supply coming to the market as people who want to buy a house will start to to look again.

"Until that happens, we expect these prices to continue."