WINNIPEG — Manitoba Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari is promising to freeze rents across the province if she becomes premier.
Bokhari says a Liberal government would forbid rent increases in 2017 and 2018 to give renters a chance to catch up with housing costs that have risen sharply in recent years.
She says the freeze would apply to high-end units as well as those under rent-control guidelines.
The only exception, she says, would be in cases where a new tenant took over a unit.
A landlord group says the Liberal plan is ill-informed and surprising.
The Professional Property Managers Association says its members face rising utility costs and need money to repair and maintain units.
The group says it is already well-regulated by the province and must adhere to strict guidelines and limits on rental increases.
