Ms Lucia Crimin:

What I can say to that is that there are very particular exemptions to the RPZ rules, and the bar is actually quite high in terms of the works that would be done to the property. A new bathroom or repainting would not meet the required level to allow that landlord to increase the rent by more than the RPZ rules would allow.

With regard to what we can do about that, I think it is making it very clear what the exemptions are. I fully appreciate tenants can often just be so desperate that they will pay what the landlord is asking. That is not to say it is correct. The RPZ rules were brought in for a reason and landlords need to adhere to those.

As I stated, it is an improper conduct defined under Part 7A and a matter the RTB can investigate but the scale at which it operates will not really be impactful. Those are the regulatory tools we have. It is an improper conduct and we can investigate it but we are also proactively trying to identity potential non-compliance and notify it to the landlord. It is our experience the vast majority of landlords want to comply but where there is deliberate and intentional breaching of the law, that should be investigated and that should be one of the 100 investigations we undertake.