NDP to end landlord money grabs and bring in national rent control

HALIFAX – Today, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced a plan to fight soaring rents and protect renters, starting by implementing national rent control—a policy that will stop predatory corporate landlords that profiteer off people’s homes with unfair and unreasonable rent increases.

"No one should lose their home because their landlord wants to double the rent,” said Singh. “New Democrats will take a stand. Together we will tackle skyrocketing rental prices and end the exploitation by predatory corporate landlords.”

Across Canada, rent prices have more than doubled since 2015. In January 2025, the average asking rent hit $2,033/month in Halifax. Liberal and Conservative governments have nothing to offer for renters facing unaffordable increases and predatory practices by corporate landlords. After nearly a decade in power, the Liberals have failed to deliver—and Mark Carney won’t fix it now. As the Chair of Brookfield Asset Management, he oversaw a strategy that bought apartment buildings, renovicted tenants, and jacked-up rents.

Pierre Poilievre has fought against rent control at every turn. He let 800,000 affordable homes be sold off to rich developers, raises money from real estate CEOs, and fundraises in mansions with housing lobbyists.

Under the NDP’s plan, access to federal housing funding will be tied to strict conditions: real rent control, tenant protections, and action against predatory and exploitative landlord practices.

The NDP will also introduce a Renter’s Bill of Rights so that federal housing incentives only go to provinces and municipalities that take real action to implement rent control and bring down the cost of housing.

"New Democrats know that a good home is a right — not a luxury,” said Singh. "We’re already fighting to build rent-controlled homes on federal land, and to ban corporate landlords from buying up affordable homes. Today’s plan builds on that work — because we’re ready to fight to make sure you can afford a safe place to live, raise your kids, and build your future. And we won’t stop until we get it done."

The NDP will:

• Implement national rent control;
• Ban fixed-term leases, renovictions, demovictions, and other landlord practices aimed at pushing people out of their homes and driving up rents;
• Ban rent price-fixing and collusion by corporate landlords, including the use of shared data platforms and coordinated pricing tools; and
• Recognize the right of tenant unions to negotiate with landlords.