Rent control – how much and how often can a landlord raise your rent
It’s a new year and quite possibly your lease is coming to an end, which means that your landlord might be trying to increase your rent.
Initially a landlord can set the rent on a vacant unit to whatever they want, and you have a choice to agree and call it your home. But are they allowed to raise the rent after you’ve moved in?
In most of Canada, there is government policy called Rent Control that is designed to protect tenants by restricting increases to rent by the landlords. Each province and territory has different control rules, including frequency limits, increase limits, vacancy decontrol and how much advance notice is required before a rent hike. Rent hikes are not automatic or mandatory, and are at the discretion of the landlord.
There are many factors that affect when and to what extent a landlord can raise your rent. Below is some general information, but it certainly doesn’t cover all of the possible scenarios of a rental lease. Furthermore, they are guidelines – landlords can still apply to act differently. Most often in cases of dispute, a consultation with a paralegal or a rental tribunal will be required to help determine your rights.
British Columbia
-Landlords must give tenants at least 3 months notice before any rent increases
-Rent increases can only happen once every 12 months and they are tied to the inflation rate (the percentage by which rent can increase changes annually). If a rent increase does not meet this percentage, landlords are not allowed to make up the difference in the future by topping up a rent increase.
*As of 2023, BC can increase rents by 2%,
Alberta
-Landlords cannot increase a tenant’s rent until after a year’s tenancy has passed
-Advance notice is required for periodic tenancies. If it’s a week-to-week periodic tenancy, 12 full weeks of notice must be given before a rent increase. For a month-to-month periodic tenancy, this period extends to 3 full months. For other kinds of periodic tenancy, 90 days must be given.
Saskatchewan
-No rent increases are allowed for fixed-term tenancies, unless both the tenant and landlord agree to a rent increase and if the increase is in effect at the start of the tenancy. Since landlords must let tenants know 2 months ahead of the end of a lease whether they wish to renew or not, they must also only give 2 months notice ahead of a rent increase.
-Periodic tenancies require landlords must give at least 1 year of notice ahead of a rent increase unless they are members of the Saskatchewan Landlord Association or the Network of Non-Profit Housing Providers of Saskatchewan. In this case, they must only give 6 months of notice. Landlords must also wait one year between rent increases, but if they are SKLA or NPHPS members, they only have to wait 6 months. While there are rules on when a landlord can increase rent, there is no limit on the amount by which a landlord can increase a tenant’s rent.
Manitoba
– Landlords can increase the rent only once every 12 months.
– Before enacting any rent increases, landlords must give tenants at least 3 month’s notice.
– The maximum percentage by which rent can increase is known as the annual rent increase guideline. This guideline is the average annual change in the Manitoba Consumer Price Index and dictates how much a landlord can increase your rent for that year. If a landlord wants to raise the rent above the annual rent increase guideline, they must receive approval from the Residential Tenancies Branch.
Ontario
-Rent cannot be increased for 12 months after the last rent increase or until 12 months since tenancy began
-Landlords must give tenants at least 90 days advance notice
-The percentage that rent can increase is known as the rent increase guideline. This guideline is calculated by determining the average change in the Ontario Consumer Price Index over a 12 month period. Increases above this percentage require the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.
*As of 2023, Ontario landlords can increase rents by 2.5%,
** If a rental unit was built, or tenanted for the first time after November 2018, then no rent control guidelines apply to the tenancy.
Quebec
-Landlords can only increase rent once every 12 months
-Periodic tenancies must be given 1 to 2 months notice ahead of the rent increase
-Fixed term tenancies, they must give 1 to 2 months notice if the lease is less than 12 months, or 3 to 6 months notice if the lease is more than 12 months
-Le Tribunal Administratif du Logement has a calculation form for tenants and landlords that lets them come up with a mutually acceptable rent increase, although this form is not legally required
Newfoundland and Labrador
-Landlords cannot increase the rent in the first year of a rental agreement
-Week to week tenancy requires landlords to give at least 8 week’s notice before a rent increase
-Month to month, landlords must give at least 6 months of notice before a rent increase
-In terms of how much rent can be increased, there is currently no limit on the amount by which a landlord can increase a tenant’s rent
Prince Edward Island
-Landlords can only increase rent once per year
-Notice of 3 months before increasing rent is required
-The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission sets an annual allowable percentage by which rent can be increased. In 2021, this percentage is 1.0%. Any landlord wishing to increase rent by more than the allowable amount must apply to the Director of Residential Rental Property.
New Brunswick
-Week to week and month to month tenancies require at least 2 months notice
-Year to year tenancies require at least 3 months of notice
-Mobile home sites require at least 6 months notice
-Long term tenancies where premises have been occupied by the same tenant for 5 consecutive years or more, tenants must be given at least 3 months of notice before a rent increase
-Landlords must also increase the rent of each unit in the same building by the same percentage of increase the rent to the same amount as comparable units in the area
-Tenants have 15 days following the receipt of a Notice Of Rent increase to request assistance from the Residential Tribunal to request a revision of the notice. There is no limit on the amount by which a landlord can increase a tenants rent.
*As of 2023, BC can increase rents by 2.3%,
Nova Scotia
-Landlords can only raise the rent once per year, and they cannot raise it during the first 12 months of your tenancy
-Yearly or monthly leases require at least 4 months of notice ahead of a rent increase
-For fixed term tenancies, your lease will dictate how much notice is needed ahead of a recent increase
Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon
-Tenants must receive a minimum of 3 months of notice ahead of a rent increase
-Landlords cannot increase the rent for a rental property more than once every 12 months
-There is no limit on the amount by which a landlord can increase rent