Rent increases

Most rental housing in Ontario is covered by the RTA. But your housing might not be covered by the RTA if:

• you share a kitchen or bathroom with the owner of the property or the owner’s close family members,
• it’s meant for temporary or seasonal stays, such as a hotel, cottage, or Airbnb, or
• you rent both business and living space under the same rental agreement.

Also, the RTA does not cover some types of shared living. If you share rental housing or you rent from another tenant, we have an online tool that can help you find out if you are covered.

How much rent can my landlord charge when I first move in?

Landlords can usually charge any amount of rent when you first move in. Your starting rent will be whatever you and the landlord agree on.

When can my landlord raise my rent?

Usually, your landlord must wait at least 12 months after you move in before raising your rent. And any increases after that must also be 12 months apart.

How much notice must be given for rent increases?

Your landlord must usually give you a written notice at least 90 days before your rent goes up. The notice should be on one of the forms from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

If your landlord does not use the LTB form, the notice might still be valid if it includes all the information that is on the LTB form.

How much can my rent go up?

In most cases, your landlord can only raise your rent by a percentage called the “rent increase guideline”. The guideline is set by the provincial government every year.

For the year 2026, the guideline is 2.1%. The guideline for the year 2025 was 2.5%. Your landlord must follow the guideline for the year in which your rent increase starts.

Does the guideline apply to all tenants?

The guideline does not apply to the following types of housing if no one lived there on or before November 15, 2018:

• a building,
• a new addition to a building,
• a land lease community, or
• a mobile home park.

And the guideline does not apply to a self-contained apartment in a house that was created after November 15, 2018. But this is true only if the house had no more than 2 units before that date, and either:

• the owner lived in another unit in the house at the time the apartment was first lived in, or
• the apartment was created in what had been an unfinished, like a basement or attic.

In these units, the landlord can increase the rent by any amount they choose. But the 12-month and 90-day rules still apply.

The guideline also does not apply to co-op housing or many types of subsidized housing.

Can my landlord increase my rent above the guideline?

Your landlord can apply to the LTB for permission to raise the rent by more than the guideline. This kind of rent increase is sometimes called an above guideline increase or AGI. Your landlord still must wait 12 months between increases and give 90 days’ written notice. The notice must say if your landlord applied for permission or if the LTB has allowed the AGI.

The LTB can allow an AGI only for the following reasons:

• the cost of security services
• certain kinds of capital expenses
• unusually high increases in municipal taxes and charges

Capital expenses are major repairs, renovations, replacements, or additions that will last at least 5 years and are not part of normal ongoing maintenance.

What happens if my landlord applies for an AGI?

You do not have to pay the full increase that your landlord asks for until the LTB allows the AGI. You could owe rent later if the LTB allows the AGI.

You can also choose to pay the full increase before the LTB decides. If the LTB does not allow the AGI, it will order the landlord to refund the amounts that were over the guideline.

Can I fight the AGI?

The LTB will have a hearing to decide. The hearing is usually in writing or by phone or video. The LTB or your landlord will send you a copy of the landlord’s application with information about how to participate in the hearing.

Check the application to see if other tenants in your building are affected too. You might be able to work together to fight the increases.

What happens if the LTB allows the AGI?

The LTB will send an order saying how much your rent can increase and when the increase will start.

The order could say that the rent increase includes a period of time before the order was made. This could mean that you will owe rent if you did not pay the full increase that your landlord asked for during that earlier time.

How much can the LTB allow?

The LTB can allow an increase of up to 3% above the guideline for up to 3 years in a row for the cost of security services or for capital expenses. This amount may be different if you live in a mobile home park.

The LTB can also allow any amount of rent increase if there are very large increases in municipal taxes and charges.

What if I think that I paid an illegal rent increase?

You can apply to the LTB to get your money back at tribunalsontario.ca/ltb. You must apply within one year of the date that your landlord first charged you the illegal rent.

In some cases, if you agreed to a rent increase in return for services that your landlord did not provide, you must apply within 2 years of the date that the rent increased.

CLEO’s T1 Guided Pathway is an online interview that can help you fill out the forms you need to apply. Visit stepstojustice.ca/FormT1 for more information.

How can I get legal help with my rent increase problem?

If you have a low income, your community legal clinic can help. To find your local clinic, contact Legal Aid Ontario at 1-800-668-8258.

Pro Bono Ontario has a legal advice hotline at 1-855-255-7256. You may be able to get up to 30 minutes of free legal advice and help with a housing issue. The hotline is usually available from Monday to Friday between 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Ontario Legal Information Centre offers a free 30-minute meeting with a lawyer to anyone in Ontario. You can call 1-844-343-7462 to speak with a lawyer about any area of law in English or French. You may have to leave a message, and a lawyer will call you back.

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January 2026