Learn about the rules for rent, including rent increase guidelines and resolving issues about rent control.
In most cases, the rent for a residential unit can be increased if at least 12 months have passed since the:
The landlord must give a tenant written notice of a rent increase in the proper form at least 90 days before it takes effect.
The proper forms for this notice are available from the Landlord and Tenant Board. If your landlord has not provided the proper notice, or you believe that your rent has been raised by an improper amount, you can dispute it at the Landlord and Tenant Board within 12 months after the amount was first charged.
The rent increase guideline for 2025 is 2.5%.
The guideline is the maximum a landlord can increase most tenants’ rent during a year without the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.
For most tenants, your rent can’t go up by more than the rent increase guideline for every year.
The guideline applies to most private residential rental units covered by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 . This applies to most tenants, such as those living in:
The guideline does not apply to:
It is calculated using the Ontario Consumer Price Index, a Statistics Canada tool that measures inflation and economic conditions over a year. Data from June to May is used to determine the guideline for the following year.
The rent increase guideline is capped at 2.5% to prevent significant rent increases.
Your monthly rent is $1,000 when you sign a lease on June 1, 2024. The guideline for 2025 is 2.5%. Therefore:
Your landlord could lawfully increase your rent payment 12 months later, on June 1, 2025, to $1,025.00 per month
Your landlord would need to provide you written notice at least 90 days before June 1, 2025, in the proper form available from the Landlord and Tenant Board.
The chart below illustrates yearly rent increases, in Ontario, from 1991 to 2025.
| Year | guideline (%) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.5 |
| 2024 | 2.5 |
| 2023 | 2.5 |
| 2022 | 1.2 |
| 2021 | 0 footnote 1 [1] |
| 2020 | 2.2 |
| 2019 | 1.8 |
| 2018 | 1.8 |
| 2017 | 1.5 |
| 2016 | 2.0 |
| 2015 | 1.6 |
| 2014 | 0.8 |
| 2013 | 2.5 |
| 2012 | 3.1 |
| 2011 | 0.7 |
| 2010 | 2.1 |
| 2009 | 1.8 |
| 2008 | 1.4 |
| 2007 | 2.6 |
| 2006 | 2.1 |
| 2005 | 1.5 |
| 2004 | 2.9 |
| 2003 | 2.9 |
| 2002 | 3.9 |
| 2001 | 2.9 |
| 2000 | 2.6 |
| 1999 | 3.0 |
| 1998 | 3.0 |
| 1997 | 2.8 |
| 1996 | 2.8 |
| 1995 | 2.9 |
| 1994 | 3.2 |
| 1993 | 4.9 |
| 1992 | 6.0 |
| 1991 | 5.4 |
For more information on the rent increase guideline, contact the Landlord and Tenant Board:
As a tenant or a landlord, you can contact the Landlord and Tenant Board to determine whether a unit is exempt from the rent increase guideline.
To show that a unit is exempt from rent control, landlords can:
If there is a dispute about new buildings and additions, the landlord must prove that the building or addition was first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018.
Landlords might want to keep records, such as:
If there is a dispute about new units in existing houses, the landlord must prove that the new unit was completed after November 15, 2018.
The landlord must also prove either:
Landlords might want to keep records, such as: