Ontario rent increase guideline for 2026 and 2027
Updated · Sources
An Ontario landlord can raise a current tenant's rent by up to 2.1% for an increase that takes effect in 2026, and by up to 1.9% for one that takes effect in 2027, unless the unit is exempt. The year the new rent starts decides which figure applies, not the year you got the notice.
How to read the result
Enter your monthly rent and the date the new rent starts. The tool picks that calendar year's guideline and shows the calculation, the largest increase and the largest new rent. Type the new rent from your notice too, and it says whether that amount is at or under the guideline or above it.
For several years, enter a starting rent and the date it began. The table applies each year's guideline at each anniversary. Its last line is the highest the rent could be now if your landlord had raised it every year, on time; it isn't what you owe and can't be collected in one jump (third example below).
For an increase above the guideline, ordered by the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) or agreed in writing, enter the percentage and the tool compares it with the caps below.
All of this assumes your unit is covered: many units first occupied after 2018 aren't, so check the exemption page first. To check whether the notice came in time, use the N1 notice calculator.
Which year's guideline applies
The Minister sets one guideline for each calendar year (s. 120(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006). An increase that takes effect on any day of 2026 is measured against 2.1%; one that takes effect on any day of 2027, against 1.9%.
This is where people often go wrong: a notice handed over in November 2026 for a rent starting February 1, 2027 falls under the lower 2027 figure. The LTB's N1 instructions work their examples the same way.
The guideline limits increases for a tenant who stays, not the rent agreed with a new tenant when a unit changes hands.
How the guideline is calculated
The formula is in the Act: Percentage change from year to year in the Consumer Price Index for Ontario, averaged over the 12 months ending at the end of May of the previous calendar year, rounded to one decimal place, never more than 2.5% (s. 120(2), paras. 1 and 2). In the government's words, data from June to May sets the next year's figure.
However high inflation runs, the guideline can't exceed 2.5 per centResidential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 120(2), para. 2checked September 30, 2026 (s. 120(2), para. 2). It must be published in The Ontario Gazette by August 31 of the preceding year (s. 120(3)).
That's why no year after 2012 in the table below is above 2.5%. The 2012 figure is higher because the cap came in with a 2012 amendment that left that year's guideline as it was (s. 120(4)).
The basic rule (s. 120(1)): No increase above the guideline except by LTB order or agreement.
What the percentage applies to
Apply the guideline to your whole monthly rent as the landlord charges it, including amounts you pay the landlord separately for services. Form N1 describes the rent in those terms, and the Act's definition of rent covers services and facilities (s. 2(1)).
The guideline is rounded to the first decimal point (s. 120(2)). The official examples, such as $1,000 + 1.9% ($19.00) = $1,019.00Government of Ontariochecked September 30, 2026, come out in whole cents. When yours doesn't, the tool shows the exact product and the amount to the nearest cent.
Increases above the guideline
For a covered unit, s. 120(1) allows an increase above the guideline only under an LTB order (ss. 126 and 127) or an agreement with you (ss. 121 and 123). The air conditioner charge described near the end of this page sits outside the guideline altogether (s. 36.1(11)).
An above-guideline increase ordered by the LTB
The landlord applies on Form L5, and only on these grounds: Extraordinary increase in municipal taxes and charges; eligible capital expenditures; operating costs for security services by non-employees (s. 126(1)). The application has to be filed at least 90 days before the first increase it asks for (s. 126(3)). The 90-day notice is still required, on an N1 (s. 116(2)).
The part of an order that comes from capital work and security costs is capped at 3 per cent (in addition to the guideline) per 12-month periodResidential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 126(11)(a)checked September 30, 2026 (s. 126(11)(a)). If more than that is justified, the order sets a percentage for each of the two following 12-month periods, and neither can be more than 3% above the guideline (s. 126(11)(b)). Municipal taxes are treated differently. No limit on the amount of rent increase that can be approved for municipal taxes and chargesTribunals Ontariochecked September 30, 2026; a tax rise only counts as extraordinary when it is greater than the guideline plus 50 per cent of the guideline (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 28(1)).
While the application is pending, s. 126(5) caps what the landlord can require: The lesser of the new rent in the notice and the greatest amount the landlord could charge without applying. In practice, that's the guideline increase. You may still pay the full amount: If the tenant pays it, the landlord owes any amount paid above what the order allows (s. 126(6)). If you pay only the guideline amount, you may owe the difference once the order is issued (Form N1).
An ordered increase must be taken within 12 months of the first intended date (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 32(1)), and it can't be charged to a tenant who moved in after the filing deadline (LTB brochure). Since July 1, 2026, the time to serve an above-guideline order is shorter: 7 days (was 14); certificate of service within 5 days.
An increase you agree to on Form N10
A landlord and tenant can sign N10 - Agreement to Increase the Rent Above the Guideline only in this situation: The landlord carried out or undertakes a specified capital expenditure, or provided or undertakes a new or additional service, in exchange for the increase (s. 121(1)). The increase can't exceed guideline plus 3 per cent of the previous lawful rentResidential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 121(3)checked September 30, 2026 (s. 121(3)).
You can cancel the agreement in writing within five days after signing it (s. 121(4)), and it takes effect no earlier than six days after it has been signed (s. 121(5)). If both sign, the landlord does not have to give a notice of rent increase. An agreement obtained by coercion or a false statement is void (s. 124). If the work or service never arrives, you can apply to the LTB not more than two years after the rent increase becomes effective (s. 122(2)).
Ontario rent increase guidelines since 1991
This is the government's official table. The rows before the 2006 Act came into force were set under earlier laws.
| Year | Guideline |
|---|---|
| 2027 | 1.9% |
| 2026 | 2.1% |
| 2025 | 2.5% |
| 2024 | 2.5% |
| 2023 | 2.5% |
| 2022 | 1.2% |
| 2021 | 0% |
| 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% |
The 2021 zero is the rent freeze written into the Act (s. 120(3.1) and s. 136.1).
Worked examples
A notice in 2026 for a rent that starts in 2027
A Hamilton tenant pays $1,850.00; the last increase took effect March 1, 2026. In November 2026 the landlord hands over an N1 raising the rent to $1,888.85 from March 1, 2027.
The new rent starts in 2027, so: $1,850.00 × 1.9% = $35.15, and $1,850.00 + $35.15 = $1,885.15. The notice is $3.70 a month above the guideline for a covered unit, because the landlord used the 2026 figure: $1,850.00 × 2.1% = $38.85.
An LTB order after major repairs
An Ottawa unit rents for $1,700.00. The landlord replaced the elevators and the LTB's order allows 5% above the guideline for that capital work, from February 1, 2027.
Year one is capped at the guideline plus 3%: 1.9% + 3% = 4.9%; $1,700.00 × 4.9% = $83.30, a rent of $1,783.30. The other 2% waits for the next 12-month period. Until the order is issued, the landlord can require only $1,700.00 × 1.9% = $32.30, a rent of $1,732.30.
A rent left alone for four years, then raised
A Mississauga tenant has paid $1,600.00 since March 1, 2023 with no increase. The landlord now gives notice for March 1, 2027.
This one increase can be at most $1,600.00 × 1.9% = $30.40, a new rent of $1,630.40. The tool's multi-year table shows what the rent could have reached with an increase every March, rounded to the cent each time:
- March 1, 2024: $1,600.00 × 2.5% = $40.00, rent $1,640.00
- March 1, 2025: $1,640.00 × 2.5% = $41.00, rent $1,681.00
- March 1, 2026: $1,681.00 × 2.1% = $35.301, rent $1,716.30
- March 1, 2027: $1,716.30 × 1.9% = $32.6097, rent $1,748.91
The $118.51 between $1,748.91 and $1,630.40 is room the landlord didn't use in earlier years. The Act sets one guideline for each calendar year (s. 120(2)) and allows nothing above the guideline except an LTB order or an agreement (s. 120(1)); it has no rule that adds unused years to a later increase, so the tool measures this one against the 2027 figure.
What changed in 2026, and what didn't
Bill 97 and Bill 60, with changes in force on July 1, 2026 and September 21, 2026, left the guideline, its formula and its cap untouched; the rent part of the Act (ss. 110 to 136) has no amendment from 2023 or 2025. One new rule does touch rent: since July 1, 2026, a landlord who supplies electricity may charge for an air conditioner you install, outside the guideline. The N1 calculator page explains it.
If your increase looks higher than the guideline
The tool shows whether a number is above the guideline; only the LTB decides whether your landlord owes you money, and that depends first on whether your unit is covered (exemption check). For a covered unit, the N1 calculator totals what you've paid above the limit and shows how long you have to challenge it; free help is listed there too.
To compare your rent with what tenants pay across your metropolitan area, see rents by city.
Sources
- Residential rent increasesGovernment of Ontario
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17 (consolidation from September 21, 2026; currency date September 28, 2026)Government of Ontario
- Brochure: A Guide to the Residential Tenancies ActTribunals Ontario
- O. Reg. 516/06 (General) under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006Government of Ontario
- LTB Operational Update: Legislative Changes at the Landlord and Tenant Board (June 30, 2026)Tribunals Ontario
- Form N1 Notice of Rent Increase: Instructions (November 30, 2015)Tribunals Ontario
- Form N10 Agreement to Increase the Rent Above the Guideline: Instructions (November 30, 2015)Tribunals Ontario
- LTB Operational Update: Legislative Changes at the Landlord and Tenant Board, Effective September 21, 2026Tribunals Ontario
- Brochure: Information about Applications for a Rent Increase Above the GuidelineTribunals Ontario
Every source listed here was consulted on .