How much can my landlord raise my rent in Ontario in 2027? By 1.9%, unless the unit is exempt from rent control. That is the 2027 rent increase guideline set by the Government of Ontario, down from 2.1% in 2026. On a $2,400 rent it works out to $45.60 a month.
Three conditions apply to every guideline increase. The landlord must give at least 90 days’ written notice on a form approved by the Landlord and Tenant Board (RTA s.116). At least 12 months must have passed since the last increase or since the tenancy began (RTA s.119). And an increase given without proper notice is void (RTA s.116(4)).
For an increase taking effect on 1 January 2027, the notice must be given on or before Saturday 3 October 2026 — or mailed by 28 September 2026, because mailed notices are deemed given on the fifth day after mailing.
What is the Ontario rent increase guideline for 2027?
The guideline for 2027 is 1.9%. Ontario’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing publishes it each year, and ontario.ca states it plainly: “The rent increase guideline for 2027 is 1.9%.”
The guideline is the maximum a landlord can raise a sitting tenant’s rent in a calendar year without an order from the Landlord and Tenant Board. It is calculated from the Ontario Consumer Price Index, averaged over the twelve months ending in May of the previous year, and it is capped by statute at 2.5% (RTA s.120(2), paragraph 2). That cap was added in 2012 and it is why the guideline has not moved above 2.5% since.
| Year | Guideline | Increase on a $2,400 rent |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 0% | $0.00/month |
| 2022 | 1.2% | $28.80/month |
| 2023 | 2.5% | $60.00/month |
| 2024 | 2.5% | $60.00/month |
| 2025 | 2.5% | $60.00/month |
| 2026 | 2.1% | $50.40/month |
| 2027 | 1.9% | $45.60/month |
The dollar column is arithmetic on a single illustrative rent, not a statement about what anything actually rents for in Etobicoke. Guideline figures are from ontario.ca’s published table.
What does 1.9% actually cost, in dollars?
Multiply your current monthly rent by 0.019. That is the maximum monthly increase for 2027 if your unit is covered by the guideline.
| Current monthly rent | 1.9% increase per month | New monthly rent | Extra per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,800 | $34.20 | $1,834.20 | $410.40 |
| $2,200 | $41.80 | $2,241.80 | $501.60 |
| $2,600 | $49.40 | $2,649.40 | $592.80 |
| $3,000 | $57.00 | $3,057.00 | $684.00 |
| $3,500 | $66.50 | $3,566.50 | $798.00 |
These are worked examples at round numbers so you can find the one nearest your own rent. They are not Etobicoke market rents and are not presented as such.
When must the N1 notice be served for a 1 January 2027 increase?
Section 116(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 says a landlord “shall not increase the rent charged to a tenant for a rental unit without first giving the tenant at least 90 days written notice of the landlord’s intention to do so.”
Ninety days is a minimum, not a window. There is no earliest date — a landlord can serve an N1 six months ahead if they want to. What there is, is a deadline, and the counting rule is set by the Legislation Act, 2006, s.89(3): the day the notice is given is excluded and the day the increase takes effect is included.
So for an increase effective 1 January 2027: count back 90 days from 1 January and the notice must be in the tenant’s hands on or before 3 October 2026. Serve on 4 October and you have given 89 days, and the increase is void.
| Increase takes effect | Give notice on or before | If mailing, mail on or before |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | 3 October 2026 | 28 September 2026 |
| 1 February 2027 | 3 November 2026 | 29 October 2026 |
| 1 March 2027 | 1 December 2026 | 26 November 2026 |
| 1 April 2027 | 1 January 2027 | 27 December 2026 |
| 1 May 2027 | 31 January 2027 | 26 January 2027 |
| 1 June 2027 | 3 March 2027 | 26 February 2027 |
| 1 July 2027 | 2 April 2027 | 28 March 2027 |
Which form does a landlord have to use?
Section 116(3) requires the notice to be “in a form approved by the Board.” For a standard guideline increase that is Form N1, Notice of Rent Increase, available free from Tribunals Ontario. The face of the form repeats the rules: at least 90 days’ notice, and at least 12 months since the last increase or since the tenant moved in.
The N1 instructions also set out how the notice may be served — handed to the tenant or an adult in the unit, left in the mailbox or where mail is ordinarily delivered, put under the door or through a mail slot, faxed, couriered, or mailed. One method is expressly not allowed: you cannot serve an N1 by taping it to the tenant’s door.
There is one wrinkle worth flagging honestly. The N1’s own instructions tell landlords to use Form N2 instead where the unit is “exempt from the rules under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 limiting the amount of the rent increase.” Those instructions were written in 2015, three years before Ontario created the post-15-November-2018 rent-control exemption, and the LTB has not published anything since that says which form applies to a newer exempt unit. If you own an exempt unit, call the Board on 1-888-332-3234 and ask rather than guessing. I would not state it more confidently than that, because the published guidance does not.
The 12-month rule: only one increase a year
Section 119(1) allows an increase “only if at least 12 months have elapsed” since the day of the last increase for that tenant in that unit, or since the day the unit was first rented to that tenant if there has been no previous increase.
Two consequences people miss. First, the twelve months runs from the effective date of the last increase, not from the anniversary of the lease. Second, if the previous tenant assigned the unit to the current tenant within the last twelve months, the clock runs from the previous tenant’s last increase — the N1 instructions say so directly.
What happens if the notice is late, short or on the wrong form?
Section 116(4) is blunt: “An increase in rent is void if the landlord has not given the notice required by this section, and the landlord must give a new notice before the landlord can take the increase.”
Void means the increase never legally happened. The rent stays where it was, and the landlord has to start the 90-day clock again from scratch.
But there is a cure, and tenants should know about it before they shrug and pay. Section 135.1(1), added in 2020, says an increase that would otherwise be void “is deemed not to be void if the tenant has paid the increased rent in respect of each rental period for at least 12 consecutive months.” It does not apply if the tenant has, within one year of the increase first being charged, filed an application putting the validity of the increase in issue (s.135.1(2)).
The takeaway
A defective rent increase is void — but only if you say something about it. Pay it quietly for twelve consecutive months and the law treats it as valid. Ontario’s own guidance puts the practical deadline at twelve months after the amount was first charged. That is the number to diarise.
Does the guideline apply to my unit at all?
Not necessarily. Ontario.ca lists the categories the guideline does not apply to:
- New buildings, additions to existing buildings and most new basement apartments occupied for the first time for residential purposes after 15 November 2018
- Rental units on turnover of a tenancy — the landlord and a new tenant agree the rent
- Community housing units
- Long-term care homes
- Commercial properties
The first one matters enormously in Etobicoke, because a very large share of the new stock along The Queensway and around Humber Bay Shores was first occupied well after November 2018. I have written a separate piece on whether your Etobicoke rental is actually rent-controlled, because the rule is narrower than the summary suggests and the burden of proving it sits on the landlord (RTA s.6.1(6)).
The turnover rule is different in kind and often confused with the exemption. Under s.113, the lawful rent for a new tenant is simply “the rent first charged to the tenant.” That is a one-time reset at the start of a tenancy in any unit of any age. Once the new tenancy starts, the guideline, the 90-day rule and the 12-month rule all apply again for that tenant.
Can a landlord ever go above 1.9%?
Yes, in two ways, and only two.
An above-guideline increase (AGI). Under RTA s.126 a landlord can apply to the LTB on Form L5 for an increase above the guideline on three grounds only: an extraordinary increase in municipal taxes and charges, eligible capital expenditures, or operating costs for security services provided by people not employed by the landlord. The application must be filed at least 90 days before the effective date of the first intended increase (s.126(3)), and the tenant must still get an N1 (s.116(2)). The portion attributable to capital expenditures and security services is capped at 3% above the guideline in any 12-month period, with any excess carried into up to two further years at up to 3% each (s.126(11)).
An agreement to increase above the guideline (Form N10). Under s.121 a landlord and tenant can agree to an above-guideline increase in exchange for a capital expenditure or a new or additional service. A tenant is free to say no. There is also a five-day cooling-off period in which the tenant can cancel the agreement in writing.
Note that neither route exists for a s.6.1-exempt unit — s.126 and s.121 are both switched off for those units, because there is no guideline there to exceed in the first place.
A checklist for Etobicoke landlords planning a January increase
- Check the unit first. If it was first occupied for residential purposes after 15 November 2018, the guideline does not cap you — but the notice rules still do. If it was occupied before that date, 1.9% is your ceiling.
- Check the last increase date. Twelve full months must have elapsed from the effective date of the last increase, not from the lease anniversary.
- Use the Board’s form. A letter, a text message or an email is not a Board-approved form, and s.116(3) requires one.
- Serve by 3 October 2026 for a 1 January 2027 increase. Do not cut it fine — serve in September and keep proof.
- Do not tape it to the door. That method is expressly excluded.
- Pay the deposit interest. Section 106(6) requires annual interest on the last month’s rent deposit at the guideline rate. If your deposit is now less than one month’s rent, s.106(7) lets you apply the interest to the shortfall instead of paying it out.
Thinking about selling a tenanted Etobicoke property?
The rent, the notice history and the paperwork all change what a tenanted unit is worth and who will buy it. Send me the address and the current lease details and I will tell you what it means for price, timing and your options — including whether selling with the tenant in place is the better outcome. No pitch, no obligation.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
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Frequently asked questions
How much can my landlord raise my rent in Ontario in 2027?
By 1.9%, if your unit is covered by the rent increase guideline. That is the figure published by the Government of Ontario for 2027, down from 2.1% in 2026. If your unit was first occupied for residential purposes after 15 November 2018, the guideline does not apply and there is no cap on the amount — though your landlord still needs to give 90 days’ written notice on a Board-approved form and can still only increase once every 12 months.
What is the allowable rent increase in Ontario for 2027?
1.9%. The guideline is calculated from the Ontario Consumer Price Index over the twelve months ending in May of the preceding year and is capped by statute at 2.5% under RTA s.120(2).
How many days notice does a landlord have to give for a rent increase in Ontario?
At least 90 days’ written notice, on a form approved by the Landlord and Tenant Board, under RTA s.116(1). If the notice is mailed, it is deemed given on the fifth day after mailing (s.191(3)), so you need to post it 95 days ahead in practice.
When can a landlord serve an N1 for a 1 January 2027 rent increase?
Any time up to and including 3 October 2026. There is no earliest date — 90 days is a minimum, not a window — but 3 October 2026 is the last day the notice can be given for a 1 January 2027 effective date. If serving by mail, post it by 28 September 2026.
Can my landlord raise the rent twice in one year?
No. RTA s.119(1) requires at least 12 months to have elapsed since the last increase for that tenant in that unit, or since the unit was first rented to that tenant. The exception is where the LTB has ordered a staged above-guideline increase under s.126, which runs in successive 12-month periods rather than twice in one.
What happens if my landlord did not give proper notice of a rent increase?
The increase is void under RTA s.116(4), and the landlord has to serve a fresh notice and start the 90 days again. But under s.135.1(1) an otherwise-void increase is deemed valid if the tenant has paid the increased rent for at least 12 consecutive months, unless the tenant filed an application challenging it within a year of it first being charged. Ontario’s guidance frames the practical deadline as 12 months from when the amount was first charged.
Does the 1.9% guideline apply to new condos on The Queensway or in Humber Bay Shores?
Usually not, if the building was first occupied for residential purposes after 15 November 2018 — and much of the newer Etobicoke condo stock was. In that case there is no cap on the size of the increase. The 90-day notice requirement and the once-per-12-months rule still apply, and the burden of proving the exemption is on the landlord under RTA s.6.1(6).
Is the last month’s rent deposit interest rate also 1.9% for 2027?
Yes. RTA s.106(6) requires a landlord to pay interest annually on the rent deposit “at a rate equal to the guideline determined under section 120 that is in effect at the time payment becomes due.” For interest falling due in 2027 that is 1.9%; for 2026 it is 2.1%. If the landlord does not pay it, s.106(9) lets the tenant deduct it from a subsequent rent payment.
Sources
- Government of Ontario — Residential rent increases. The 2027 guideline of 1.9%, the 2026 figure of 2.1%, the historical table, the 90-day rule, the 12-month rule and the list of units the guideline does not apply to. Page updated 23 June 2026; accessed 10 August 2026.
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17 (e-Laws). Sections 6.1, 106, 113, 116, 118, 119, 120, 121, 126, 135, 135.1, 136 and 191. Consolidation current from 1 July 2026.
- Legislation Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 21, Sched. F, s.89(3). The rule for counting a number of days between two events, used for every date in the deadline table.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — Forms. Form N1 (Notice of Rent Increase), Form N2, Form N10 and Form L5, with their instructions.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — A Guide to the Residential Tenancies Act. Confirms that exempt units still require 90 days’ notice on the proper form, and the rent-deposit interest rule.
Related reading
- Is your Etobicoke rental actually rent-controlled? The 15 November 2018 rule
- The Ontario LTB forms guide — which form does what
- The Etobicoke rental market: a guide for landlords and tenants
- The N4 notice for non-payment of rent, explained
- Does an Etobicoke investment condo cash flow in 2026?
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
I am Jatin Dua, a Realtor with RE/MAX Quantum Realty, working out of 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke. I wrote this page because every autumn I get the same two calls — a landlord who has left the N1 too late, and a tenant who has been handed an increase that does not look right. Both are avoidable with a calendar and the correct section number.
Reach me at connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.