An Ontario rent increase is lawful only if three tests pass. No more than the guideline — 2.1% for 2026; at least 90 days’ written notice on the Board’s approved form; and at least 12 months since your last increase.
You have one year to dispute it. After that, section 136 deems it lawful whatever the paperwork said.
What is the 2026 rent increase guideline?
2.1 per cent. Ontario’s rent increase guideline page states it directly, alongside 1.9% for 2027, and describes the guideline as “the maximum a landlord can increase most tenants’ rent during a year without the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.”
The number is not discretionary. Section 120(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 ties it to the percentage change in the Ontario Consumer Price Index “averaged over the 12-month period that ends at the end of May of the previous calendar year, rounded to the first decimal point,” and caps it at 2.5 per cent. Section 120(3) requires the Minister to publish it in the Ontario Gazette no later than 31 August of the preceding year.
On a $2,400 rent, 2.1% is $50.40, taking it to $2,450.40. On the same rent, 1.9% in 2027 would be $45.60. Those are arithmetic on a round illustrative figure, not market data.
What are the three rules a lawful increase must satisfy?
Amount, notice, and timing. Section 110 is the umbrella: “No landlord shall increase the rent charged to a tenant for a rental unit, except in accordance with this Part.” Underneath it sit the three tests.
Amount. Section 120(1) prohibits an increase above the guideline during a tenancy except under a Board order for an above-guideline increase (sections 126 or 127) or an agreement under sections 121 or 123.
Notice. Section 116(1) requires at least 90 days’ written notice, on a form approved by the Board — the N1 for most tenancies, N2 for units exempt from the guideline, N3 for care homes, N10 for an agreed above-guideline increase. Section 116(4) is the sanction: “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.”
Timing. Section 119(1) allows an increase only where at least 12 months have elapsed since the last increase for that tenant in that unit, or since the unit was first rented to that tenant. The LTB’s N1 instructions add a wrinkle worth knowing: where the previous tenant assigned the unit to you within the 12 months before the increase date, the clock runs from the previous tenant’s last increase.
Which increases are legal and which are not?
Here is the same test applied to the situations I actually get asked about.
| Scenario | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1% in 2026, 90 days’ N1 notice, 12 months since your last increase | Legal | ss.116, 119, 120 |
| 2.1%, but notice given 45 days before the increase date | Void increase | s.116(1), (4) |
| 2.1%, proper notice, but only eight months since the last increase | Illegal | s.119(1) |
| 6% because “taxes went up,” with no Board order | Illegal | s.120(1); an AGI needs an L5 order under s.126 |
| Above guideline, with a Board order on an L5 application | Legal | ss.120(1), 126; s.116 notice still required |
| Guideline plus up to 3%, agreed in writing on an N10 for capital work or a new service | Legal | s.121(1), (3); cancellable within five days under s.121(4) |
| Any amount, unit first occupied for residential purposes after 15 November 2018 | Legal as to amount | s.6.1(2) — but ss.116 and 119 still apply |
| Any amount, on a new tenant at turnover | Legal | s.113 — the lawful rent is the rent first charged |
| A mid-lease increase because a partner or a pet moved in | Illegal | Not a ground in Part VII; s.110 |
| A separate new charge for something previously included in rent | Usually illegal | “Rent” in s.2(1) includes services and facilities provided with occupancy |
Two rows deserve elaboration. On turnover, there is no rent control at all: section 113 makes the lawful rent for a new tenant “the rent first charged to the tenant,” and ontario.ca lists rental units on turnover among the categories the guideline does not apply to. That is why a unit’s rent can jump between tenants and not between years.
On exempt units, the exemption is narrower than landlords often believe. Section 6.1(2) exempts units in a building, addition, park or community where no part was occupied for residential purposes on or before 15 November 2018. Section 6.1(3) exempts certain new units created after that date inside a detached, semi-detached or row house that then contained no more than two residential units — and only where the unit has its own kitchen and bathroom, its own lockable entrances, and either the owner lived in another unit in the house when it was first occupied or the space was previously unfinished.
What if my landlord applied for an above-guideline increase?
You do not have to pay the higher figure while the application is pending. The LTB’s N1 instructions set this out for landlords: if the landlord has applied to increase rent above the guideline but the Board has not yet issued an order, the tenant can choose to pay either “the increased rent set out in the notice” or “the current rent plus the guideline increase.”
An above-guideline increase is an L5 application. On the Board’s current fee schedule that costs the landlord $233 for the first ten units plus $10 for each additional unit, to a maximum of $1,000, and it is normally decided by written hearing rather than a Zoom hearing.
An agreed increase is different again. Section 121 lets a landlord and tenant agree to go above the guideline where the landlord has done or undertakes to do a specified capital expenditure, or provides a new or additional service. Section 121(3) caps that at the guideline plus three per cent, section 121(4) gives you five days after signing to cancel in writing, and section 121(5) stops the agreement taking effect for at least six days. Section 122(2) then lets you apply for relief within two years if the landlord never did the work.
How long do I have to challenge it?
One year, and the clock is unforgiving. Ontario’s guidance says that if the notice was improper or the amount too high, you can dispute it at the Board “within 12 months after the amount was first charged.”
The statute is harsher than that sentence suggests, because there are two separate provisions closing the door. Section 136(2) deems an increase lawful “unless an application has been made within one year after the date the increase was first charged and the lawfulness of the rent increase is in issue in the application.” Section 136(1) does the same for the rent itself.
Then there is section 135.1, which catches the void-for-no-notice case specifically. An increase that would otherwise be void under section 116(4) “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” — unless, under section 135.1(2), the tenant applied within a year putting the increase in issue.
The form is a T1, Tenant Application for a Rebate, and its first ground is that the landlord “charged you an illegal rent, which you have paid.” On the Board’s current fee schedule that is $53, or $48 filed through the Tribunals Ontario Portal, and section 181.1 lets the Board waive or defer the fee for low-income applicants.
The takeaway
Check three things and you have checked almost everything: the percentage against the guideline for the year the increase takes effect, the gap since your last increase, and the 90 days on an approved form. If any of them fails, the increase is vulnerable — but only for twelve months. After that the law stops asking whether it was lawful and starts treating it as though it always was.
Want a second pair of eyes on a rent increase notice?
Send me the notice, the date of your last increase and the year the building was first occupied. I will tell you which of the three tests it passes, whether the unit is likely exempt, and how long you have left to dispute it. Landlords: I will tell you whether your notice would survive. No pitch, no obligation.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
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Frequently asked questions
What is the rent increase guideline in Ontario for 2026?
2.1 per cent. Ontario’s rent increase guideline page gives 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027. Section 120(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act sets the guideline by reference to the Ontario Consumer Price Index averaged over the 12 months ending at the end of May of the previous year, rounded to one decimal, and caps it at 2.5 per cent. The Minister must publish each year’s figure in the Ontario Gazette by 31 August of the preceding year.
How much notice does a landlord have to give for a rent increase in Ontario?
At least 90 days, in writing, on a form approved by the Board. Section 116(1) requires 90 days’ written notice before the increase, and section 116(3) requires the notice to be in an approved form setting out the intention to increase and the amount of the new rent. Section 116(4) makes an increase void if that notice was not given, and requires the landlord to serve a fresh notice before taking the increase.
Can my landlord raise the rent twice in one year?
Not under the ordinary rules. Section 119(1) allows an increase only if at least 12 months have passed since the last increase for that tenant in that unit, or since the unit was first rented to that tenant. The 12-month rule applies even in units exempt from the guideline, because section 6.1 does not switch off section 119. A separate increase agreed under section 123 for additional services is deemed not to be an increase for this purpose.
How long do I have to dispute an illegal rent increase in Ontario?
One year from when the amount was first charged. Section 136(2) deems a rent increase lawful unless an application putting its lawfulness in issue was made within one year of the increase first being charged, and section 135(4) bars a rebate order on a T1 filed more than a year after the money was collected. Ontario’s own guidance frames it the same way: dispute it at the Board within 12 months after the amount was first charged.
Sources
- Government of Ontario — Residential rent increases. The 2026 guideline of 2.1% and the 2027 guideline of 1.9%, the 12-month and 90-day rules, the list of exempt categories, and the 12-month window to dispute. Page updated 23 June 2026; accessed 23 August 2026.
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17 (e-Laws). Sections 6.1, 110, 111, 113, 116, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 126, 135, 135.1, 136 and 181.1. Consolidation current from 1 July 2026; accessed 23 August 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — Form N1 Instructions (PDF). The 90-day rule, when a different notice form must be used, the assignment wrinkle in the 12-month rule, and the tenant’s choice of what to pay while an above-guideline application is pending.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — Forms, filing and fees. The N1, N2, N3 and N10 notice forms, the L5 above-guideline fee of $233 for the first ten units, and the T1 fee of $53 or $48 through the portal. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — Form T1 Instructions. The illegal rent ground, the requirement to give a rent history for the past year, and the 12-month limit on what can be claimed.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — Application and hearing process. Confirms that above-guideline increase applications are usually decided by written hearing.
Related reading
- Ontario’s 2027 rent increase guideline — N1 dates and the math
- Is your Etobicoke rental actually rent-controlled?
- Above-guideline rent increases in Ontario, explained
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
I am Jatin Dua, a licensed Realtor with RE/MAX Quantum Realty, working out of 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke. I write about Ontario tenancy rules because they shape what a property is worth to a buyer, what a seller can deliver on closing and what an investor can actually do with a unit. Everything on this page is checked against the statute, the regulations and the Landlord and Tenant Board’s own published material rather than against what people say online.
Rent increase questions are really valuation questions in disguise. What a unit can lawfully charge this year, and what it can charge on turnover, are two different numbers — and the gap between them is often the whole investment case.
Reach me at connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.