THUNDER BAY – Rent increases for the one million tenant households in Ontario cannot exceed 2.5 per cent over the next year, unless a landlord makes a successful application to the Landlord Tenant Board.
The McGuinty government passed legislation on June 13, 2012 to amend the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 to ensure that the Rent Increase Guideline is capped at 2.5 per cent. Without the cap, the guideline would have been 2.6 per cent in 2013.
The annual Rent Increase Guideline continues to be based on Ontario’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada.
The 2013 guideline applies to rent increases between January 1 and December 31, 2013.
“The cap on the Rent Increase Guideline helps ensure that more tenants have access to affordable housing and provides stability for renters to improve their quality of life,” stated Kathleen Wynne Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
QUICK FACTS
- The average yearly increase from 2004-2012 was two per cent. The average yearly increase from 1993-2003 was 3.1 per cent.
- One million tenant households in Ontario are covered by the annual Rent Increase Guideline
The guideline does not apply to:
- Vacant residential units
- Residential units first occupied on or after November 1, 1991
- Social housing units
- Nursing homes
- Commercial property