The guideline caps most increases without an application to the Landlord and Tenant Board. Whether it applies to your unit is a separate question, and the answer turns on a single date.
Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and the guideline published at ontario.ca. VOLATILE — the guideline is set annually; re-check each autumn. Checked 28 August 2026.
The Minister sets the guideline each year. It is 1.9% for 2027 and was 2.1% for 2026.
It does not apply to a unit first occupied for residential purposes after 15 November 2018. New buildings, new additions and newly converted units sit outside it entirely, and the rent in those units can rise by any amount on proper notice.
Whatever the amount, a landlord must give 90 days' written notice on the Board's prescribed form, and can raise the rent only once in any twelve-month period.
A landlord can also apply for an above-guideline increase for capital work, security services or a large municipal tax rise — but that requires an order, not a letter. An increase above the guideline without an order is simply void, and rent paid on the strength of it can be recovered.
It is the maximum percentage a landlord can raise most rents by in a year without applying to the Landlord and Tenant Board. It is 1.9% for 2027 and was 2.1% for 2026.
No. Units first occupied for residential purposes after 15 November 2018 are exempt, along with most new additions and conversions. In those units the increase is not capped by the guideline.
Ninety days in writing, on the form prescribed by the Landlord and Tenant Board, and no more than one increase in any twelve-month period.
Only with an above-guideline increase order from the Board, granted for things like eligible capital expenditures or a significant municipal tax increase, or where the unit is exempt from the guideline. An unauthorised above-guideline increase is void.
Open your file tonight — a licensed Ontario lawyer will confirm your exact Land Transfer Tax and closing costs in writing.