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Raising the rent

You want to raise the rent for a tenant who already lives in the unit. The Act controls how much notice you give, how often the rent can go up and, for most units, by how much.

N1 · N2 · N10 · L5

What we do

  1. Check the unit and the dates

    We check whether the guideline applies to the unit and when the rent last went up.

  2. Work out the new rent

    We apply the guideline for the year the increase starts, or confirm the unit is exempt.

  3. Prepare and serve the notice

    We prepare the N1 or N2, serve it by a permitted method and keep a record of service.

  4. Agree an increase above the guideline

    If you will do capital work or add a service, we prepare an N10 for you and your tenant to sign.

  5. Apply to the Board

    We prepare and file the L5 with its cost evidence, and represent you at the hearing.

The forms involved

How the timing works

  1. Last increaseOr the day the tenancy began.
  2. Notice givenDay 0. Mail counts five days after mailing.
  3. L5 deadlineAt least 90 days before the first increase.
  4. Increase startsAt least 90 days after notice, 12 months after the last.
  5. One year laterIncrease deemed lawful unless challenged.

Work out your rent increase dates: the earliest date it can take effect, the last day to give the notice, and the most the guideline allows.

How the process runs

You must give your tenant written notice at least 90 days before the increase, on a Board-approved form that states the new rent. The rent can go up only once at least 12 months have passed since the last increase, or since the tenant first rented the unit. You can hand the notice to the tenant or an adult in the unit, leave it in the mailbox or under the door, or send it by mail, courier or fax. Mail counts as given on the fifth day after mailing.

For most units, the increase cannot be more than the guideline for the calendar year in which it takes effect. The guideline is 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027, and the Act caps it at 2.5%. Use the N1.

A unit is exempt from the guideline if no part of its building, or of the addition it is in, was occupied for residential purposes on or before November 15, 2018. A self-contained unit created in a house after that date can also be exempt if the house had no more than two units on or before it, and either the owner lived in another unit when it was first occupied or it was built in unfinished space. The exemption does not cover a tenancy agreement made on or before November 15, 2018, and you must prove it applies. The 90 days and 12 months still apply. Use the N2.

To go above the guideline, you and your tenant can sign an N10 if you do capital work or add a new or additional service. The increase is at most the guideline plus 3%, your tenant can cancel within five days, and no N1 is needed. Otherwise you file an L5 for an extraordinary increase in municipal taxes and charges, eligible capital expenditures or outside security services, at least 90 days before the first increase, and still give an N1. Capital and security costs are capped at 3% above the guideline a year, spread over up to three years. Until the order, your tenant need only pay the guideline amount.

Two increases sit outside these rules: adding parking or another listed service by agreement, and, since July 1, 2026, a charge for the electricity a tenant’s window or portable air conditioner uses when you supply electricity.

Where applications go wrong

  • Too little notice. An increase given with fewer than 90 days’ notice is void, and you must give a new notice. The Board cannot shorten the 90 days or the 12 months.
  • Too soon. The increase starts less than 12 months after the last one. An agreed charge for parking or a listed service does not count as an increase for this rule.
  • The wrong form. The N1 is for units under the guideline, the N2 for exempt units and the N3 for care homes.
  • More than the guideline without approval. A tenant who stays is treated as accepting only the increase the Act allows.
  • The notice is posted on the door. That is not a permitted way to give it.
  • L5 evidence is missing. The application must include evidence of the costs and proof they were paid.

If a notice was wrong or late

A void increase becomes valid if your tenant pays it for 12 months in a row and does not apply to the Board within a year of when it was first charged. More generally, rent and rent increases are deemed lawful unless someone applies about them within one year after they were first charged.

Fees

The steps below are each priced on their own. Board filing fees are separate and are paid to the Board.

  • Notice drafted and served

    One notice, prepared, checked and served on the tenant.

  • Board application

    Application filed with the Board, with evidence collected and submitted.

  • Hearing representation

    Preparation and representation at the Board or Divisional Court.

No two matters are alike, so we price yours once we know the facts. You will know the fee before any work starts.

Screening call: 15 minutes, complimentary. Full consultation: 45 minutes, $150 incl. HST.

Book the complimentary call

Questions

How much can I raise the rent this year?

For most units, by no more than the guideline for the calendar year in which the increase takes effect. It is 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027. An increase starting on January 1, 2027 uses the 2027 figure, even if you gave the notice in 2026. On a rent of $1,000, a 1.9% increase is $19.00. Newer units first occupied after November 15, 2018 may be exempt. Going above the guideline needs an N10 agreement with your tenant or a Board order on an L5.

My building is new. Do the rent increase rules still apply?

Most of them do. The guideline does not apply if no part of the building was occupied for residential purposes on or before November 15, 2018, so the increase has no set limit. You must still give at least 90 days’ written notice, on the N2, and wait 12 months between increases. The exemption does not cover a tenancy agreement made on or before that date. If your tenant disputes it at the Board, you must prove the exemption applies, so keep records such as building and occupancy permits.

What happens if my rent increase notice was late or wrong?

An increase given with fewer than 90 days’ written notice is void. You must give a new notice before you can take it, and the Board cannot shorten the 90 days. If your tenant pays a void increase for 12 months in a row and does not apply to the Board within a year of first being charged, it is treated as valid. If the notice asks for more than the guideline without an order or agreement, your tenant is treated as accepting only the increase the Act allows.

Sources (31)

Legal statements on this page come from Ontario's laws and regulations, the Landlord and Tenant Board's own forms, instructions and rules, and the other official sources listed below.

  1. A landlord shall not increase the rent without first giving the tenant at least 90 days written notice (RTA s. 116(1)). Ontario e-Laws
  2. The notice must be in a form approved by the Board and set out the intention to increase the rent and the amount of the new rent (RTA s. 116(3)). Ontario e-Laws
  3. Rent may be increased only if at least 12 months have elapsed since the last increase for that tenant, or since the unit was first rented to that tenant (RTA s. 119(1)). Ontario e-Laws
  4. Ways to give the N1: hand to the tenant or an adult in the unit, mailbox or where mail is delivered, under the door or through a mail slot, fax, courier or mail; not by posting it on the door (N1 instructions, Section C). Tribunals Ontario
  5. A notice given by mail is deemed given on the fifth day after mailing (RTA s. 191(3)). Ontario e-Laws
  6. No increase during the tenancy of more than the guideline, except under s. 126 or 127 or an agreement under s. 121 or 123 (RTA s. 120(1)). Ontario e-Laws
  7. The Minister determines the guideline for each calendar year from the Ontario Consumer Price Index; it shall be not more than 2.5 per cent (RTA s. 120(2)). Ontario e-Laws
  8. The guideline used is the one for the calendar year in which the increase takes effect: the government's example applies the 2027 guideline to an increase on June 1, 2027 (Residential rent increases page, updated June 23, 2026). Government of Ontario
  9. The government announces the guideline by August 31 for rent increases that take effect on or after January 1 of the following year (LTB, A Guide to the Residential Tenancies Act). Tribunals Ontario
  10. Rent increase guideline: 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027 (Residential rent increases page, updated June 23, 2026). Government of Ontario
  11. Use the N1 for most increases, the N2 if the unit is exempt from the rules limiting the amount of an increase, the N3 for a care home and the N10 for an agreed increase (N1 instructions, Section B). Tribunals Ontario
  12. Guideline sections do not apply to a unit in a building, or entirely in an addition, no part of which was occupied for residential purposes on or before November 15, 2018 (RTA s. 6.1(2)). Ontario e-Laws
  13. Exemption for a unit in a detached, semi-detached or row house that had no more than two residential units on or before November 15, 2018: own bathroom and kitchen, each entrance able to be secured from inside and one lockable from outside, became such a unit after that date, and the owner lived in another unit when it was first occupied or it was unfinished space (RTA s. 6.1(3)). Ontario e-Laws
  14. The exemption does not apply to a tenancy whose tenancy agreement was entered into on or before November 15, 2018, but does apply to later tenancies (RTA s. 6.1(4), (5)). Ontario e-Laws
  15. The landlord has the onus of proving the exemption applies (RTA s. 6.1(6)). Ontario e-Laws
  16. For an exempt unit the landlord must still give at least 90 days' written notice on the proper form, with no limit on the size of the increase (LTB, A Guide to the Residential Tenancies Act); ss. 116 and 119 are not among the sections s. 6.1 disapplies (RTA s. 6.1(2), (3)). Tribunals Ontario
  17. Agreed increase above the guideline for a specified capital expenditure or a new or additional service, on the approved form, at most the guideline plus 3 per cent; the tenant may cancel within five days; in force no earlier than six days after signing; no notice of rent increase needed (RTA s. 121(1)-(6)). Ontario e-Laws
  18. Rent may be increased as prescribed at any time by agreement to add a parking space or a prescribed service, despite ss. 116 and 119 (RTA s. 123); such an increase is not an increase for the 12-month rule (RTA s. 119(2)). Ontario e-Laws
  19. Where the landlord supplies electricity, the rent may be increased for a tenant's window or portable air conditioner, by no more than the electricity cost; ss. 116, 119 and 120 do not apply (RTA s. 36.1(5), (7), (11), in force 01/07/2026). Ontario e-Laws
  20. Grounds for an above-guideline application: extraordinary increase in municipal taxes and charges, eligible capital expenditures, operating costs for security services by persons not employed by the landlord (RTA s. 126(1)). Ontario e-Laws
  21. The application must be made at least 90 days before the effective date of the first intended rent increase (RTA s. 126(3)). Ontario e-Laws
  22. The 90-day notice applies even if the increase is under an order under s. 126 (RTA s. 116(2)). Ontario e-Laws
  23. The part justified by capital expenditures and security services is limited to 3 per cent a year, with any remainder in the two following 12-month periods, up to 3 per cent each (RTA s. 126(11)). Ontario e-Laws
  24. Until the order takes effect, the landlord cannot require more than the lesser of the new rent in the notice and the most it could charge without applying (RTA s. 126(5)). Ontario e-Laws
  25. An increase is void if the required notice was not given; the landlord must give a new notice before taking the increase (RTA s. 116(4)). Ontario e-Laws
  26. The Board may not extend or shorten the 90-day notice period in s. 116 or the 12-month period in s. 119(1) (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56, paras. 12 and 13). Ontario e-Laws
  27. A tenant who does not give notice of termination after a notice of rent increase is deemed to accept whatever increase the Act allows (RTA s. 118). Ontario e-Laws
  28. An N1 cannot be given by posting it on the door of the tenant's rental unit (N1 instructions, Section C). Tribunals Ontario
  29. An L5 must come with evidence of the costs and of their payment (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 22(1); L5 instructions, Section D). Ontario e-Laws
  30. A void increase is deemed not void if the tenant paid it for at least 12 consecutive months, unless the tenant applied within one year after it was first charged (RTA s. 135.1(1), (2)). Ontario e-Laws
  31. Rent and rent increases are deemed lawful unless an application is made within one year after the amount was first charged (RTA s. 136(1), (2)). Ontario e-Laws

Every month of delay is another month of rent.

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