Ontario increases amount landlords can raise rent by highest level in a decade
Ontario is more than doubling the maximum rate a landlord can raise a tenant's rent next year – marking the highest rent increase guideline in the province in a decade.
On Wednesday, the province announced Ontario’s rent increase guideline for 2023 is 2.5 per cent.
Previously, landlords were allowed to raise rent by 1.2 per cent in 2022, following a rent freeze that rolled out in 2020 to help Ontarians through the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last time Ontario’s rent increase guidelines reached 2.5 per cent was in 2013.
“As Ontario families face the rising cost of living, our government is providing stability and predictability to the vast majority of tenants by capping the rent increase guideline below inflation at 2.5 per cent,” Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The guideline is based on Ontario’s Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada that uses data that reflects economic conditions over the past year.
This follows an unprecedented move from the Bank of Canada earlier this month, increasing its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 1.5 per cent for the second time in two months.
If Ontario’s rent increase matched recent inflation, the 2023 guideline would have surged to 5.3 per cent. “However the guideline is capped to help protect tenants from significant rent increases,” the province said.
The new rent guideline comes on the heels of a report that found rent prices in Toronto rose by 20 per cent over the last year. On average, rent prices in the city rose to $2,474 in May, up from $2,035 a year ago. That marked the most substantial monthly increase in rent prices since 2019, before the pandemic began.
The government says rent increases are not automatic or mandatory. They are the maximum amount a landlord can raise a tenants’ rent without the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.
Landlords must give tenants at least 90 days’ written notice before pursuing a rent hike. At least 12 months must have passed since either the first day of the tenancy or the last rent increase.
The 2023 rent increase is applicable between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
A child killer legally changed his name in B.C. The province is trying to stop that from happening again
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.