Ontario Rent Increase Rules 2026: The Complete Landlord Guide

The 2026 guideline and who it applies to

The 2026 Ontario rent increase guideline is 2.5 percent. It applies to most residential units covered by the Residential Tenancies Act where the tenancy began on or before November 15, 2018. Units first occupied after that date are generally exempt from the guideline but still subject to the 12-month and 90-day notice rules.

The guideline is the maximum increase a landlord can apply without Board approval. You are allowed to increase by less, and many landlords do, especially when they want to retain a strong tenant rather than risk turnover.

When you can actually raise the rent

Two timing rules govern every increase. First, at least 12 months must pass between increases for the same tenant, including between the start of the tenancy and the first increase. Second, the tenant must receive at least 90 days of written notice before the new rent takes effect.

Missing either rule invalidates the increase. The tenant can keep paying the old rent and the landlord cannot quietly fix it later by sending a new notice with a shorter window.

• 12 months since the last increase or the start of tenancy
• 90 days of written notice on the correct form
• Increase amount within the 2026 guideline of 2.5 percent (unless exempt or AGI approved)
• Notice delivered through a channel the tenant can be shown to have received

Using the N1 and N2 forms correctly

Form N1 is used for the standard guideline increase. Form N2 is used when the unit is exempt from the guideline, such as newer buildings first occupied after November 15, 2018. Using the wrong form is a frequent reason tenants successfully push back.

Both forms require the current rent, the new rent, the effective date, and the tenant's address. Keep a copy with a delivery date stamped on it, the same way you would treat a lease amendment.

Above-guideline increases (AGI)

An AGI is filed with the LTB when a landlord wants to raise rent beyond the guideline because of capital expenditures, extraordinary increases in municipal taxes, or operating cost increases related to security services. AGIs are not casual: they require itemized supporting documents, contractor invoices, and a formal application.

Most three-to-thirty-unit landlords never file an AGI because the paperwork outweighs the benefit. If you do consider one, keep capital expenditure receipts and scope of work clearly attached to the specific unit or building in your records.

What to put in writing and how to track it

Every increase should be tied to the lease and to the tenant record, with the notice date, the effective date, the old rent, and the new rent visible at a glance. When this lives only in a personal inbox or a spreadsheet, the next increase cycle becomes an annual scramble.

TenantBay's Rent & Payments and Leases modules carry the historical rent on each tenancy, so reminders can fire 90 days before an eligible increase window opens. That turns a compliance task into a recurring step instead of something you remember when a tenant asks.