Renting In Ontario: What Tenants and Owners Need to Know
Ontario’s rental market can be overwhelming for both tenants and landlords, given the fast-changing regulations, rising rent costs and growing demand for housing. Rent control is consistently at the centre of these conversations.
What Is Rent Control?
Rent control is a set of rules that limit how much a landlord can increase rent for a tenant. It was designed to protect tenants from excessive rent hikes and ensure rental housing remains affordable.
In Ontario, any apartment, house, condo, basement or mobile home that was built prior to November 15, 2018, is covered by rent control. These rents cannot go up more than the province’s recommended rent increase guideline each year. For 2025, the allowable rent increase is 2.5%.
For buildings built after November 15, 2018, rent control does not apply. Landlords can set the rent and increase it without the same restrictions as older buildings.
What Does Rent Control Mean for Tenants?
Rent control is important for renters because it’s what protects their rent from huge increases – especially during a housing crisis. But with newer units, a landlord could increase their tenants’ rent significantly. Leaving many renters without affordable housing.
Rent control doesn’t prevent rent increases altogether. It limits the frequency and magnitude of the hikes and provides tenants with more stability. But this only applies to existing tenants. A landlord is free to set a new market rent price when a new tenant moves in.
Landlords are free to increase their tenant’s rent every 12 months after the last increase or 12 months after you’ve moved in. They do need to give at least 90 days notice before charging you more.
What Does Rent Control Mean for Landlords?
For landlords, rent control can feel like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it creates a stable income by preventing tenants from leaving due to unaffordable rent increases. On the other hand, rent control can limit a landlord’s ability to keep up with rising costs like property taxes or utility prices.
If a landlord wishes to increase rent beyond the allowed limit, they must contact the Landlord and Tenant Board, to determine whether a unit is exempt from the rent increase guideline.
Rent control critics argue that it discourages new construction and upgrades to existing rental units by landlords. But those who support it say the benefits to tenants outweigh the negatives.
While rent control in Ontario provides stability and affordability in a housing market that continues to rise and rise in price, it’s still a divisive topic.
March 3, 2025
