The closest thing Ontario has to actual widespread rent controls is a ceiling on the maximum amount by which landlords can raise prices each year, but only in rental units created and occupied before November 15, 2018.
So, if you are lucky enough to live in the same apartment or flat for nearly four years, your rent (at the moment) can increase by only 1.2% – the current direction to increase rent for 2022.
That is about to change, the provincial government announced on Wednesday, when the rent increase ceiling more than doubled early next year, reaching 2.5 per cent.
But hey, it could have been worse: according to the Ford government, the ceiling would have been set at 5.3 percent in 2023 if they had followed inflation.
“The guidelines for increasing Ontario’s rent for 2023 are 2.5 percent, below current inflation rates. The guidelines for increasing the rent are the maximum amount that the landlord can increase the rent during the year for most tenants without the approval of the Council of Landlords and Tenants, “reads a news release issued by the province today.
“The guidelines are based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada, using data that reflects economic conditions over the past year. Due to recent inflation, this would lead to a target of 5.3 percent for 2023, but the guidelines are limited to protect tenants from significant rent increases. “
How benevolent.
The announcement states that this increase ceiling will only apply to about 1.4 million rental households covered by the Housing Rental Act.
“This does not apply to rental units occupied for the first time since November 15, 2018, vacant housing units, municipal housing, long-term care homes or commercial properties,” the statement said.
“The rent increase is not automatic or mandatory. Landlords may increase rent only if they have given the tenants at least 90 days’ written notice, using the correct form. In addition, at least 12 months must have elapsed since the first day of the lease or the last increase in the rent. If the tenant considers that he has received an incorrect increase in rent, he may apply to the Council of Landlords and Tenants to request an adjustment. “
Those in units that are not covered by the oft-criticized Ontario Rental Control Guidelines are not covered by these rules at all, so play well with your landlord if you live in a newer building, and consider how long the space has been. used as a rental property before you move in.
The new structures may be nice, but they don’t come with the same protections as homes inhabited for the first time before 2018. If you can really consider them protection at all.
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