- How much can I increase the rent in Ontario in 2026?
- 2.1% for 2026, and 1.9% for 2027, for units covered by the guideline. Increasing by more requires an above-guideline application to and approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board.
- How much notice is required for a rent increase?
- At least 90 days' written notice in the proper form, and at least 12 months must have passed since the last increase or since the tenancy began.
- Which units are exempt from the guideline?
- Most significantly, buildings first occupied for residential purposes after 15 November 2018 — new-build rental stock is outside the guideline entirely. Community housing, long-term care homes and commercial properties are also excluded, and the guideline does not apply when a tenancy changes and a new rent is negotiated with a new tenant.
The guideline, and the two timing rules around it
The 2026 rent increase guideline is 2.1%; 2027 is set at 1.9%. The guideline is capped at 2.5% by statute, which prevents an inflationary year producing a single large increase.
Two timing rules govern every increase regardless of amount. Written notice must be given in the proper form at least 90 days before the increase takes effect, and at least 12 months must have passed since the last increase or since the tenancy began. Both are hard requirements: an increase served 89 days out is not a slightly late increase, it is an invalid one.
The post-2018 exemption is the consequential one
The guideline does not apply to buildings occupied for the first time for residential purposes after 15 November 2018. For an operator whose portfolio includes recent purpose-built rental stock, that single line matters more than the guideline percentage — those units sit outside the annual cap altogether, and are governed by the lease and the market rather than by the guideline.
It is also the line most likely to be applied wrongly in both directions: to a renovated older building that does not qualify, or overlooked entirely on a new build where it does. First residential occupancy of the building is the test, not the date of your purchase and not the date of the tenancy.
The other exclusions
Community housing, long-term care homes and commercial properties are outside the guideline. In care homes it applies to the rent portion of the bill but not to services such as nursing, food or cleaning. And it does not apply when a tenancy changes — a landlord and a new tenant negotiate the rent for a new tenancy freely.
Going above the guideline
A landlord can apply to the Board for an increase above the guideline in defined circumstances, such as extraordinary increases in municipal taxes or utilities, or eligible capital expenditures. This is an application with evidence and a hearing, not a notice — and it runs on the Board's timetable, so it is not a route to a rent change on a schedule of your choosing.
Direct PMS tracks the last increase date per tenancy, so the twelve-month rule and the ninety-day notice are both counted from the record.
Rent roll in Direct PMS →Toronto regulates short-term rentals through mandatory registration, not a discretionary licence — and the rules differ sharply depending on whether you're renting a whole unit or a room in your own home.
MAT applies to almost every short stay in Toronto, and the rate has moved twice in the last fourteen months — as of 8 August 2026 it's back down to 6%, after a temporary jump to 8.5%.
Every residential property owner in Toronto must declare occupancy status every year — even an occupied home — or the property is automatically deemed vacant and taxed at 3% of its assessed value.
MAT is set city by city, and almost nothing about it is uniform — not the rate, not the stay length that triggers it, not how often you remit. Rates below are taken from each municipality's own published pages, not from an aggregator.