Rent regulation in Canada is a set of laws and policies which control the amount by which rental prices for

real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...

can increase year to year. Each province and territory can pass legislation, where the purpose is to limit rent prices increasing beyond what is affordable for most home dwellers.

By province & territory

Alberta

The '' Residential Tenancies Act and Regulations'' are the laws governing the rental of residential property and leading the relationship between the landlord and their tenants in the province of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. In Alberta, there is no limit to the rent amount landlords are permitted to charge. Rents can only be increased once a year for an existing tenant. A notice of rent increase must be provided three months in advance for periodic leases (a rolled-over fixed-term lease), and there is no notice requirements for fixed-term leases.

British Columbia

According to Mike Hagar for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', in BC rents can only be increased once a year for existing tenants. A rent increase cannot exceed 2.9 per cent in 2016. Written notice of a rent increase must be provided three months in advance.

Nova Scotia

The ''Residential Tenancies Act and Regulations'' are the laws governing the rental of residential property and leading the relationship between the landlord and their tenants in the province of Nova Scotia.

Ontario

Rent regulation was first introduced in Ontario under the '' National Housing Act, 1944''. The ''

Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 :''This is the Residential Tenancies Act of Ontario. For other jurisdictions, see Residential Tenancies Act (disambiguation).'' The ''Residential Tenancies Act, 2006'' (RTA 2006) is the law in the province of Ontario, Canada, that governs lan ...

'' is the current law in Ontario that governs

landlord and tenant A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a ...

relations in residential rental accommodations. The Act received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

on June 22, 2006 and was proclaimed into law on January 31, 2007. The Act repealed and replaced the ''Tenant Protection Act'', 1997, and created the

Landlord and Tenant Board The Landlord and Tenant Board (french: Commission de la location immobilière) is an adjudicative tribunal operating in the province of Ontario that provides dispute resolution of landlord and tenant matters under the ''Residential Tenancies Act ...

as a replacement for the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal.

Rent control in Ontario Rent control in Ontario refers to a system of rent regulation in Ontario, Canada which limits the amount by which the rent paid by tenants for rental accommodation can increase. It applies to any unit that was first occupied for residential purposes ...

formerly only applied to units that were first built or occupied before November 1, 1991. If the rental unit was in an apartment building constructed (or converted from a non-residential use) after November 1, 1991, then the rent control provisions of the ''Residential Tenancies Act, 2006'', did not apply. On April 20, 2017, Premier of Ontario

Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

, along with

Chris Ballard Chris Ballard may refer to: * Chris Ballard (American football), American football general manager for the Indianapolis Colts * Chris Ballard (journalist), American sports writer for ''Sports Illustrated'' * Chris Ballard (politician), Canadian ...

, Minister of Housing, announced the Fair Housing Plan. The plan includes a provision to roll-back the post-1991 rent control exemption such that all private rental units, including ones built or first occupied on or after November 1, 1991 will be subject to rent control. This change will be effective April 20, 2017 regardless of when the legislation is passed. Additionally, a concern of negative impact of rent control is that increasing rent prices for continuing tenants are generally smaller than new tenants. Thus, setting this policy might discourage residential mobility, actually a process that change lives and neighborhoods, since rent price increases for continuing tenants are generally smaller than for new residents.Gilderbloom, J. I., and J. P. Markham. 1996. "Moderate rent control: sixty cities over 20 years." ''

Journal of Urban Affairs The ''Journal of Urban Affairs'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published ten times per year by Routledge on behalf of the Urban Affairs Association. It was established in 1979 and the current editor-in-chief is Bernadette Hanlon (Ohio Sta ...

'' 18(4):409-10. .

Quebec

Saskatchewan

The ''Residential Tenancies Act and Regulations'' are the laws governing the rental of residential property and leading the relationship between the landlord and their tenants in the province of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. In Saskatchewan, there is no limit to the rent amount landlords are permitted to charge. Notice of rent increase must be provided two months or one year in advance, length of notice depending on if it is a fixed term lease.

Yukon

In the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, there is no limit to the rent landlords can set at the beginning of a lease. However, they can only increase rent once within 12 months by 2%, more only if the inflation rate of the previous calendar year was higher, but not more than 5% in any case. Furthermore, no-cause evictions have been banned. These rules are not codified in any law passed by the Yukon legislature, but by two Commissioner's Orders-In-Council (Yukon OIC 2023/32 and 2023/33). Exemptions exist where the Government is the landlord and the rent is tied to the tenant's income. Fixed term leases are permitted by the Act, but if the landlord allows the tenant to stay longer without entering into a new fixed term lease, the lease turns into a month-to-month lease that only the tenant can cancel without cause.

Notes

References

''Consultations to address affordable housing shortage''
by Laurie Monsebraaten (

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

, 20 July 2009)
''Pressure mounts for Ontario to extend rent controls to all tenants''
by Susan Pigg (

, 31 May 2013)
''Ontario NDP wants to close rent control loophole''
by William Wolfe-Wylie (

Postmedia News Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is a Canadian media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news ...

, 4 June 2013) *Gilderbloom, J. I., and J. P. Markham. 1996. "Moderate rent control: sixty cities over 20 years." ''