Landlord Self help Cntre

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Frequently Asked Questions

Your first stop for self-help is a review of our FAQs. Take a look at the ever increasing collection of questions asked by Ontario’s small-scale landlords as well as the actual answers provided by Landlord’s Self-Help Centre.

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I have a tenant that has occupied my rental unit for a few years. I have not increased his rent each year. Can I give him notice now to increase the rent for the years that I have missed?

No, if you have not increased the rent each year, you cannot claim it retroactively.

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Is there an exemption from rent control for residential rental units?

There is an exemption for rental units located in detached houses, semi-detached houses or row houses, not occupied for residential purposes on or before Nov. 15, 2018, and is subject to the following:

-the detached, semi-detached or row house contained not more than two residential units on or any time before November 15, 2018;

-the residential unit has its own bathroom and kitchen facilities; has one or more exterior and interior entrances; at each entrance the unit has a door equipped so it can be secured from the inside of the unit; and at least one door is capable of being locked from the outside;

-the owner, or one of the owners, lived in another residential unit in the house;

-or the house was unfinished space immediately before the rental unit became a residential unit.

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When will the current year’s rental increase guideline be published?

The guideline is usually announced in June for the following year. You can find more information about this on our website at https://landlordselfhelp.com/annual-rent-increase-guideline/ and at https://www.ontario.ca/page/rent-increase-guideline

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When a new owner takes possession of a rental property, can they increase the tenant’s rent?

When you purchase a property with tenants in possession, you assume whatever agreement they have in place with the previous owner. Therefore, when you take over as the new owner you are not allowed to increase the rent unless it’s by the allowable guideline amount and if the tenants have not had an increase in the past twelve months. To increase the rent, you must give the tenants a 90 day notice on a prescribed form which is a Form N1.

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We did not increase the rent last year. Can we add 2 years’ worth of increases this year? How much is the max increase?

If you don’t take an increase each year, you will not be able to recover it. In this case, you can only increase the rent by this year’s guideline amount. You can find a link to the current amount on our website at https://landlordselfhelp.com/annual-rent-increase-guideline/ and at https://www.ontario.ca/page/rent-increase-guideline

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I gave the tenant a 90-day notice for a guideline rent increase. A co-tenant moved out and wanted to be taken off the lease. A new lease was signed with the remaining tenant and now she is saying I can’t raise the rent for 1 year. Is that right?

You are still entitled to the rent increase in this case because this would not be considered a new tenancy. The tenancy continued and remains the same despite the fact that one of the tenants has moved out and she signed a new lease.