Ontario raises maximum allowable rent increase as rent freezes end

TORONTO — Ontario renters may soon be paying more for their accommodations after the province hiked its rent increase guidelines today.

The province says it has set its rent increase guideline for 2022 at 1.2 per cent.

The guideline is the maximum a landlord can increase a tenants’ rent during a year without the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.

The guidelines apply to most rented apartments, condos, houses and care and mobile homes, but there are some exceptions for vacant residential units, community housing properties and commercial units.

This year’s guideline is lower than 2020’s 2.2 per cent increase, but comes after the province mandated a rent freeze in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rentals.ca says the average rent in the Greater Toronto Area sat at about $2,167 per month in November, and in the city alone is projected to hit $2,495 per month by the end of the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 1, 2022.

The Canadian Press