Ontario's pandemic rent freeze is coming to an end

Oct 8 2021, 2:52 pm

Ontario’s year-long pandemic rent freeze is ending in January, and notices of rent increase are already being sent to some tenants.

To help renters during the pandemic, the Government of Ontario froze rent at 2020 levels for all of 2021. But that rent freeze expires at the end of December, meaning landlords can increase rent starting January 1, 2022.

Landlords need to give tenants 90 days’ notice if they’re raising the rent, meaning tenants who will have to pay more in January should have already received a letter.

The province caps rent increases according to inflation rates, and this year the highest permitted increase is 1.2%.

Landlords must also wait a minimum of 12 months since the last rent increase to hike rents again. The tenant must also have occupied the dwelling for at least a year before the rent is increased.

If a tenant believes they’ve been served an erroneous rent increase, they can contact the Landlord Tenant Board.

Megan DevlinMegan Devlin

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