Christmas has come early for a number of Toronto residents, as the city has sent out its annual rent reduction notices.

Rent reduction in Toronto? Sounds impossible, we know.

But under Section 131 of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), tenants are actually entitled to an automatic rent reduction when their landlord’s property taxes have been reduced by more than 2.49% from one year to the next.

Considering couches in downtown Toronto are currently renting for $1,400 a month this reduction could not come at a better time.

And if it sounds too good to be true, trust us, it’s not.

Under the act, the city is required to send notices of the reduction to landlords by September 15 and to tenants by December 15. The reduction will come into effect on December 31 of that year.

Tenants have the right to implement the reduction and can simply plug the numbers into a calculator and subtract the amount from their monthly rent when it comes into effect.

And while the tenant doesn’t need permission to do so, the city does recommend that renters should speak to their landlords prior to the effective date.

Eligible properties include apartment buildings, rented townhouses, duplexes, detached houses, rooming houses, boarding and lodging homes, mobile home parks and land lease communities, rented condominiums, most private care homes and “for-profit” cooperatives that are rented.

For those that received this year’s notice, cheers to you. As for the rest of us, better luck next year.

See also

• The average cost of rent in Canadian cities for December 2018 (MAP)
• These are 10 of the most affordable houses currently for sale in Toronto
• Couches in downtown Toronto are now renting for $1400 a month apparently