Ontario caps how much most landlords can raise the rent each year. For 2026 the guideline is 2.1%. A landlord in a rent-controlled unit can raise rent by at most that much, once every 12 months, with 90 days written notice on the proper form (N1).
The big exemption
Units first occupied for residential use after November 15, 2018 are exempt from the guideline entirely. Notice rules still apply, but there is no cap on the size of the increase while you stay. Most buildings on this site show a rent-control estimate based on their reported year built: buildings from 2018–2019 are borderline and worth verifying, because what matters legally is first occupancy, not construction start.
How to check your building
Search your address on this site: each building page shows the year built from its RentSafeTO registration and our rent-control estimate. To be certain, ask the landlord in writing when the unit was first occupied, or call the Landlord and Tenant Board.
Increases above the guideline
A landlord can apply to the LTB for an Above-Guideline Increase (AGI) for major capital work, unusual tax increases, or security services. AGI applications appear as L5 orders; building pages here show any L5 orders published for the address. Between tenancies there is no cap at all — when a unit turns over, the landlord can set a new rent (vacancy decontrol).
What leaving actually costs: the turnover gap, measured
Vacancy decontrol is not an abstraction — CMHC measures it every October. In the October 2025 survey, a vacant 1-bedroom in a City of Toronto purpose-built rental averaged $2,020 while sitting tenants in the same buildings paid $1,754; for 2-bedrooms it was $2,567 against $2,044 — a premium of roughly 15–26% just for walking in the door. Tenants respond exactly as you would expect: only 8.6% of Toronto units changed hands that year, one of the lowest turnover rates on record. In some zones the gap is far wider — in East York a vacant 2-bedroom averaged $2,705 against $1,801 for sitting tenants, about 50% more. Every building page on this site shows the vacant-versus-sitting figures for its own zone. The practical rule: a rent-controlled unit becomes more valuable every year you keep it, and giving one up in this market has a measurable price.
Adapted from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Rental Market Survey, October 2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by CMHC of this product.