Ontario's 2027 rent increase is capped at 1.9% — check the notice before you pay it

Ontario has set the 2027 rent increase guideline at 1.9% — down from 2.1% in 2026 and the lowest figure since 2022. It applies to increases taking effect on or after January 1, 2027, and because the province requires 90 days' written notice, the earliest a landlord can serve one for a January 1 increase is October 3, 2026. For a lot of renters, that notice arrives before the guideline is on anyone's radar.

What 1.9% actually costs

The percentage is small; the base it applies to isn't.

• $1,800/month → up $34.20, or $410 over the year.
• $2,400/month → up $45.60, or $547 over the year.
• $3,000/month → up $57.00, or $684 over the year.

That's the increase compounding on top of every previous one — 2.1% in 2026 and 2.5% in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025 before it.

Three tests for a valid notice

A rent increase notice is only enforceable if all three hold:

• Timing: at least 12 months since your last increase, or since the tenancy began.
• Notice: at least 90 days in writing, on the Landlord and Tenant Board's prescribed form N1 — not an email, not a letter.
• Amount: no more than 1.9%, unless your unit is exempt or the LTB has approved a larger increase.

If the notice is late, on the wrong form, or above the guideline without approval, you can dispute it at the Landlord and Tenant Board — but only within 12 months of the amount first being charged.

The exemption that catches people

The guideline covers most rented houses, apartments, basement apartments, condos, care homes and mobile homes. It does not cover units first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018. If you're in a newer building or a recently finished basement unit, 1.9% is not a cap on your increase — the 90-day notice rule still applies, but the amount doesn't. The guideline also doesn't apply on turnover: when a tenancy ends, the landlord and the next tenant set the rent from scratch.

Above-guideline increases

Landlords can apply to the LTB for more than 1.9% — typically for major capital work, a municipal tax jump, or added security services. For capital expenditures, the Board generally can't award more than 3% above the guideline in a single year, with any excess carried into the following two years. These applications are contested and slow, often taking years to decide, and tenants have the right to make submissions.

Where the number comes from

The guideline tracks the Ontario Consumer Price Index, averaged over the 12 months from June of the prior year to May of the current one, and is capped at 2.5% by law. So 1.9% reflects inflation through May 2026 — and if Ontario CPI runs hot, the cap does the work.

The takeaway

Check three things when the notice lands: the date on it, the form number, and whether your building is even rent-controlled. Then decide whether the new rent still fits — the cost of living tool shows what housing costs where you live, and if the increases have started to stack up, the rent vs buy calculator is the more useful comparison.

Guideline and notice rules: Government of Ontario, Residential rent increases (updated June 23, 2026), and the Landlord and Tenant Board's guidance on above-guideline increases.