Rent regulation in Canada

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Rent regulation in Canada is a set of laws and policies which control the amount by which rental prices for real property can increase year to year. Each province and territory can pass legislation, where the purpose is to limit rent prices increasing beyond what is affordable for most home dwellers.

## By province & territory

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### Alberta

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The Residential Tenancies Act and Regulations are the laws governing the rental of residential property and leading the relationship between the landlord and their tenants in the province of Alberta.

In Alberta, there is no limit to the rent amount landlords are permitted to charge. Rents can only be increased once a year for an existing tenant. A notice of rent increase must be provided three months in advance for periodic leases (a rolled-over fixed-term lease), and there is no notice requirements for fixed-term leases.

### British Columbia

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Main article: Rent control in British Columbia

According to Mike Hagar for The Globe and Mail, in BC rents can only be increased once a year for existing tenants. A rent increase cannot exceed 2.9 per cent in 2016. Written notice of a rent increase must be provided three months in advance.[1]

### Nova Scotia

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The Residential Tenancies Act and Regulations are the laws governing the rental of residential property and leading the relationship between the landlord and their tenants in the province of Nova Scotia.

### Ontario

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Main article: Rent control in Ontario

Rent regulation was first introduced in Ontario under the National Housing Act, 1944.

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 is the current law in Ontario that governs landlord and tenant relations in residential rental accommodations.[2] The Act received royal assent on June 22, 2006 and was proclaimed into law on January 31, 2007. The Act repealed and replaced the Tenant Protection Act, 1997, and created the Landlord and Tenant Board as a replacement for the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal.[3]

Rent control in Ontario formerly only applied to units that were first built or occupied before November 1, 1991.[4] If the rental unit was in an apartment building constructed (or converted from a non-residential use) after November 1, 1991, then the rent control provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, did not apply.[5] On April 20, 2017, Premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne, along with Chris Ballard, Minister of Housing, announced the Fair Housing Plan. The plan includes a provision to roll-back the post-1991 rent control exemption such that all private rental units, including ones built or first occupied on or after November 1, 1991 will be subject to rent control. This change will be effective April 20, 2017 regardless of when the legislation is passed.[6]

Additionally, a concern of negative impact of rent control is that increasing rent prices for continuing tenants are generally smaller than new tenants. Thus, setting this policy might discourage residential mobility, actually a process that change lives and neighborhoods, since rent price increases for continuing tenants are generally smaller than for new residents.[7]

### Quebec

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Main article: Tribunal administratif du logement

### Saskatchewan

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The Residential Tenancies Act and Regulations are the laws governing the rental of residential property and leading the relationship between the landlord and their tenants in the province of Saskatchewan.

In Saskatchewan, there is no limit to the rent amount landlords are permitted to charge. Notice of rent increase must be provided two months or one year in advance, length of notice depending on if it is a fixed term lease.

### Yukon

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In the Yukon, there is no limit to the rent landlords can set at the beginning of a lease. However, they can only increase rent once within 12 months by 2%, more only if the inflation rate of the previous calendar year was higher, but not more than 5% in any case. Furthermore, no-cause evictions have been banned.

These rules are not codified in any law passed by the Yukon legislature, but by two Commissioner's Orders-In-Council (Yukon OIC 2023/32 and 2023/33). Exemptions exist where the Government is the landlord and the rent is tied to the tenant's income.

Fixed term leases are permitted by the Act, but if the landlord allows the tenant to stay longer without entering into a new fixed term lease, the lease turns into a month-to-month lease that only the tenant can cancel without cause.

## See also

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* Rent regulation
* Rent control in England and Wales

## Notes

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1. ^ Hager, Mike (17 July 2016). "Critics say B.C. Laws don't offer renters enough protection". The Globe and Mail.
2. ^ Pierre Boiron; Claude Boiron (2010). Commercial Real Estate Investing in Canada: The Complete Reference for Real Estate Professionals. John Wiley & Sons. p. 698\. ISBN 978-0-470-73906-8.
3. ^ "Newsroom : Residential Tenancies Act Takes Effect January 31, 2007". News.ontario.ca. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
4. ^ "Map: Every rental in Toronto, and if it's protected by rent control | canada.com". o.canada.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-25.
5. ^ "Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 6(2)". E-Laws. Government of Ontario. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
6. ^ "Bye bye 1991 loophole — rent control to expand to all rental units in Ontario". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
7. ^ Gilderbloom, J. I., and J. P. Markham. 1996. "Moderate rent control: sixty cities over 20 years." Journal of Urban Affairs 18(4):409-10. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9906.1996.tb00388.x.

## References

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* Consultations to address affordable housing shortage by Laurie Monsebraaten (Toronto Star, 20 July 2009)
* Pressure mounts for Ontario to extend rent controls to all tenants by Susan Pigg (Toronto Star, 31 May 2013)
* Ontario NDP wants to close rent control loophole by William Wolfe-Wylie (Postmedia News, 4 June 2013)
* Gilderbloom, J. I., and J. P. Markham. 1996. "Moderate rent control: sixty cities over 20 years." Journal of Urban Affairs 18(4):409-10. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9906.1996.tb00388.x.

## External links

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* Residential Tenancies Act, 2006
* Tenant Protection Act, 1997
* Landlord and Tenant Board

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