Can a landlord raise the rent anytime?

Yes, but only at set intervals. After the first increase, rent can go up again once every 12 months, each time with a new written notice. The one exception is Saskatchewan, where a landlord who belongs to a prescribed landlord association can raise it every 6 months. In British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI, each increase also has to stay within that year's limit unless the unit is exempt.

Yes, once the waiting period has passed and with written notice: 3 tenancy months in Alberta, 3 full months in British Columbia, 3 months in Manitoba and PEI, 90 days in Ontario, 4 months in Nova Scotia, 6 months in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, and 12 months in Saskatchewan (6 for members of a prescribed landlord association). Being month to month does not let a landlord skip the notice or go above a provincial limit.

For 2026 the limit is 2.3% in British Columbia, 1.8% in Manitoba, 2.1% in Ontario, 3% in New Brunswick, 5% in Nova Scotia and 2% in PEI, for units the limit covers. Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador set no limit on the amount, and we found none in Saskatchewan. The 2027 figures and the exempt units are on how much a landlord can increase rent.

A periodic tenancy runs week to week or month to month. First check that enough time has passed since the tenancy started or since the last increase. Then serve written notice for the full period, on the set form where there is one: RTB-7 in British Columbia, usually the N1 in Ontario, Form 8 in PEI and the Landlord's Notice to Increase Rent in Newfoundland and Labrador. Weekly tenancies have their own periods in some provinces, such as 12 tenancy weeks in Alberta, 8 weeks in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, and 3 weeks in PEI. Keep the new rent within any provincial limit unless you have the approval your province requires.

The switch to month to month does not by itself allow a bigger increase. The same yearly limit, 12-month rule and notice period apply. In Nova Scotia the cap also covers a new fixed-term lease with the same tenant, and in British Columbia signing a new fixed-term lease does not count as agreeing to an increase above the cap. Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador set no limit on the amount, only on timing and notice, and we found no limit on the amount in Saskatchewan.

Calgary follows Alberta's rules, and Alberta sets no limit on the amount. The landlord must wait 365 days from the start of the tenancy or the last increase, whichever is later, and give at least 3 tenancy months' written notice for a monthly tenancy. The government notes that the common law does not allow a landlord to evict by way of an unfairly large increase. To see what comparable places rent for, try the SQRFT rent estimator.

No, with one exception. Rent can go up only once in any 12-month period (365 days in Alberta). In Saskatchewan, a landlord who is a member in good standing of a prescribed landlord association can raise rent every 6 months once the first increase is allowed. In Newfoundland and Labrador, government policy says signing a new agreement with the same tenant for the same unit does not restart the 12-month count.

Usually not. In most provinces covered here, rent cannot go up in the first 12 months of a tenancy (365 days in Alberta), and most Saskatchewan landlords must wait 18 months. In British Columbia and PEI the 12 months run from when rent was first payable, and in Manitoba from when the unit was first occupied as a rental unit, not from the current tenant's move-in. In New Brunswick the landlord and tenant can agree otherwise in writing, but that does not lift the 3% cap.

A new lease with the same landlord does not set aside the increase rules. In Ontario, any increase in a renewed lease must follow the Act's rent increase rules, and in British Columbia the notice and timing rules apply between fixed-term leases with the same tenant. Nova Scotia's 5% cap covers a new fixed-term lease with the same tenant. In Newfoundland and Labrador the landlord and tenant can agree to a new fixed term at a higher rent once the old term ends.

The result depends on the province. In Alberta, a notice that does not meet the rules is void. In Saskatchewan, the increase takes effect on the earliest date the rules allow, and in New Brunswick a notice for more than 3% is treated as a notice for 3%. For how to challenge one, see can a tenant refuse a rent increase.

Not in the provinces that limit the amount. For 2026 the limit is 2.3% in British Columbia, 1.8% in Manitoba, 2.1% in Ontario, 3% in New Brunswick, 5% in Nova Scotia and 2% in PEI, for the units each limit covers. Going above a limit takes the route that province sets out, such as the tenant's written agreement or an application to the tenancy office, and in New Brunswick a notice for more than 3% is treated as a notice for 3%. In Nova Scotia we found no landlord route above the 5% cap.

Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador set no limit on the amount, and we found none in Saskatchewan, but the notice and timing rules still apply. Alberta's government notes that the common law does not allow a landlord to evict by way of an unfairly large increase. SQRFT advice, not law: if a notice looks far too high, check the notice period and ask your tenancy office before you agree or move out.

In the rent increase rules we reviewed, none requires a landlord to give a reason for an increase. Apart from the routes for going above a limit, the Acts regulate the amount where there is a limit, the written notice and how often rent can go up. So the landlord does not have to justify the increase, but must wait out the required time since the tenancy began or the last increase (12 months in most of these provinces, 365 days in Alberta, and 18 months from the start of the tenancy in Saskatchewan) and give the full notice: 3 months in British Columbia, Manitoba and PEI, 3 tenancy months in Alberta for a monthly tenancy, 90 days in Ontario, 4 months in Nova Scotia, 6 months in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, and 12 months in Saskatchewan (6 for members of a prescribed landlord association).

SQRFT advice, not law: you can ask why, but check the date, the amount and the notice period instead. The limits for each province are on how much a landlord can increase rent.

Only where your province allows it, and always with the normal notice and once-a-year rules. In Newfoundland and Labrador, government policy says a landlord shall not increase rent during a fixed-term agreement, though the two sides may agree to a new fixed term at a higher rent. In Alberta, if the 365th day falls inside the fixed term, the increase must wait until the term ends, even if the lease says rent rises automatically on a set date. In Saskatchewan the amount and the date must be agreed when the fixed term is signed, and in Nova Scotia the lease itself must state the amount and dates of any increase.

For British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and PEI we found no plain statement that bars an increase inside a fixed term, and the usual notice, 12-month and limit rules apply (in New Brunswick and PEI the Acts set the notice period for fixed terms as well). Ask your tenancy office how it treats your lease before relying on a mid-term increase.

Yes, but no faster than the normal rules allow. What happens when a fixed term ends differs. In Ontario the tenancy rolls into month to month automatically, in British Columbia it continues month to month on the same terms unless a valid vacate clause ends it, and in PEI it is deemed renewed as a monthly tenancy with the same rights and obligations. In Alberta it becomes periodic if the landlord keeps accepting rent, in New Brunswick accepting rent creates a new tenancy whose term follows the way rent is paid, in Nova Scotia it becomes month to month if the tenant stays with the owner's consent, and in Newfoundland and Labrador it continues on the same terms. In Manitoba the landlord must offer a renewal at least 3 months ahead, and if not and the tenant stays, the agreement is deemed renewed for the same term or 12 months, whichever is less. In Saskatchewan a fixed term ends on its end date unless a new agreement is made, and we found no rollover rule.

Wherever the tenancy continues, any increase still needs the full written notice, the wait since the last increase and, where there is one, the provincial limit. In Ontario a landlord who wants a higher rent in a new lease must still follow the Act's rent increase rules, and in British Columbia signing a new fixed-term lease does not count as agreeing to an increase above the limit. SQRFT advice, not law: check the notice period and the limit before you sign a renewal at a higher rent.