How does rent work in Canada?

Your lease sets when, where and how rent is paid, and rent not paid on the due date is a breach because there is no grace period. The landlord can serve a 14-day notice for unpaid rent, and paying everything owed by the termination date cancels it. The Act does not require receipts, but the government recommends them. A late fee is allowed only if the lease has one, and it must reflect the landlord's actual loss.

Alberta sets no limit on how much rent can go up. At least 365 days must pass between increases, and a monthly tenancy needs 3 full tenancy months' written notice. If the 365th day falls inside a fixed term, rent cannot go up until that term ends. A security deposit can be up to one month's rent, measured on the rent at the start of the tenancy and never raised later, and the 2026 interest rate is 0%.

Rent is due by midnight on the day stated in the tenancy agreement. If it is late by even one day, the landlord can serve a 10 Day Notice for unpaid rent. The landlord must give a receipt for cash, and a late fee of up to $25 is allowed only if the agreement provides for it.

Increases are capped at 2.3% for 2026 and 2.2% for 2027, once every 12 months, with three full months' notice on form RTB-7. Going above the cap needs your written agreement or an arbitrator's order. A landlord can require a security deposit of up to half a month's rent and one pet damage deposit of up to half a month's rent, with both together no more than one month's rent. Application fees and monthly pet fees are banned.

Rent is due on the dates in the tenancy agreement, and a term making rent payable earlier is void. Once rent is 3 days late, the landlord can give a notice of termination. Landlords must give a written receipt for cash without being asked, and automatic debit and pre-authorized payments count as cash. A landlord cannot require postdated cheques. A late fee is up to $10 plus $2 a day, to $100, and only after written notice.

The guideline is 1.8% for 2026 and 3.0% for 2027, with 3 months' written notice, once in any 12-month period. It does not apply to units renting for $1,670 or more a month in 2026 ($2,000 or more in 2027), to buildings first occupied after March 2005 during their first 20 years, or to various types of social housing. The security deposit is up to half of the first month's rent, with a pet damage deposit of up to one month's rent, and the 2026 interest rate is 0.5%.

The written tenancy agreement must state the day rent is due. Landlords must give a receipt for rent paid in cash, and a landlord cannot demand or collect money to be used for rent that comes due in the future. The Act lets a landlord end the tenancy by notice once rent has been unpaid for 15 days or more after the due date, though the regulations say more than 15 days, so ask the Office of Residential Tenancies how it applies to you. We found no rule on late fees in the Act or regulations.

We found no limit on the amount of an increase in Saskatchewan. Most landlords must give 12 months' written notice, the first increase cannot take effect until 18 months after the tenancy started, and after that rent can rise once every 12 months. A landlord who is a member in good standing of a prescribed landlord association needs only 6 months' notice. The security deposit is one per tenancy, up to one month's rent, with at most half required at signing.

The lease sets the due date, and the law has no default day. A landlord must give a free receipt on request for any payment, not only cash. Neither the landlord nor the lease can require postdated cheques or automatic debit, and once a payment method is agreed it changes only if both of you agree. Late fees are not allowed. For notices given on or after September 21, 2026, an N4 for unpaid rent gives 7 days.

The guideline is 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027, with 90 days' written notice on a Landlord and Tenant Board form (usually the N1), no more than once every 12 months. It does not cover most units first lived in after November 15, 2018. Ontario does not allow a security deposit or a pet deposit: only a last month's rent deposit and a refundable key deposit. Application fees are banned (section 134).

The Standard Form of Lease, which landlords must use, sets the first payment date and the day rent is due. A landlord cannot require a prepayment of the last month's rent or a single payment larger than the regular payments. The Act does not require receipts, but the government advises asking for them for the deposit and every rent payment. The only late fee allowed is the bank's actual NSF charge for a bounced cheque, and only if the lease says so. A Notice to Vacate for unpaid rent is at least 15 days.

New Brunswick has a binding 3% cap, kept in place for 2027, and 6 months' written notice as a separate document. A notice for more than 3% is treated as a 3% increase. The security deposit is up to one month's rent (one week for a weekly tenancy), and no interest is paid to the tenant.

The standard lease has a blank for the day rent is due and boxes for how it is paid: cash, pre-authorized withdrawal, postdated cheques, cheque or other. From the 4th day after rent is due, the landlord can serve a notice for unpaid rent. A late fee is allowed only if the lease includes one, up to 1% of the monthly rent per month. We found no rule requiring rent receipts, so keep your own record of each payment.

Increases for existing tenants are capped at 5% for 2026 and 2027, with 4 months' written notice for a monthly tenancy, and the cap law ends after December 31, 2027. A new tenant's starting rent is not capped. The security deposit is up to half a month's rent, a pet deposit is not allowed, and application fees are banned.

The tenancy agreement must state the day rent is due and how often it is paid. Rent must be paid when due even if the landlord is not complying with the Act, unless the Act gives an express right to deduct or withhold. There is no grace period: the landlord can serve a Form 4A unpaid rent notice the day after rent is due. Landlords must give a receipt for cash. The Act does not list a late fee among the fees a landlord may charge.

The allowable increase is 2% for 2026 and 2.1% for 2027, and it applies to all rental units. The landlord gives 3 months' notice on Form 8, and rent cannot be raised automatically between tenants. A landlord can take one security deposit of up to one month's rent, with interest of 2.75% for 2026. No pet, key or holding deposit is allowed, and application fees are banned.

The rental agreement sets the due date and time. If rent is due on the 1st and no time is stated, it is due by midnight on the 1st and is not overdue until the 2nd. A landlord cannot require or accept a prepayment of the last week's or month's rent, or a single payment larger than the regular ones. A landlord must give a receipt for any payment when you ask. The late fee is $5 for the first day and $2 for each further day, up to $75, and a notice for unpaid rent is possible once rent is 5 days overdue.

Newfoundland and Labrador sets no limit on the amount of an increase. The landlord must give 6 months' written notice for a monthly or fixed-term tenancy, rent cannot go up in the first 12 months, and it cannot go up during a fixed term. A security deposit is up to three quarters of the first month's rent for a monthly or fixed-term tenancy, and separate pet deposits are not allowed.