Is there rent control in my province?

Rent control is a legal limit on how much a landlord can raise the rent for a tenant, usually a yearly percentage. In Canada each province sets its own rules, so whether there is a limit depends on where the rental is. British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI limit the amount, while Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador control only how often rent can go up and how much notice the tenant gets.

Yes, for most units. The guideline is 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027, and it applies across the province, including Toronto. It does not cover most units first lived in after November 15, 2018, and when a unit turns over, the landlord and the new tenant agree on a fresh rent. Any increase needs at least 90 days' written notice, usually on form N1.

Yes, until the end of 2027. Rent for an existing tenant can go up by at most 5% in 2026 and 5% in 2027, including when the same tenant signs a new fixed-term lease, and the cap law ends after December 31, 2027. A new tenant's starting rent is not capped. If a landlord collects more than the cap allows, the tenant can apply to the Director of Residential Tenancies for an order to pay it back.

Yes. New Brunswick has a binding 3% cap with no exemption for new or high-rent buildings, and the province has kept it at 3% for 2027, with the next review in May 2027. A notice for more than 3% is treated as 3%, and a tenant can ask for a review within 60 days of getting a notice, at no cost. The province is rewriting its Residential Tenancies Act, so check the rules again before relying on them.

Yes, through a yearly guideline of 1.8% for 2026 and 3.0% for 2027. The gaps are the exemptions: units renting for $1,670 or more a month in 2026 ($2,000 or more from 2027), units in buildings first occupied after March 2005 during their first 20 years, and various types of social housing are not covered. For a covered unit, a landlord who wants more than the guideline must apply to the Residential Tenancies Branch for an order.

Yes. The cap is 2.3% for 2026 and 2.2% for 2027, set from BC's inflation rate. A landlord can go above it only with the tenant's written agreement or an arbitrator's order, and signing a new fixed-term lease does not count as agreeing to more. Commercial tenancies, non-profit rent-geared-to-income housing, co-ops and some assisted-living homes are not covered.

No. Alberta does not limit how much rent can go up, but rent can rise only once every 365 days, with 3 full tenancy months' written notice for a monthly tenancy, and not during a fixed-term lease. A notice that breaks these rules is void, and a tenant who paid under it can apply to the RTDRS or the court to get the money back within two years after it was collected.

No. Saskatchewan has no cap or guideline on the amount. Instead, most landlords must give 12 months' written notice, wait 18 months from the start of the tenancy for the first increase, and then raise rent no more than once every 12 months. Members of a prescribed landlord association have shorter periods: 6 months' notice, a first increase after 12 months, then every 6 months.

It depends on the province. In Ontario, the landlord and a new tenant agree on the starting rent, and in Nova Scotia the cap protects existing tenants only, so a new tenant's rent is not capped. PEI is different: its allowable increase applies to the unit, and rent cannot be raised automatically between tenants. Once you move in, the yearly limit in your province applies to your future increases.

In most provinces the limit sits in the main tenancy law, the Residential Tenancies Act (the Residential Tenancy Act in British Columbia and PEI), and its regulations. Nova Scotia is the exception: its 5% cap is in a separate law, the Interim Residential Rental Increase Cap Act, which ends after December 31, 2027. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador have no limit on the amount in their tenancy laws.

Critics argue that strict limits can discourage owners from building or keeping rentals, can push up the rent a landlord asks when a unit changes tenants, and can leave less money for upkeep. Supporters reply that limits protect tenants from sudden increases they cannot plan for. The provinces covered here that have limits build in some flexibility: Ontario and Manitoba leave many newer buildings out, and all of them except Nova Scotia give a landlord some way to ask for a larger increase, through the tenancy office or, in British Columbia and Ontario, the tenant's written agreement.

For tenants, a yearly limit makes housing costs predictable and protects against an increase large enough to force a move. Even in provinces without a limit on the amount, the timing rules give tenants months of warning: 3 tenancy months in Alberta, 6 months in Newfoundland and Labrador and 12 months for most Saskatchewan landlords. That notice gives a tenant time to budget, talk to the landlord or find another place.

Start by checking the increase against your province's rule. Where there is a limit on the amount (2.3% for 2026 in British Columbia, 1.8% in Manitoba, 2.1% in Ontario, 3% in New Brunswick, 5% in Nova Scotia and 2% in PEI), an increase above it is not allowed unless an exception applies, such as your written agreement in British Columbia, Landlord and Tenant Board approval or your signed N10 in Ontario, or an order from the Branch in Manitoba or the Director in PEI. In New Brunswick a notice for more than 3% is treated as a 3% increase. Some units are exempt from the cap, for example most units first occupied for residential use after November 15, 2018 in Ontario and units renting at $1,670 or more a month in Manitoba in 2026, so check yours.

In Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador we found no limit on the amount, so an increase can be large, but it must still follow the timing and written-notice rules (in Alberta, at least 365 days must pass between increases). In Ontario and Nova Scotia the limit does not cover the starting rent a new tenant agrees to. If an increase looks wrong, see can a tenant refuse a rent increase.

The rules on this page limit how much rent can go up for an existing tenant, not what a fair rent is. In Ontario and Nova Scotia the cap does not limit the starting rent for a new tenant, and in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador we found no limit on the amount at all, so the market largely sets the figure. SQRFT advice, not law: compare similar units nearby and use SQRFT's free rent estimator to see what a place at an address should rent for.