Raising Rent in Alberta

Alberta does not control how much rent can be charged or how much it can be increased. The Government of Alberta guidance for landlords and tenants says the Act places no limit on the amount, although the common law does not allow a landlord to effectively evict a tenant through an unfairly large increase. Alberta has no cap or guideline percentage on rent increases, so there is nothing to look up for 2026 or 2027.

What the law does control is process: how much written notice you give, how often you can raise the rent, and what happens in a fixed term lease. If you get the process wrong, the increase is void. The tenant-side explanation is in our Alberta rent increase guide, and a short overview is at how much a landlord can increase rent.

Written notice is required for a periodic tenancy. The minimum depends on how the tenancy runs.

If your lease sets a longer notice period, the longer one applies. The Handbook gives a counting example for a month to month tenancy: to raise the rent on September 1, the notice must be served by May 31. That leaves three full tenancy months, June, July and August, in between.

There is no prescribed form. The notice must be in writing, state the effective date, be dated, and be signed by you. It must be served on each tenant. You cannot post one notice in the common areas to raise rents for everyone. The Act is at the King's Printer, section 14.

You cannot raise the rent until 365 days (one year) have passed since the tenancy started or since the last increase, whichever is later. This rule is in the Residential Tenancies Ministerial Regulation, and it applies to periodic and fixed term tenancies.

For fixed terms:

• A fixed term of one year or more cannot have its rent increased during the term. A lease clause that automatically raises the rent partway through has no effect.
• If the 365th day falls inside a fixed term, the increase has to wait until the fixed term ends.
• For back-to-back fixed terms that are each shorter than a year, the 365 day rule runs across the consecutive terms.
• A new rent can be negotiated when the term ends, as part of a new agreement. That can be a new fixed term or a periodic tenancy.
• With a lease that has a fixed portion and then becomes periodic, a notice can be served during the fixed portion to take effect in the periodic portion.

The government text counts the 365 days from "the last rent increase or the start of the tenancy" and does not spell out whether the notice date or the effective date counts. Use the government wording when you plan the dates and leave margin.

1. Check the tenancy type and the date. Is it periodic or a fixed term of a year or more? Have 365 days passed since the start or the last increase?
2. Pick the effective date. Count back the notice: 3 full tenancy months for monthly, 12 full tenancy weeks for weekly, 90 days for other periodic tenancies, or longer if your lease says so.
3. Write the notice. State the effective date and the new rent, date it and sign it.
4. Serve each tenant and keep proof of when you served it.
5. Do not charge the new amount early. Collecting more before the effective date is an unlawful increase.

If the tenant gets a valid notice and does not serve a notice to end the tenancy effective by the increase date, the tenant is treated as having agreed to the increase. A tenant on a monthly tenancy must give one tenancy month of notice to leave.

You may also raise the rent under these rules to cover higher utility costs. The Handbook says you cannot start charging for utilities mid-tenancy if the agreement says they are included in the rent, or if you have always paid them out of the rent. In that case you and the tenant can agree to change it.

• A notice that does not follow section 14 is void. That covers a missing signature or date, no effective date, too little notice, or a notice posted in a common area.
• Raising rent in fewer than 365 days. The tenant can recover the extra, and a landlord who breaks this rule commits an offence with a fine of up to $10,000.
• Raising rent mid-term on a fixed term of a year or more. Not allowed, and an automatic increase clause does not change that.
• Raising rent after a renovation or condo conversion notice. Once you serve a 365 day notice for major renovations that need the unit empty, or a condominium conversion notice, you cannot increase the rent.
• Retaliation. A landlord may not take retaliatory action, such as a financial penalty, only because the tenant made an application or complaint or gave evidence under the Act. An increase is covered if it is retaliation for one of those acts.
• Discrimination. The Alberta Human Rights Commission lists raising the rent to push out a pregnant tenant or one with small children as an example.

A tenant who paid under a bad notice can recover the extra amount. The Handbook says the tenant can apply to the court or the RTDRS within two years after the unlawful amount was collected. Also keep in mind that the security deposit cannot be increased when rent goes up. It is capped at one month's rent at the time the tenancy started. Our Alberta lease agreement guide covers what to put in the lease up front.

Work out the earliest legal date first, then price the increase against comparable rentals so that it is fair as well as lawful. Remember the common law point: a very large increase that effectively forces a tenant out can be challenged. If the tenant does not accept the increase and wants to leave, see our guide to notices to end a tenancy. For when a landlord may raise rent at any time, read can a landlord raise the rent anytime.

This guide explains the rules in general terms; for a specific case, ask the tribunal or a licensed legal professional.