Raising Rent in New Brunswick

New Brunswick has a hard legal cap on rent increases, not a guideline. A landlord may not increase rent by more than 3% effective at any time on or after February 1, 2025. If a notice asks for more than 3%, the Act treats it as a notice of 3%. The government announced on June 24, 2026 that the 3% cap is maintained for the 2027 calendar year, with the next review in May 2027. The Act itself has no end date for the cap.

Beyond the amount, you must also follow the timing and paperwork rules: six months' written notice, no more than one increase in any 12-month period, and no increase in the first 12 months of a tenancy unless you and the tenant agree otherwise in writing. These rules come from the Residential Tenancies Act and its General Regulation 82-218. The province summarizes them on its rent increases page.

As of October 2026, the government is rewriting the Act, with a revised Act targeted for introduction in the fall. We found no passed amendment, but check the province's pages before you send a notice. Tenants can read the same rules in our New Brunswick rent increases guide.

The notice period is six months, for any tenancy type: fixed term, year-to-year, month-to-month or week-to-week. There is no numbered government form. The Act requires the notice to be a document separate from any other notice or receipt. It must be in writing and contain these items:

1. The tenant's name.
2. The address of the unit.
3. The current rent and the new rent.
4. The effective date of the increase.
5. The landlord's or agent's signature and the date.

Serve it at least six months before the new rent takes effect. Mailed documents are treated as served on the third day after mailing, so allow for that when you count the six months. Keep a copy and proof of how and when you served it.

Mobile home sites also need six months' notice, and the 3% cap applies to site rent too. If you also want to change another lease term, rent increases follow their own rules and are not changed through the lease-alteration route.

You can raise the rent no more than once in any consecutive 12-month period. You also cannot raise it in the first consecutive 12-month period of a tenancy. The only way around the timing rule is a written agreement between you and the tenant that says otherwise. That agreement lifts the timing rule only. It does not lift the 3% cap.

Our answer on whether a landlord can raise the rent at any time gives the short version.

The Act applies the notice, 12-month and 3% rules when a tenancy is for a fixed term, as well as for year-to-year, month-to-month and week-to-week tenancies. The province's page does not spell this out in plain words for fixed terms, so this is our reading of the statute. If your lease sets the rent for a fixed term, follow the lease. You cannot raise the rent for the term in any way that breaks the Act's rules.

If you buy a rental property, the tenancy continues and you become the landlord for all purposes of the Act, so the same rent rules bind you. You cannot raise the rent right away on taking over. Whether an increase by the previous owner within the last 12 months counts against you is not addressed in the sources we reviewed, so ask the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (TLRO) if it matters.

Remember also that a sale or a plan to sell is not a reason to end a tenancy, and a fixed-term lease keeps its terms, including its rent, under a new owner. See our landlord notice to end a tenancy guide for what you can and cannot do instead.

The only route above the cap is an application to a Residential Tenancies Officer at the TLRO. You must show that capital expenditures for renovations have been incurred and provide supporting evidence. If the officer approves, the increase cannot exceed 9%. Renovation work is the only basis the regulation names. General cost increases, such as higher taxes or utilities, are not stated as a basis.

Do not serve an above-cap notice first and hope. A notice for more than 3% without approval is treated as a notice for 3%. Apply, wait for the decision, then serve the six-month notice for the approved amount.

New buildings are not exempt from the cap as far as the sources we reviewed show. A provincial HST rebate for new rental builds is a tax measure, not a cap exemption.

An increase is open to challenge if any of these apply:

• The notice gives less than six months.
• The notice is not a separate document, or it is missing the tenant's name, the unit address, the current and new rent, the effective date, or your signature and date.
• The increase is more than 3% with no officer approval. It is then treated as a 3% increase.
• It comes in the first 12 months of the tenancy, or less than 12 months after the last increase, with no written agreement.
• It was served within six months after the tenant made a complaint. The tenant can tell an officer within 15 days that they contest it, and the notice is not valid unless you show it was not served because of the complaint.

A tenant who receives a notice can ask an officer to review it within 60 days of receiving it, at no fee. The tenant can also end the tenancy on one month's notice (one week for a week-to-week tenancy), effective the day before the increase. The Standard Form of Lease mentions 30 days for a review, but the Act and the province's page say 60, so follow the Act. For the broad numbers, read our answer on how much a landlord can increase rent. The cap announcement is on the province's 2026 news release.

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