January 1, 2005
Annual Rent Control Guideline
The annual guideline is the maximum amount that a landlord can increase a tenant’s rent without making an application to the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal.
The 2005 guideline of 1.5 per cent is based on eight common costs involved in the operation of rental housing such as maintenance, hydro, heating costs and taxes. Each cost category is weighted according to its proportion of the overall costs of running a multi-residential property. The costs in these categories are averaged over a three-year period.
The guideline reflects increases in landlord operating costs. The table showing the individual operating cost increases in the 2005 Rent Control guideline was published in the August 28, 2004 edition of the Ontario Gazette.
The guideline applies to most private residential rental accommodation covered by the Tenant Protection Act, 1997. The guideline does not apply to residential dwellings first occupied on or after November 1, 1991, nor does it apply to social housing units and nursing homes.
Tenant Protection Act
On June 17, 2004, the government amended the Tenant Protection Act, 1997 to remove the two per cent base from the guideline calculation. This was done as a “time out” while government consulted on reforming the act.
A long-term solution for the guideline calculation will be part of the proposed new legislation which the government intends to introduce in the 2005 winter legislative session.
