Rent increases go wrong in a predictable way. A landlord gets the percentage right, gets the timing wrong, and the increase is void. The percentage is the famous rule. It is not the one that voids increases.
There are three, and all three have to hold.
This is tooling, not legal advice. Every province writes its own rules and changes them, so the only authority is your own province's tenancy office. Links below.
Rule 1: is there a cap at all
Provinces split into two groups, and this is structural rather than something that changes yearly.
Some provinces publish an annual guideline — a maximum percentage, republished each year, applying to most existing tenancies. Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Yukon work this way.
Some do not cap the amount at all. Alberta is the clearest example: the province states there is no limit on how much rent can be increased, while still setting rules about how often and with how much notice. Saskatchewan and several others are in this group. Quebec is different again, with a process where a tenant can refuse a proposed increase and the tribunal fixes the rent.
So "what is the guideline this year" is the wrong first question. The first question is whether your province has one.
Rule 2: how often
Almost universally, once every twelve months per tenancy, measured from the last increase or from the start of the tenancy, whichever is later.
This rule is quiet and unforgiving. It applies even where there is no cap on the amount, which surprises people in provinces like Alberta who correctly believe they can raise rent freely. Freely, yes. Twice in a year, no.
It is also the rule most often broken by accident, usually by a landlord who served notice in the autumn for a January increase, then again the following autumn, without checking that the two effective dates were more than twelve months apart.
Rule 3: how much notice
Every province sets a minimum number of days between serving notice and the new rent taking effect, and most require it in writing on a particular form. Ninety days is common. Some are longer, and some vary by tenancy type.
Two details that matter more than the number:
- Notice is counted to the effective date, not the date you decided.
- The guideline that applies is the one for the year the increase takes effect, not the year you served the notice. With ninety-day notice periods, a notice served in October lands in the next calendar year and is judged by that year's guideline.
That last point is the single most common way a correct-looking increase turns out to be over the cap.
Above-guideline increases
In capped provinces there is usually a process for exceeding the guideline, tied to specific causes such as major capital work. It is an application with evidence, decided by a tribunal or board. It is not a form you fill in and proceed.
Where to get your province's current number
Guidelines change every year, so we deliberately do not restate them here. A number in a blog post is out of date the moment it is republished, and the province is the only authority. These are the official pages, each checked in August 2026:
- Ontario — Residential rent increases
- British Columbia — Rent increases
- Manitoba — Rent increase guideline
- Alberta — During a tenancy, which sets out that there is no limit on the amount, alongside the timing and notice rules
- Quebec — Rent increase, Tribunal administratif du logement
For the remaining provinces and territories, go to the tenancy authority directly: the Residential Tenancies Program in Nova Scotia, the Residential Tenancy Office in Prince Edward Island, the Office of Residential Tenancies in Saskatchewan, the Residential Tenancies Office in Yukon, and the equivalent office in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the territories. We only link pages we have checked ourselves, and those sites blocked our checks.
What software should do, and what it should not
It should track the two things that are about your tenancy and that no website can tell you: when the last increase took effect, and whether the notice period has actually elapsed for the date you have in mind. Those are the two rules that void increases, and they are pure record keeping.
It should be careful about the third. Wealthru surfaces provincial guideline values for reference and marks them clearly as preview until a Canadian tenancy lawyer has reviewed them for that province. A green checkmark drawn from an unreviewed number is worse than no checkmark, because it invites a landlord to stop checking.
The short version
- Ask first whether your province caps increases at all.
- Once every twelve months, per tenancy, nearly everywhere.
- Notice is counted to the effective date, and the guideline that applies is the effective year's.
- Above-guideline increases are an application, not a decision.
- Get the number from your province, this year, every year.