Ontario Rent Increase Guideline 2027: The 1.9% Rule Explained for Landlords

The rent increase guideline for 2027 in Ontario is 1.9%, published on the province's rent increase guideline page in June 2026. It is the most a landlord may raise the rent on a covered unit in a calendar year without an order from the Landlord and Tenant Board, and it covers most private rentals first occupied on or before November 15, 2018. Until December 31, 2026, the 2026 guideline of 2.1% still applies.

Three conditions have to hold together - miss any one and the increase is not lawful:

The 90 days are why the 2027 dates are already close: a January 1, 2027 increase needs the N1 in the tenant's hands by October 3, 2026.

How much can a landlord raise rent in Ontario in 2027?

1.9%, on a unit the guideline covers. That is the maximum rent increase in Ontario for 2027 without Board approval, and it is a ceiling rather than an entitlement: a landlord can raise the rent by less, or not at all. The Minister sets the figure each year under section 120 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.

The calculation is fixed by statute, not by discretion. It is the year-over-year change in the Ontario Consumer Price Index averaged over the 12 months ending in May of the previous year, rounded to one decimal, and it cannot exceed 2.5%. That cap is why the guideline sat at 2.5% for three straight years while inflation ran higher.

Figures are from Ontario's rent increase guideline page, which carries the full table back to 1991. The year that matters is the year the new rent takes effect, not the year the notice is signed: a notice served in September 2026 for a January 2027 increase is governed by the 2027 guideline of 1.9%.

Can I catch up on rent increases I missed?

No - and this is the question landlords ask most. Section 119 allows one increase every 12 months, and section 120 caps it at the guideline for the year it takes effect. Skipped years cannot be added together and are simply gone.

Which rental units are exempt from the guideline?

The cap follows the building, not the landlord. A unit is outside the guideline mainly when it was first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018, under section 6.1 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. Work down this list in order.

If there is a dispute, the landlord carries the burden of proving the unit is exempt. Ontario's own guidance is to record the exemption as an additional term in section 15 of the standard lease and to keep the evidence - builder documents, contractor invoices, building permits, before-and-after photographs. That is a decision made when the lease is written, not when the first increase is served.

How to raise rent legally: Form N1, step by step

A lawful increase is a form plus a calendar. The rent increase form in Ontario is Form N1, Notice of Rent Increase, published by the Landlord and Tenant Board. Six steps, in order.

1. 1 Check the 12-month clock. Twelve months must have elapsed since the last increase for that tenant in that unit, or since the day the unit was first rented to them if there has never been one.
2. 2 Confirm it is the right form. N1 for a guideline increase. N2 if the unit is exempt from the rules limiting the amount. N3 for a care home's care services and meals. N10 where the landlord and tenant have agreed to an increase above the guideline for capital work or a new service.
3. 3 Do the arithmetic and pick the date. Apply the guideline for the year the new rent starts. Round to the cent; do not round the percentage up.
4. 4 Fill the N1 completely. Every tenant's name, every landlord's name with a mailing address, the full unit address including unit number and postal code, the date the rent increases, the new total rent, the dollar amount and the percentage of the increase, the box showing whether the increase is at or above the guideline, then a signature and date.
5. 5 Give it at least 90 days before the increase date. Count calendar days to the day the new rent starts, not to the day it is first paid.
6. 6 Keep proof of how and when you served it. If the increase is ever challenged, service is the fact the Board will want evidence of.

Which means the deadlines for the rest of 2026 and the start of 2027 are already fixed. The guideline switches at the calendar year, so an increase pushed a month later can be worth less.

These are the last possible dates. Serve earlier where you can - a notice that turns out to be a day short is void, not merely late.

What if I need more than the guideline? Above-guideline increases

You apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board on Form L5, and only on three grounds set out in section 126 of the Act: an extraordinary increase in municipal taxes and charges, eligible capital expenditures, or operating costs for security services provided by people the landlord does not employ. Nothing else qualifies - not a mortgage renewal, not market rent, not utilities.

Eligible capital expenditures are narrow: work needed to protect or restore the building's physical integrity, to meet maintenance obligations, to keep a plumbing, heating, mechanical, electrical, ventilation or air-conditioning system running, to provide accessibility, to conserve energy or water, or to improve security. Replacing something that did not need major repair does not count. Filing instructions are in the LTB's L5 guide.

What happens if a rent increase doesn't follow the rules

The increase is void. Under section 116 (4), an increase taken without the required notice has no effect and the landlord must give a fresh notice, with a fresh 90 days, before taking it at all. The cost is rarely the paperwork; it is the months of increase that never arrive.

Those last two rules are sections 135, 135.1 and 136. They are not a safe harbour to plan around. Twelve months of a disputed rent with a rebate order at the end of it is a worse outcome than a correctly dated N1, and a void notice has to be reissued in full: a new form, a new effective date, and another 90 days before any of it takes effect.

When does the 2028 guideline come out?

The 2028 figure is not out. The Minister must publish each year's guideline in The Ontario Gazette no later than August 31 of the preceding year, and in recent years the announcement has come in late June. The formula stays the same: Ontario CPI over the 12 months ending in May, capped at 2.5%. The 1.9% figure for 2027 reflects CPI over the 12 months ending May 2026, and this page is re-verified against the government sources whenever the next number lands.