Is my landlord's old rent increase notice still valid?

The situation

I am currently renting a small two-bedroom apartment in Ontario, and things have been a bit confusing lately. Back in early 2006, my landlord, who is a very elderly man, handed me a paper saying my monthly rent was going up from $1,200 to $1,250. At the time, the rules were changing because of new laws being introduced, and I remember hearing a lot of talk on the news about the old tenant protections being scrapped. I didn't say anything at the time because I didn't want to cause any trouble, and I just thought it was a standard part of my tenancy. However, now that we are a couple of months past those law changes, I am looking at the paperwork again and feeling quite worried. The notice he gave me uses the old format from before the new regulations were fully active. I have already tried asking him politely if the increase is still legitimate, but he just told me to pay the extra $50 per month or face eviction. I am unsure if that specific piece of paper he gave me is actually legal to use now, or if he needs to issue me a brand new notice using the updated official forms required by the current rules.

Detailed Analysis

Whether your landlord's 2006 notice is legal depends on when the new laws officially took effect. The law provides a bridge between the old rules and the new ones. Specifically, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 states that "the form of a notice of rent increase... that could have been used under [the Tenant Protection Act, 1997] may be used for the corresponding purpose under this Act any time within two months after this section comes into force"^[1]. This means that if the notice was given during that specific two-month window after the new Act started, the old format was legally acceptable.

However, even if the form itself was acceptable, the landlord must still follow other strict rules. For example, a landlord cannot increase rent without first giving "at least 90 days written notice of the landlord’s intention to do so"^[2]. This is a notice period, which is the amount of time a landlord must tell you about a change before it happens. Additionally, a landlord can only increase rent if "at least 12 months have elapsed" since the last increase or since you first moved in.

If the landlord failed to provide the correct 90-day notice or did not use an approved form during that transition period, the increase is "void"^[2]. A void increase means the increase has no legal effect, and the landlord must issue a new, proper notice before they can collect the higher amount. It is also important to note that if you have already been paying the higher rent for at least 12 consecutive months, the increase might be "deemed not to be void"^[3]. This means the law treats the increase as valid even if there was a technical error in the original notice.

State, provincial, or local laws may add further rules, so you should check with the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Statutory Citations

Related Questions

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