Across Canada the law concerned with renting a home is the responsibility of provincial governments. Some jurisdictions utilize annual rent review procedures and establish rent control regulations; some have prohibitions against successive rent increases while other jurisdictions have no restrictions in this regard. Different provinces have different time periods between which rents can be increased and different notice periods to inform tenants of rent increases, depending on the type of tenancy.

In most provinces and territories there is no regulation of the amount of rent that can be charged. British Columbia, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Ontario have rent control regimes, i.e. the annual rent increase is regulated by government agencies that set the rate by which rents can increase each year. For example, Ontario’s 2007 Rent Increase Guideline is 2.6 percent.

Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan have no rent control provisions, but allow rent increases only every six months. Legislation in British Columbia and Manitoba, Northwest Territories, or Saskatchewan requires three months notice of an increase; Ontario requires 90 days notice, while New Brunswick asks for 2 months. In Quebec, landlords and tenants are free to negotiate a rent increase that they consider reasonable. The agreements between landlords and tenants can be mediated by Régie du logement, a specialized tribunal that has competence in residential lease matters.

Currently, Alberta faces huge increases in rent costs. Edmonton Landlord and Tenant Advisory Board reports an average of 400 calls/month from Edmontonians concerned about out-of-control rental prices. As the Landlord and Tenant legislation is a provincial responsibility, the cities in Alberta (governed according to the Municipal Government Act) do not have the power to set up any guidelines for rent increases.

You can find information about all the laws in Alberta relating to renting a place to live at http://www.landlordandtenant.org/

To find more information on the rent increase policies and legislation across Canada, please click on the links bellow.