Ontario Residential Rents Are Frozen
The rent increase for 2021 is 0%.
1 min read
Recent amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) have frozen rents for this calendar year (2021) to the same amount charged in 2020. The new RTA section 3.1 that came into effect on October 1, 2020, outlines the residential rent freeze's critical aspects.
Guideline for 2021
(3.1) The approach for the calendar year 2021 is zero percent, despite subsection (2) and despite the policy published under subsection (3) in The Ontario Gazette for 2021. 2020, c. 23, Sched. 7, s. 1.
What does this mean?
The new section over-rides previously published rent increase guidelines for the year 2021. Recently added section 3.2 also over-rides the requirement to publish the new 0% Guideline amount in The Ontario Gazette.
Does the rent freeze effect the increase that took place in 2020?
Validly given notices of rent increases and any exempted rent increases (exempt from Guideline Increase amounts) that took effect in 2020 are valid and unaffected by the new RTA rent freeze provisions. However, new section 136.1 of the RTA explicitly outlines the "rent freeze period," beginning January 1, 2021, and ending December 31, 2021.
As the rent freeze is subject to end on December 31, 2021, landlords can serve a Notice of Rent increase--during the freeze period--to take effect after the freeze period. Until then, the government will decide whether the rise can occur in 2022 or not, depending on future amendments to the RTA.
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