Ontario’s annual rent increase cap of 2.5 percent will remain in place for the next year, providing much-needed stability and protection for tenants in the province. This announcement from the provincial government comes as a relief amidst the rising cost of living and skyrocketing inflation rates across Canada. The 2.5 percent cap is currently the lowest in the country, a full percentage point below the national average inflation rate of 3.1 percent. This measure is designed to safeguard tenants from the financial burden of rapidly escalating rents that would otherwise result from the prevailing economic conditions.
Without the rent increase cap in place, landlords would be able to raise rents by as much as 3.1 percent annually, a figure that aligns with the current rate of inflation. However, the Residential Tenancies Act mandates that the guideline be capped at 2.5 percent in order to shield tenants from the negative impacts of rising interest rates and the associated ripple effects on the rental market. This policy strike a careful balance, allowing landlords to modestly increase rents to keep pace with inflation while preventing them from exploiting the tight housing market to the detriment of their tenants.
The rent increase cap applies to the majority of residential rental units in Ontario that were occupied before November 15, 2018, providing an important protection for long-term tenants who may be vulnerable to significant rent hikes. This measure is particularly crucial in the current climate, where housing affordability has become a major challenge for many Ontarians. By maintaining the 2.5 percent cap, the provincial government is taking proactive steps to ensure that tenants can continue to access safe, stable, and reasonably priced accommodations, even as the broader economy grapples with the effects of high inflation.
Buried right at the end of the article is the fact that this limit only applies to those who have been living in their current accommodations since November 2018. Prior to changes made by the Ford government that year, rent control applied to everyone.
Perhaps an investigative journalist could identify what proportion of rental accommodations have had protection removed by the current provincial government?
There’s always a catch, “only applies to those that have this or that”…..
That’s rich when the rental costs are already 40% too high.
The rich get richer, the poor to middle class get crapped on again and again.
And they scratch their collective heads wondering why crime is out of control?