Rent increases, repairs and the Landlord and Tenant Board

Checked October 2026

Three things account for most of what a tenant needs to know: how much the rent can go up, who has to fix what, and where you go when the answer to either one is being ignored. All three sit under the Residential Tenancies Act, and the Landlord and Tenant Board is the body that decides disputes under it.

Rent increases. Ontario sets a rent increase guideline for each calendar year. Ontario states the guideline for 2026 is 2.1% and the guideline for 2027 is 1.9%. For most tenants, that is the ceiling on an annual increase. The landlord must give written notice of a rent increase in the proper form at least 90 days before it takes effect, and at least 12 months must have passed since the last increase or since the tenancy began. Landlords can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for approval to raise rent by more than the guideline.

The guideline does not cover everyone. Ontario lists these exceptions: new buildings, additions to existing buildings and most new basement apartments that were occupied for the first time for residential purposes after November 15, 2018; rental units upon turnover of a tenancy, where the landlord and the new tenant agree on the rent amount; community housing units; long-term care homes; and commercial properties. Check the first-occupancy date of your building against November 15, 2018 before you assume the guideline protects you.

Repairs. A landlord must keep a rental property in a good state of repair, and everything the landlord provides has to be kept in working order. If something is broken, ask in writing - a letter, or the building’s maintenance request form - and keep a copy with the date. Ontario law does not let you withhold rent to force a repair or do the repair and deduct the cost; the route is an application to the Board. Your own obligation is ordinary cleanliness, and you are not responsible for wear from normal everyday use.

Oakville adds a municipal layer. The Town’s Property Standards By-law 2023-074 requires owners of residential rental property to keep it safe, clean, in a state of good repair, fit for habitation and free from accumulations of snow and ice, and says that unless otherwise specified the landlord, not the tenant, is responsible for compliance. On heat, it requires heat from September 1 to June 15 every year, kept so that habitable rooms reach at least 20 degrees Celsius measured 1.5 metres above the floor and one metre from an exterior wall. That heat rule does not apply to a unit where the tenant can regulate the temperature and the primary source of heat can maintain at least 20 degrees Celsius. To report a by-law problem, call ServiceOakville at 905-845-6601 or file a service request online. This runs independently of the Board, and you can do both.

The Board. The Landlord and Tenant Board resolves disputes between landlords and tenants and handles matters about ending a tenancy. Tenants file by form. T1 is the Tenant Application for a Rebate, T2 is the Application about Tenant Rights, and T6 is the Tenant Application about Maintenance. The fee for T1, T2, T5 and T6 is $53, or $48 if you file through the Tribunals Ontario Portal, and a fee waiver request exists. Most hearings are virtual, by Zoom video or telephone; in-person hearings happen only through an approved accommodation request. Reach the Board at 1-888-332-3234, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

You do not have to do this alone. Halton Community Legal Services, at 400-700 Dorval Drive in Oakville, 905-875-2069, advises tenants on maintenance and repair issues, rent increases, harassment by a landlord, paying rent late, eviction, deposits and last month’s rent. Ontario also lists community legal clinics at 1-800-668-8258.

What to bring

For a maintenance application, assemble the record before you file:

1. Your written repair requests, with dates, and any reply.
2. Photographs or video of the problem, dated.
3. Your lease and your record of rent paid.
4. A written log of what happened and when, including phone calls.
5. Receipts for anything the problem cost you.

For a rent increase question, you also want the notice itself, the date you received it, the date of your last increase, and the date the building was first occupied.

Common mistakes

• Treating the guideline as universal. A unit first occupied after November 15, 2018 is outside it, and so is the rent agreed with a new tenant on turnover.
• Reading last year’s number. The guideline is set per calendar year, so check the figure against the year the increase takes effect.
• Asking for repairs by phone only. Put it in writing and keep the copy, because the Board decides on evidence.
• Withholding rent to force a repair. That is not a remedy Ontario law gives you, and it can put your tenancy at risk.
• Using only one route. The Board and the Town’s by-law enforcement are separate processes, and a municipal order does not replace a Board order or the reverse.
• Filing by mail when the portal is cheaper. The same tenant application costs $48 through the Tribunals Ontario Portal and $53 otherwise.

How long it takes

A rent increase needs 90 days notice, so you have time to check it.

The Board publishes its own timelines, and they are long. Most applications other than the landlord rent applications - L1 to evict for non-payment of rent and collect the rent owed, and L9 to collect the rent owed - are scheduled roughly five to seven months from the date the application is received. Urgent matters such as an illegal lockout are heard in about five to six weeks. After a hearing, most orders are issued within 30 days. The Board’s own estimate for its contact centre wait is 10 to 15 minutes.

Because of those timelines, do not wait for the Board to be your only move. Keep asking in writing, keep the record, and run the municipal complaint at the same time.