When can I issue the next rent increase?
When can I issue the next rent increase?
The Residential Tenancy Act requires that a rent increase can only occur once every twelve months. What that means is if the tenancy starts on January 1, 2026. The earliest a rent increase can take effect is January 1, 2027.
What it doesn’t say is how long you must wait once it has passed the twelve month period. A tenant must be provided three months notice before a rent increase takes effect. If you want the rent increase to be effective January 1, 2027 a notice must be sent to the tenant before October 1, 2026. Two important issues with the notice are it requires three months’ notice which means the tenant needs to not just be sent the notice before October 1st, but they must be deemed received by this date.
A rent increase is not required to be sent in a special format and can be posted in regular mail. A letter sent by regular mail to a tenant is deemed to be received five days after it has been mailed. This means that a notice for January 1, 2027 must be in the mail no later than October 26, 2026.
The second concern landlords have is I missed the time to send the notice and now need to wait until the following year. Once the twelve month period has passed an increase can be at any time with the proper notice. If on October 1st of 2026 you realize you forgot to send the notice for January 1, 2027 then you can change the date to February 1, 2027 for the effective date of the increase. This will then start a new twelve month period which means the next increase after that can not ocurr until February of 2028.
Sometimes it is a good idea to move the date of the increase to a different time of the year. Tenants will often make a decision to move upon receiving a rent increase notice. Having the date at a time that is more favourable when people are looking to move could result in less turnover or vacancy time from your property.
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