November 15, 2018 Ontario Rent Control.

November 15, 2018 is a very important date since it determines if the unit falls under the rent control or not.

We are often asked about it, and it is even more confusing for the owners and tenants in newer buildings.

What does rent control refer to?

It refers to how much the rent can be increased, for 2022 the rent can be increased 1.2% as per Municipal Affairs and Housing Guidelines. That means if your rental unit falls under the rent control and the rent charged was $1,000, for 2022 it can be increased by $12.

If the unit does not fall under the rent control the landlord can increase the rent by any amount on annual basis.

Not all residential units fall under the rent control guideline, and the one of the most asked about exemptions are units first occupied for the residential purposes on or after November 15, 2018.

We have contacted the government for further explanation and have consulter a lawyer for legal advice. In case of newer condominiums built around the end of 2018 it is a little bit more difficult to determine if the unit is rent controlled or not.

The rule is that for the unit in a condo building to be rent control exempt no units in the whole building were occupied for residential purposes prior to November 15, 2018. It’s not a particular unit, a unit you own or rent, the rule applies if even one unit was occupied, any unit.

We often are asked if it can be determined based on the date the building was fully completed, the corporation transferred from the builder to the unit owners, the date my unit was first occupied, the occupancy period for my unit started, or when the title was transferred. The answer is none of these, it is only determined by when the first unit in the building was occupied for residential purposes.

How to verify this info and confirm if the building is rent controlled or not.

If in doubt you can contact the management company to check their records, contact the builder or check online ads on some real estate sites to see when the first rental ads appeared.

These are the rules that are currently in place, we think that once the government comes to power the likelihood of this ruled being abandoned are pretty high.

Please let us know if you have further questions.