Find out if the unit is covered by the rent increase guideline

When you rent a place, it is important to know if you will be protected by the rent increase guideline. Most rental units are covered, which means that the landlord can only raise the rent a certain amount each year.

You are not covered by the guideline if you are renting a subsidized unit, which is sometimes called Rent Geared to Income (RGI) housing. RGI housing has other rules about how much rent you have to pay and how much notice you get if your rent is going up. Your rent is usually based on your family size and household income.

Some newer rental units are not covered. You are not covered by the guideline if your unit is:

• in a building, mobile home park, or land lease community that was first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018,
• in an addition to a building, mobile home park, or land lease community, and the addition was first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018, or
• a self-contained unit created after November 15, 2018 in a house that contained no more than two residential units at any time up to November 15, 2018 and meets certain other conditions.

You are also not covered by the guideline if you share a kitchen or bathroom with the landlord or their close family members. Your landlord can raise your rent as much as they want and whenever they want, unless your rental agreements says they can’t.

By the end of each August, the government announces the percentage for the following calendar year. For the year 2020, the guideline amount was 2.2% and for 2019, it was 1.8%.

Rent freeze in 2021

The government has announced that the guideline for the year 2021 will be zero percent. This means that your landlord cannot raise your rent at all from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

Your landlord is allowed to give you a rent increase notice in 2021 but the increase cannot start before January 1, 2022.

This rent freeze will also apply to newer units that are normally not covered by the guideline. So even if your building was first occupied or your unit was created after November 15, 2018, your landlord cannot raise your rent in 2021.

The freeze also applies to RGI tenants and those paying “market” rent in community or subsidized housing.