Rent Increase
© Fernando Calderón
In Quebec, a rental lease automatically renews until the tenant decides not to renew it or until they receive a notice regarding it.
Thus, since the contract renews each year, it is possible to renegotiate and modify certain parts of the lease. A rent increase is one of several changes that can be requested in the lease. However, both parties (i.e., the landlord and the tenant) must agree. You always have the right to refuse the rent increase and any other modification to the lease. Additionally, there are specific deadlines for making these requests. Your landlord cannot increase your rent at any time.
The deadlines
The deadlines for lease modifications and rent increase notices are strict and depend on the length of your lease (one year or more, less than a year, and indefinite):
If the notice is sent out of time, the notice is invalid.
If the notice is sent on time, you have 1 month to make your decision.
The possible answers
- You decide to leave: you must respond to your landlord within a month.
- You decide to stay and accept the increase: do not answer.
- You decide to stay and refuse the increase: you must respond to your landlord within one month.
Estimate your rent increase
The Rental Board offers an online tool to calculate your rent increase (French only). However, many operating expenses and necessary information to complete this calculation grid might not be accessible to tenants.
Nevertheless, there is a five-step method to estimate your rent increase.
WARNING! This is an estimate of your rent increase. There may be differences between the Rental Board’s calculation and this simple estimation tool. This calculation is for informational purposes to help you determine if the proposed increase seems reasonable.
ALSO, If your lease renews between April 1 and December 31, you should use the tax amounts for the current year and the previous year. However, if your lease renews between January 1 and March 31, you should use the tax statements for the previous year and the year before that (for example, for 2024, you should use the tax statements for 2022 and 2023).
Step 1: Calculate the increase index provided by the Rental Board on your monthly rent.
Multiply your monthly rent by the index provided by the Tribunal (exact calculation: current rent, multiplied by the Rental Board’s percentage, divided by 100).
The Tribunal’s indices are available on their website. You can easily find them by searching “calculation of the rent adjustment” on any search engine.
Example calculation: [rent] x [increase index] ÷ 100 = X
Step 2: Add municipal taxes
Call 311. Request the amount of municipal taxes for the current year AND the previous year. They will ask for your address and then provide you with the tax amounts.
Online (French only): https://servicesenligne2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/sel/evalweb/index
Example calculation if we are in 2024: [taxes for 2024 – taxes for 2023] ÷ [number of units] ÷ 12 months = X
Step 3: Add school taxes
Call 514 384-5034 (press 0, and a person will take your call). Request the amount of school taxes for the previous year AND the current year. They will ask for your address and then provide you with the tax amounts.
Online (click on “view data” under “consultation”): https://tfp.cgtsim.qc.ca/asp/tfp.aspx
Example calculation if we are in 2024: [school year 2023-2024 – school year 2022-2023] ÷ [number of units] ÷ 12 months = X
Step 4 (optional): Add major works from the previous year
The work must have been completed between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year.
There is once again an index provided by the Tribunal for this calculation. This information is available on the Rental Board’s website (French only: see the section “Réparations et améliorations majeures spécifiques au logement”).
Exact calculation to be done:
For works in my unit: [amount for works] x [index for major works] ÷ 100 ÷ 12 months = X
For works affecting the building as a whole: [amount for works] x [index for major works] ÷ 100 ÷ [number of units] ÷ 12 months = X
Step 5: Add all amounts
Step 1 + 2 + 3 + (4) = _________ $
You now have an estimate of a reasonable rent increase for your unit. However, it is important to note that this calculation does not include the increase in the landlord’s insurance.
You can now decide whether to accept or refuse your rent increase!
Rent fixation
Have you sent a letter rejecting the rent increase to your landlord? The ball is now in your landlord’s court.
Your landlord has two options: do nothing or file an application for rent fixation. As mentioned earlier, if the two parties cannot agree on the lease modification, a judge will be called in to fix the rent.
If your landlord does nothing within a month of receiving your refusal notice, there will be no rent increase. When your lease renews, you can continue to pay the same rent.
If your landlord files an application for rent fixation, you will receive a notice from them and a hearing date from the Rental Board.
You must be there on the day of the hearing. The judge will calculate the rent according to the criteria for the fixing of rent and decide on the new rent amount.
