Rent Increase Form

MPP issues bill to address rent control exemption

After receiving a complaint from a constituent about a steep rent hike, Norm Sterling introduced a bill late last month to address a little known part of the Residential Tenancies Act that prevents rent control on properties constructed after 1991.

“Overall, the tenant protection legislation introduced by the Harris government is working well because it strikes a balance between protecting most tenants from unexpected increases while allowing landlords to increase the rent when one tenant moves out and a new tenant moves in,” says Sterling, MPP for Carleton-Mississippi Mills. “There is currently an exception for new units occupied after 1991. My bill (Bill 204), if passed, would eliminate that exemption.”

The issue came to Sterling’s attention when a constituent living in Almonte, about 50 kilometres west of Ottawa, complained about a 25 per cent increase levied by her landlord. She was shocked to learn that because her building was completed and first occupied after Nov. 1, 1991, her landlord could demand any increase, regardless of the maximum increase set out in the Rent Increase Guideline.

“A constituent came in to see me because she had received the rent increase and exhausted the various appeal mechanisms in place to deal with it. It means her rent was going up about $200 a month,” says Sterling.

The exemption was originally introduced in the early 1990s by the Bob Rae NDP government as a way to encourage the construction of new rental housing.

The Rent Increase Guideline, as set out by the Ontario government has been low over the last few years; for 2011 it’s .7 per cent. The guideline is the maximum a landlord can increase rent for most residential units without having to get approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board. The guideline was designed to take into account increases in landlords’ building maintenance and operating costs, but over the years, many landlords and associations who represent them claim the increases have not even come close to meeting rising costs. In 2010, the guideline was 2.1 per cent and in 2009, 1.8 per cent.

Sterling says with the proliferation of condo developments in the province, especially the Toronto area, and with more interest rates allowing for greater numbers of homeowners in the province, the exemption provision should no longer be required.

“We have a huge number of new condos . . . and there are high vacancy rates in some areas. Due to higher vacancy rates . . . rent increases in these new rental units have generally been modest, therefore this has not risen as an issue until now.

Notice of Rent Increase Form | Best Sample Forms

The notice of rent increase form is filled by a landlord to notify a tenant on increase of rent.  The landlord must issue this form filled with all the details to the tenant in advance, a minimum of three months.  Since this document is binding, it is a legal document.  Here is a sample notice of rent increase form.

Sample Notice of Rent Increase Form

A: To the tenant(s)

Full Name(s)

1. _______________________________

2.

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Defense production act amendments of 1952, Hearings before the Committee on Banking and Currency, United States Senate, Eighty-second Congress, second session, on S. 2594 and S. 2645, bills to amend and extend the Defense production act of 1950, as amended, and the Housing and rent act of 1947, as amended