The Ford government has set rent increases to 2.5 percent in 2023.

However, this law does not apply to rental units first occupied after November 15, 2018, vacant residential units, community housing, long-term care homes, or commercial properties.

It is worth mentioning that this rent increase is the maximum amount that the landlord can increase during the year for most tenants without the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.

The guidelines are based on the Consumer Price Index in Ontario, a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada using data reflecting economic conditions over the past year. Using the current calculation, increases would likely have been set at 5.3 percent, but the government says it capped rent increases at less than three percent "to help protect tenants from significant rent increases."

For his part, Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said in a statement: We continue to look for ways to make homes more affordable for working Ontarians, while facilitating the construction of more homes and rental units to address the ongoing housing crisis.

Tenants must be given at least 90 days' written notice from property owners seeking to increase rent, and at least 12 months must have passed since the first day of the lease or the last rent increase.

Under certain exceptional circumstances, such as when paying for major work and its completion, property owners can apply increases above the guideline.

Tenants who feel they have received an inappropriate rent increase can bring the issue to the "Landlord and Tenant Board."

A new report from Bullpen Research and Consulting and TorontoRentals.com earlier this week showed that rent costs in the Greater Toronto Area are rising.

Rents rose by just under six percent in May — the largest monthly increase in over three years. The average monthly rent price also rose by 16.5 percent year-over-year.

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair