Property owners in Ontario will be able to increase rent by up to 2.5 percent next year according to the increase guidelines published by the Ford government over the weekend.

According to a government statement, the rate increase will be the same as that used in the past two years and is currently, “the lowest rate in the country”, adding that without the cap, the increase would have been 3.1 percent due to recent inflation rates.

The government set the rent increase guideline at zero in 2021 during the pandemic and raised it to 1.2 percent for 2022.

Jessica Bell, Ontario NDP housing critic, stated that the current housing crisis has made renting or owning a home in Ontario more expensive than ever.

She confirmed in a statement: “The Conservatives have had six years to fix the housing crisis, and they have failed.” Adding, “Their refusal to regain control over rent increases and allowing regional rents to continue to rise at three times the rent increase guidelines clearly tells us that they have no intention of making life affordable for renters.”

Rent control only applied to units occupied by anyone for the first time, not just the current tenant, before November 15, 2018.

For any units that came onto the market after that, there is no limit to the amount of rent that can be charged annually.

Property owners can also apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for increases above 2.5 percent.

They must also give tenants at least 90 days written notice of a rent increase and are not allowed to increase the rent more than once a year.

Tenants who feel they have received an inappropriate rent increase can apply to the LTB for a correction.