Tenant Information

In most cases, a landlord can increase the rent once a year according to a guideline set by the Ontario Government. The rent increase guideline is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is calculated monthly by Statistics Canada.

A landlord must give a tenant at least 90 days’ notice in writing of any rent increase. The 2020 rent increase guideline is 2.2%, the most a landlord can raise your rent that year and applies to most rental accommodations covered by the RTA with the exception of:

• rental units first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018.
• vacant residential units
• social housing units
• commercial units
• nursing homes

There is no limit to how much a landlord can increase the rent each year for these units.

Landlords may apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to raise rents above the Rent Increase Guideline if:

• The complex`s costs for municipal taxes or utilities have increased by an extraordinary amount;
• The landlord incurred eligible significant capital expenditures (renovations, repairs, replacements or additions); and,
• The landlord incurred additional operating costs related to security services or initiated security features.

Tenants may dispute an Above Guideline Increase (AGI) application they believe does not meet the RTA requirements.

For legal advice on these matters, please contact Hamilton Community Legal Clinic

For questions about the RTA and to resolve disputes between most residential landlords and tenants, please contact the Landlord and Tenant Board. To learn more about your legal rights, visit Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO).

• Contact Hamilton Community Legal Clinic to determine if this increase may be eligible, according to the guideline set by the Ontario Government.
• Keep a copy of the proof of your landlord’s application and attend your hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

• You do not have to move. Your landlord must follow the legal process at the Landlord and Tenant Board by giving you a notice of termination form. Note: you do not have to move by the termination date. Instead, wait for a hearing and contact the Legal Clinic for advice.
• Your landlord must not harass or intimidate you.
• Think about the costs of moving and the rent for a new unit, which could be much more than your current unit.

You should do the math before accepting a buyout. Will you be able to find another apartment at the same rent as you are paying now? It is very unlikely that you will be able to find a similar unit for the same rent that you are paying now. You should find another apartment before accepting a buy out or signing anything.

A fast, increasing rental market has reduced Hamilton’s supply of affordable rental housing. More renters are competing for fewer affordable units. Since 2012, city-wide rents have increased an average of 4.1% per year, twice the rate of inflation.

Get legal advice before agreeing and signing anything. Contact the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic for assistance.

The requirement to maintain services in a building may fall under the City’s Property Standards By-Law.  To find out if the issue can be addressed by Municipal Law Enforcement or to register a municipal by-law complaint you may:

Call 905-546-2782 during business hours (Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm) or 905-546-2489 after regular business hours if your complaint is urgent.

Submit an online Municipal By-Law Complaint Form Send an email to [email protected] and include:

• Your contact information including name and phone number (this information is kept confidential and is important to collect in case staff need additional information from you).
• Address of the complaint.
• Details about the complaint including dates and times.
• Nature of the complaint.

You can also contact the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic for advice. Although you can file a T1 application against your landlord at the Landlord and Tenant Board within 1 year of the discontinuation, there are other non-legal strategies to help your situation as you may need immediate assistance.

• An N11: “Agreement to End the Tenancy” is a form stating that the landlord and tenant both want to end a lease and has to be signed by both parties. If you want to stay in your unit, you can refuse to sign the N11. If you do agree to end your lease, you and your landlord together must agree on a termination date, when you must move out. If you do not move out by this date, the landlord can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to evict you.
• Some landlords will negotiate a compensation scheme (offer to give you money or something else) in exchange for signing the N11. If you want to do this, make sure the agreement is in writing and attach it to the N11. You should get legal advice before you sign anything.

• Although these notices have a termination date on them, you do not have to move by this date or pay any money claimed in the form. You not moving by this date means your landlord must file an application for eviction to the Landlord and Tenant Board based on the notice. This prompts a hearing. If there is a hearing, you will receive the application and a Notice of Hearing that will allow you to defend the claims made against you in an effort to maintain your tenancy.
• Contact the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic for help if you receive a notice of termination. The only authority that can issue an eviction order is the Landlord and Tenant Board and the only authority that can enforce the eviction order by changing the locks on your door is the Sheriff. Both must give you written notice in advance.

• If you agree that you owe rent and can pay it, it is best to pay the rent to your landlord by the deadline in the notice. This will void the notice, meaning that your landlord cannot apply for your eviction at the Landlord and Tenant Board. If you cannot pay the rent by the deadline or do not agree with the amount claimed by your landlord, you do not have to move out and your landlord must file an application for eviction at the Landlord and Tenant Board.
• Your landlord’s application for eviction with prompt a hearing where you can defend your tenancy. The only authority that can issue an eviction order is the Landlord and Tenant Board and the only authority that can enforce the eviction order by changing the locks on your door is the Sheriff. They both must give you written notice in advance.

You do not have to move by the termination date if you want to challenge the truthfulness of the claim and/or require more time to move. The termination date set out in the notice must be 120 days from issuance and the termination date must be the last date of the rental period (i.e. last day of the month).

If the landlord is giving you this notice for demolition or to convert your unit to another use, the landlord must pay you an amount equal to 3 months' rent or offer you another rental unit that is acceptable to you. If the landlord is giving you this notice for extensive repairs requiring the unit to be vacant, if you do not plan to move back in once the repairs or renovations are done, the landlord must pay you an amount equal to 3 months' rent or offer you another rental unit that is acceptable to you. You may be entitled to compensation or another unit.

If you plan to move back in once the repairs or renovations are done, the landlord must pay you an amount equal to 3 months' rent, or the rent for the period of time the rental unit is being repaired or renovated - whichever is less. If your landlord gives you this notice because they were ordered to demolish or repair the rental unit under any law, your landlord does not have to pay you compensation for moving out.

1. Make your maintenance requests in writing and keep a copy.
2. Contact the Legal Clinic for help drafting forms to file against your landlord or file a T6 and T2 application against your landlord at the Landlord and Tenant Board, 119 King St. W., Floor 6. Also report the problems to Property Standards with the City of Hamilton at 905-546-2782.
3. Your landlord must maintain your unit by law in compliance with health and safety standards and keep it in a good state of repair.