Ontario N1 rent increase notice calculator
Updated · Sources
In Ontario a rent increase can't take effect until at least 90 days after your landlord gives you written notice on Form N1, and not until 12 months after your last increase or the day you moved in. A mailed notice only counts as given on the fifth day after mailing, so the clock starts later than the date printed on it.
How to read the result
Tell the tool how and when the notice reached you, the start date on it, the form used, and the date of your last increase or move-in. It gives the day the notice counts as given, the earliest date the increase can start, and whether the notice was early enough and 12 months have passed since your last increase.
It also runs backwards: choose a start date and it gives the last day to hand the notice over, and the last day to mail it.
Add your rent before and after, and it compares the increase with the guideline of the year the new rent starts; if you've been paying more, it adds up the excess and gives the last day to challenge it. It assumes your unit is covered: if it was first occupied after 2018, check the exemption page.
Form N1, and when a different form applies
What the notice needs, under s. 116(3): A form approved by the Board; the landlord's intention to increase the rent and the amount of the new rent. For an ordinary increase that form is N1 - Notice of Rent Increase. Most landlords must use N1, including for an increase above the guideline that the LTB has ordered or been asked to order.
- Exempt unit: N2 - Notice of Rent Increase (Unit Partially Exempt), with the same notice period and 12-month rule.
- Care home: N3 - Notice to Increase the Rent and/or Charges for Care Services and Meals, also with 90 days of notice.
- Agreed increase: N10 - Agreement to Increase the Rent Above the Guideline replaces the N1 altogether (s. 121(6)); the limits are on the guideline page.
- A service you agree to add, such as parking or storage: it can be added despite the 90-day notice and the 12-month rule (ss. 116 and 119), at no more than the actual cost to the landlord of the service, or a reasonable amount where no cost can be established (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 16).
New since July 1, 2026: air conditioners (s. 36.1). When the tenant installs a window or portable air conditioner in a unit to which the landlord must supply electricity, the landlord may raise the rent, by no more than this: The actual cost to the landlord of the electricity for the air conditioner, or a reasonable estimate. The 90-day notice, the 12-month rule and the guideline do not apply to this increase (s. 36.1(11)), so it can come without an N1. The rent must come down by the amount of the increase when the air conditioner is removed or not used for the season (s. 36.1(8) and (9)). There's no such increase if your lease already lets you install one without an increase (s. 36.1(6)), and the rule doesn't apply in mobile home parks or land lease communities (s. 36.1(13)).
How the notice period is counted
Ontario's Legislation Act, 2006 says a number of days between two events excludes the day on which the first event happens and includes the day on which the second event happens, even if the reference is to “at least”Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89(3)checked September 30, 2026 (s. 89(3)). The LTB's Rules count the same way, in calendar days (Rules 1.12 and 1.13). So the day the notice counts as given is day zero, the next day is day 1, and the earliest effective date is the day the count reaches 90 days.
Going backwards works the same way: from the date you want, count back the notice period to find the last day to hand the notice over; for mail, the fifth day after mailing must land on or before that day. Under Rule 1.15 a notice may be delivered on a holiday and take effect on a holiday, and the Rules count every Saturday and Sunday as a holiday, so a weekend start date is fine.
Delivery methods and the day each one counts
| How it reached you | Counts as given on | Where the rule is |
|---|---|---|
| Handed to you, or to an apparently adult person in your unit | day it was given to the person | s. 191(1); Rule 3.9 |
| Regular mail | fifth day after mailing | s. 191(3) |
| Xpresspost | fifth day after sent by Xpresspost, unless it's shown to have arrived earlier | Rule 3.9 |
| Courier | day after given to the courier (next non-holiday if that day is a holiday) | Rule 3.9 |
| Fax | date on the fax confirmation receipt | Rule 3.9 |
| Email, only if you agreed in writing to receive documents that way | day it was sent | Rules 3.1, 3.5 and 3.9 |
| Left in your mailbox or where your mail is delivered, slid under the door, or put through a mail slot | No separate day is set; the tool counts from the day it was left | s. 191(1); Rule 3.1 |
| Taped or posted on your door | Not a valid method | N1 instructions |
Only the mail rule is written into the Act; the others come from the LTB's Rules of Procedure. A notice that went wrong in delivery can still stand (s. 191(2)): Valid if proven that its contents actually came to the person's attention within the required time period.
The 12-month rule
The new rent can start only once 12 months have passed, counted from: The day of the last rent increase for that tenant in that rental unit; if none, the day the unit was first rented to that tenant (s. 119(1)). The 90-day notice period and the 12-month period cannot be changed by the Board (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56).
If the unit was assigned to you, the LTB's instructions add: If the previous tenant assigned the unit within the 12 months before the increase date, 12 months must have passed since the previous tenant's last increase. The government's example counts to the same calendar date a year later, and so does the tool. For a last increase on February 29, the Legislation Act, 2006 says: The anniversary of an event that took place on February 29 falls on February 28, except in a leap year (s. 89(7)), and the tool counts it that way and says so. A 12-month count from the 31st always lands on the 31st of the same month a year later.
If the notice is late, on the wrong form or missing
The increase is void and the landlord must give a new noticeResidential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 116(4)checked September 30, 2026 (s. 116(4)).
The Act doesn't say whether a notice a few days short just takes effect later, so the tool reports the date as earlier than the notice period allows and leaves the consequence to the LTB.
A void increase is treated as valid if you've paid for at least 12 consecutive months, unless you applied to the LTB within one year after the date the increase was first charged (s. 135.1). The LTB's guide says a tenant should not withhold any part of the rent, even over poor maintenance or repairs, and could be evicted for withholding rent without the LTB's approval (Brochure: A Guide to the Residential Tenancies Act); it does not address paying only part of a disputed increase.
If you've already paid more than the limit
The route is T1 - Tenant Application for a Rebate, asking the LTB to order your landlord to pay back money collected in breach of the Act (s. 135(1)). Two time limits run against you, and the LTB can't extend either (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56):
- the LTB can only order money back for an application filed not more than one year after the money was collected or retainedResidential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 135(4)checked September 30, 2026 (s. 135(4));
- an increase is deemed lawful unless an application is made within one year after the date the increase was first charged (s. 136(2)).
The T1 instructions ask what you paid in the last 12 months against what you should have paid, with your rent history; their own example is $9,808 paid less $9,600 that should have been paid = $208. The filing fee is $53 ($48 through the Tribunals Ontario Portal).
Worked examples
A notice mailed at the end of January
Your landlord mails an N1 on January 28, 2027, for a new rent starting May 1, 2027.
Mail counts on the fifth day after mailing: January 29, 30, 31, February 1, 2. So the notice is given on February 2. From there, 26 days to the end of February, 31 in March and 30 in April make 87, and May 3 completes the 90 days. May 1, 2027 is two days earlier than the notice period allows. To start the rent on May 1, the notice had to be handed over by January 31 or mailed by January 26.
A second increase inside the year
Your last increase took effect September 1, 2026. On December 15, 2026 the landlord hands you an N1 for March 1, 2027.
The notice: 16 days to the end of December, 31 in January and 28 in February make 75, so the 90 days run out on March 15, 2027; March 1 is 14 days short. The 12-month rule fails too: the earliest date is September 1, 2027.
Ten months of paying above the guideline
Your covered London apartment rented for $2,000.00. An N1 raised it to $2,100.00 from January 1, 2026, and you've paid that since.
The most the 2026 guideline allowed: $2,000.00 × 2.1% = $42.00, a rent of $2,042.00. You've paid $2,100.00 − $2,042.00 = $58.00 a month too much; from January to October 2026 that's 10 × $58.00 = $580.00. The increase was first charged on January 1, 2026, so an application has to be made within one year after the date the increase was first charged (the tool counts that as by January 1, 2027), or s. 136(2) treats the increase as lawful.
After the LTB decides
Since July 1, 2026, a request to review an LTB order must be made within 15 days of the issuance of the decision or order, unless the LTB decides to extend the time (s. 209(3)); the fee is $58. An appeal to the Divisional Court, on a question of law only, must be started within 30 days after being given the order (s. 210(1)).
Who decides, and where to get free help
The Landlord and Tenant Board decides every dispute about rent increases. You can call its staff at 1-888-332-3234Tribunals Ontariochecked September 30, 2026 or 416-645-8080 in the Toronto area, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; they cannot provide legal advice. Forms are on the LTB's website.
- Steps to Justice (Community Legal Education Ontario): the housing law section the LTB points to.
- Community legal clinics, found through Legal Aid Ontario.
- Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO), a legal clinic for low-income tenants across Ontario.
- Law Society Referral Service: a free first consultation with a lawyer or paralegal.
From Tribunals Ontario's list of legal help: Some of these options for legal help have financial eligibility requirements. You must contact the organization to determine if you qualify.
Sources
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17 (consolidation from September 21, 2026; currency date September 28, 2026)Government of Ontario
- Form N1 Notice of Rent Increase (v. 01/04/2022)Tribunals Ontario
- Form N1 Notice of Rent Increase: Instructions (November 30, 2015)Tribunals Ontario
- Form N3 Notice to Increase the Rent and/or Charges for Care Services and MealsTribunals Ontario
- O. Reg. 516/06 (General) under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006Government of Ontario
- Legislation Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 21, Sched. F (consolidation from December 11, 2025)Government of Ontario
- Landlord and Tenant Board Rules of Procedure (updated September 21, 2026)Tribunals Ontario
- Brochure: A Guide to the Residential Tenancies ActTribunals Ontario
- Form T1 Tenant Application for a Rebate of Money the Landlord Owes: InstructionsTribunals Ontario
- LTB forms, filing and feesTribunals Ontario
- Residential rent increasesGovernment of Ontario
- LTB Operational Update: Legislative Changes at the Landlord and Tenant Board (June 30, 2026)Tribunals Ontario
- LTB contactTribunals Ontario
- Getting legal helpTribunals Ontario
Every source listed here was consulted on .