S.O.S. I received a rental increase

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22nd February 2021 Cecilia Marangon
Montreal
Students

Are you halfway through your lease and the landlord just sent you a notice of rent increase? If so, don’t panic! 

Here’s what you need to know. Around the lease renewal period, landlords in Quebec may send a written notice of a rental increase. Such a notice must: 

  • be given within a specific timeframe and clearly indicate the modifications to the lease  
     

  • include the date and timeframe that the tenant has to answer 
     

The increase must be proposed in one of the following forms:The proposed increase in dollars, or as a percentage of the current rent 

be delivered by one of the official ways accepted by the Tribunal Administratif du Logement/ Rental Administrative Tribunal 

  1. Once you receive the notice you have one month to answer your landlord and you have three options: 
     

  1. You can accept the rental increase and renew your lease for another year  
     

  1. You can refuse the proposed increase and renew your lease for another term  
     

You can inform the landlord that you don’t want to renew your lease for another year and will be moving out at the end.  

 Before choosing which option fits better your situation, make sure that none of the boxes in section F of your lease is checked! 
You can find the official Reply to the rental increase in our Resources section! 
Exercising your rights is important, if you don’t reply within the given timeline, you’ll be deemed to have accepted the rental increase, but more importantly, you can’t be evicted for refusing the rental increase! 

If your landlord thinks that the increase was reasonable and justified he/she will have to file at the Tribunal Administratif du Logement/Rental Administrative Tribunal and provide the judge with all the invoices for the expenses claimed. 

A negotiation is always an option!  Download the official CalculTool here and use it to negotiate with your landlord.