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When will the Landlord and Tenant Board Allow an Increase Greater than the Rent Guideline?

Your landlord can also apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an above-guideline rent increase (AGI), for the following reasons:

• The landlord has made repairs or renovations to your apartment or to your building;
• You and the landlord have agreed to a new service, such as air conditioning;
• The landlord has established a new security service for the building; and
• The landlord has had higher than average increases in property taxes, heating, water or hydro costs.

However, your landlord can receive no more than 4% above the rent guideline in any one year for repair/renovation work, providing a new service in your apartment, or a new security service. If your share of the landlord’s renovation costs is more than 4% of your rent, the landlord can “carry forward” the costs into the following years (at 4% above the guideline each year) until the costs are fully paid for. This could mean a 7% increase for three or four years.

If the landlord does justify a rent increase for three or four years due to the large cost of capital expenditures, the landlord does not have to reapply to the Landlord and Tenant Board each of those years but merely serves a notice of rent increase indicating that the larger than rent guideline increases have been granted due to the carry forward of the original above guideline rent increase application.

For example, if the landlord does major roof and balcony repairs which would result in a rent increase of 11% above the rent guideline, you will see your rent increase by an extra 4% above the guideline until the landlord’s repair costs are paid for (by you and the other tenants in the building).

In Year One, you would get a 7.9 rent hike (3.9%* guideline plus 4% repairs). In Year Two, you would get a 7.9% rent hike (3.9%* guideline plus 4% repairs). In Year Three, you would get a 6.9% rent hike (3.9%* guideline plus remaining 3% of repair bill). *NOTE: The 3.9% guideline figure is based on the 2002 actual guideline. For the purpose of this exercise we used the same figure for the following years, however it is more than likely that the guideline realistically will be the same or lower than 3.9%

See Sections 130, 132 and 138 of the TPA.