Rent increase doesn’t need to take place on move-in anniversary

Q:I have lived in my apartment in Ottawa for the past 11 years and presently rent on a month-tomonth basis. As the anniversary date of my move-in is Sept. 1, I should have received any notice of rent increase by May 31. When I inquired to the rental office, I was told that it did not make a difference that I had not received a notice by May 31, they would simply change my anniversary date to give me 90 days’ notice. Why is a landlord allowed to change the anniversary date as they see fit, but a tenant will always be penalized if proper notice is not given?

A:The concept of an anniversary date is largely meaningless. The term reflects past practices when inflation was higher than it is today, and almost all landlords gave rent increases at the guideline as soon as they could every year.

However, the rule was and is that a residential landlord can only give a rent increase at least 12 months after the last rent increase (or at least 12 months after the tenancy commenced.) There is no obligation to give an increase on the anniversary of the move-in date.

If a landlord misses the anniversary date by accident, or chooses not to give an increase on the anniversary date, then, with proper notice, they can give an increase at any month, say month 13, or 15 or 20. At any month at or after month 12, the landlord has complied with the rule that at least 12 months has passed since the last increase.

You are not being penalized by having your increase delayed. A later increase is almost always better than an earlier increase because you pay the lower, current rent until the next rent increase.

As a tenant you are also not penalized for missing the anniversary date. Having gone onto a month-to month tenancy, you can give notice of termination for the end of any month, not just the one day every year before your anniversary date.

The landlord’s notice of increase needs to be delivered to you at least 90 days before its effective date, whenever that is. Since tenants need to give 60 days’ notice if they want to end a month-to-month tenancy, that gives you 30 days to consider whether you are willing to pay the rent increase in order to keep your apartment.

Most of the time, most rents in Ottawa rise slowly with the guideline, which is equal to the rate of inflation. However, rents in a particular area can change more when tenants vacate, especially when the demand for particular types of rental units in particular areas change, either up or down. For example, when a major employer shuts down a facility, fewer employees look for homes in that area. Conversely, when a new facility opens up, or a shuttered facility is reopened, then the demand for nearby rental homes increases, and new tenants pay higher rents to live there.

Similarly, if a large new rental project is opened, then rents for older units in the area may fall due to the new competition. The city’s rental market is really a series of inter-connected rental markets for different types of rental units, with different amenities, in different areas. Tenants choose where they want to live and try to pay the lowest rent for the amenities they want, while landlords try to get the highest rents they can while keeping their buildings full or very close to full.