How to Start Reading a Commercial Lease in Canada
Reading a commercial lease in Canada: base rent versus additional rent, CAM and triple-net charges, fit-out and renewal terms, and the Ontario and Quebec rules that apply when the lease is silent.
How to Start Checking If Your BC Rent Increase Is Legal — RTB-7 Notice, the Annual Limit, Above-Limit Increases, and Disputing It
A BC rent increase is legal only if four things line up: the right year's limit (2.3% for 2026, 2.2% for 2027), 12 months since the last increase, three full months' notice on Form RTB-7, and no rounding up or carry-over. This walkthrough checks each one, then covers above-limit increases and disputes.
Applies in: British Columbia
A rent increase in British Columbia is a small arithmetic test with a paper trail. Four things have to line up: the limit for the year the increase takes effect, twelve months since the rent was set or last legally increased, three full months of notice, and the right form. If any one of them fails, the increase as served does not stand, and the tenant keeps paying the current rent until a lawful notice takes effect. This guide checks each one in order, then covers the two lawful ways rent can rise above the limit, and what to do when a notice is unlawful.
The rules below come from the province's rent-increases page and the Residential Tenancy Branch pages linked at the end. They cover residential tenancies under the Residential Tenancy Act. If you are unsure whether the Act covers your tenancy, check that question on the province's pages before you rely on anything here.
Step 1: Find the year that governs
The limit follows the year the increase takes effect, not the year the notice was served. That distinction decides real cases right now.
- An increase taking effect any time in 2026 is capped at 2.3%.
- An increase taking effect any time in 2027 is capped at 2.2%, announced August 27, 2026.
So a notice that arrives in the last three months of 2026 is governed by the 2027 figure, because three full months' notice pushes its effective date into 2027. A notice served in October 2026 cannot take effect before February 1, 2027. A notice served in November cannot take effect before March 1, 2027. A notice served in December cannot take effect before April 1, 2027. Every one of those carries the 2.2% limit, even though the paper arrived in 2026.
For reference, the province's historical table runs: 2024 at 3.5%, 2025 at 3.0%, 2026 at 2.3%, 2027 at 2.2%. Older limits do not matter to a current notice except as a check on whether a past increase was lawful when it was served.
Step 2: Do the multiplication
Multiply the current rent by the limit for the effective year. Two rules constrain the result.
First, no rounding up. The province's page says landlords cannot round up when calculating the allowable increase. On a $2,000 monthly rent, 2.3% is $46.00 and 2.2% is $44.00. On a $1,850 rent, 2.2% is $40.70. The notice must state the exact dollar amount, and that amount cannot exceed the product.
Second, no carry-over. A landlord can only apply the current year's limit, even if no increase was applied the previous year or only part of the previous year's limit was used. The province's page gives the example itself: last year's limit 2%, landlord raised rent 1%, this year the landlord cannot add the unused 1% to this year's limit. An unused part of a past limit is gone.
The Residential Tenancy Branch publishes a rent increase calculator that finds when and by how much rent can be increased for an existing tenant. Use it as the second check on your own multiplication, not as a substitute for reading the notice.
Utilities are a separate matter. If utilities and other fees are included in the rent, the landlord still cannot push the rent beyond the limit because those costs rose. Utility and fee increases on their own need the tenant's agreement, whether the utilities sit inside the tenancy agreement or in a separate agreement, and the tenant should get a copy of the bill before paying.
Step 3: Check the two clocks
Two time rules run side by side, and both must pass.
The twelve-month clock. Rent can only be increased if at least twelve months have passed since the rent was set at the start of the tenancy, or since it was last legally increased during an existing tenancy. A new landlord does not restart the clock, and a new tenant through a sublet or assignment does not restart it either. The count runs from the last lawful increase, not from the last time anyone asked for one.
The three-month clock. The landlord must give at least three full months' notice. The month in which the tenant receives the notice does not count. The counting works like this: rent is due on the first of the month, the notice arrives any time in January, and the full months are February, March, and April, so the increase takes effect May 1. A notice that arrives March 1 is no earlier than a notice that arrives March 31 for this purpose. Both leave March out of the count.
Work the clocks backward from the effective date printed on the notice. If the effective date is less than three full months after the month of service, or less than twelve months after the rent was set or last legally increased, the notice fails on timing even if the percentage is right.
Step 4: Check the form
The landlord must use Form RTB-7, the Notice of Rent Increase. The notice must state the exact dollar amount of the increase and the date it takes effect. Those two items, on that form, are the minimum content. A notice missing either one is defective on its face.
Read the form against the tenancy file before doing anything else:
- Is it RTB-7, not a letter, email, or text message?
- Does the dollar amount match your own multiplication from Step 2?
- Does the effective date clear both clocks from Step 3?
- Is the new rent the current rent plus exactly that dollar amount?
Keep the notice with the tenancy agreement and every rent receipt. Disputes turn on documents, and the notice is the document the whole dispute is about.
Step 5: If the increase is above the limit, check the route
An increase above the annual limit is lawful only through one of two routes. Higher costs, on their own, open neither.
Route one: the tenant agrees in writing. The landlord may ask, and the tenant does not have to agree. If the tenant does agree, the increase above the yearly limit must be put in a written agreement that clearly shows the exact dollar amount, the date it takes effect, any conditions, and the tenant's signature. A verbal yes is not enough, and a signed agreement that omits the amount or the date does not meet the province's stated requirements.
Route two: the Residential Tenancy Branch approves it. The landlord applies for an additional rent increase, and tenants can take part in the process if they disagree. There are two application streams:
- Additional rent increase for expenses, Form RTB-52. This covers a financial loss from unforeseeable financing costs of purchasing the property, and expenses for significant repairs to a manufactured home park. The costs must relate to services included in the rent. The application fee is $300 plus $10 for each affected unit, to a maximum of $600, and the landlord must file three years of rent history, proof of the expense changes, any RTB decision about the property or its tenants in the past twelve months, and information about service or facility changes in the past twelve months. Older secondary pages show a $200 plus $5 fee; that figure is stale. The current RTB page and the Residential Tenancy Regulation both state $300 plus $10 to a maximum of $600.
- Additional rent increase for capital expenditures, the RTB-53 series. This covers major repairs or improvements such as replacing an aging roof, updating single-pane windows, or installing a new boiler. The expenditure must have been incurred within eighteen months before applying, must not be expected to be needed again for at least five years, and the work must be completed when the landlord applies. Costs caused by the landlord failing to maintain the unit, costs paid by another source such as a rebate or insurance, and regular maintenance such as cleaning gutters do not qualify. The Regulation amortizes eligible costs over ten years, the increase is capped at 3% per phase on top of the annual increase, and any excess rolls to a second and third phase. An additional increase must be given at the same time as an annual increase. Approved increases are served with phased RTB-53 notices, and tenants can verify an approved Phase 1 increase with the RTB's validator tool.
If the landlord has an approved additional increase, the notice that follows it still needs three months' notice before it takes effect. Approval does not waive the notice clock.
Step 6: If the notice is unlawful, do not pay the unlawful part
Tenants do not have to pay a rent increase that is higher than the amount allowed by law, or one where proper notice was not given. The province's page sets out the sequence: communicate first, then dispute.
- Write to the landlord. State which rule the notice breaks: the percentage, the twelve-month clock, the three-month clock, or the form. Keep a copy. A short written objection often ends the matter, because a landlord who re-serves a correct RTB-7 loses nothing but time.
- Keep paying the current lawful rent. Do not stop paying rent, and do not pay the unlawful amount "to keep the peace" unless you understand that recovering it later takes a dispute. Paying the lawful rent on time keeps the file clean.
- Apply for dispute resolution if the landlord does not correct the notice. The Residential Tenancy Branch process hears the dispute, and an arbitrator reviews the evidence and decides. Tenants challenging an increase should bring the tenancy agreement, the notice, the rent history, and the written objection.
- Deduct an overpayment if you already paid too much. Tenants who paid a rent increase higher than the legal amount can deduct the overpayment from future rent, explaining in writing why they are not paying the amount the landlord asked for. Put the explanation in writing before deducting, and keep the arithmetic with it.
This guide does not decide whether a particular increase stands. Only the Residential Tenancy Branch decides that, on the documents. For free plain-language help working through a notice, the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre publishes rent-increase explainers and a template response letter, and community legal clinics can review a specific notice.
Edges worth checking before you act
Additional occupants. If the tenancy agreement states that rent varies with the number of occupants, it must state the amount of the variation, and rent moves by that amount when an occupant arrives or leaves. The notice and timing rules for rent increases do not apply to occupant-based changes. A landlord cannot raise rent for a minor occupant, and if the agreement says nothing about occupants, the landlord cannot raise rent because someone moved in.
Sublets. When a tenant sublets, that tenant becomes the landlord of the subtenant. If the head tenant receives a rent-increase notice, the head tenant may pass the increase to the subtenant with proper notice. The same limits, clocks, and form apply at each step.
Manufactured home park sites. These tenancies use different forms and a different calculation that can include a proportional amount for local government levies and regulated utility fees. Do not test a manufactured home site notice against the RTB-7 rules in this guide. Ask the Residential Tenancy Branch which form and calculation apply.
A government change does not rewrite the limit. Rent limits are set under the Residential Tenancy Act and Regulation and published by the Residential Tenancy Branch. They do not change because an election happened. If a future government changes the law, the new limit will appear on the RTB pages. Recheck the province's rent-increases page before relying on any figure, especially if you are reading this guide well after its date.
Related guides:
Checking a BC rent increase, in five moves
- Find the year that governsThe limit follows the year the increase takes effect, not the year the notice was served. An increase taking effect in 2026 is capped at 2.3%; one taking effect in 2027 is capped at 2.2%.
- Do the multiplicationCurrent rent times the limit for that year, with no rounding up and no adding an unused part of last year's limit. A $2,000 rent allows $46.00 for 2026 and $44.00 for 2027.
- Check the two clocksAt least 12 months since the rent was set or last legally increased, and at least three full months' notice before the increase takes effect. The month the notice arrives does not count.
- Check the formThe notice must be on [Form RTB-7](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/housing-and-tenancy/residential-tenancies/forms/rtb7.pdf) and must state the exact dollar amount of the increase and the date it takes effect.
- If it is above the limit, check the routeAn above-limit increase needs the tenant's signed written agreement or an approved Residential Tenancy Branch application. Anything else, the tenant does not have to pay.
Questions people ask
My landlord served the notice in October 2026. Which limit applies, 2.3% or 2.2%?
The 2.2% limit for 2027. The limit follows the year the increase takes effect, not the year the notice was served, and a notice served in October, November, or December 2026 cannot take effect until 2027 because three full months' notice is required. The month the notice arrives does not count toward those three months, so an October notice takes effect no earlier than February 1, 2027. Check the effective date printed on the RTB-7 first: if it falls in 2027, the 2.2% figure governs even though the paper arrived in 2026.
Can my landlord add last year's unused increase to this year's?
No. The province's rent-increases page states this directly: a landlord can only apply the current year's limit, even if no increase was applied last year or only part of last year's limit was used. There is no carry-over and no topping up. If last year's limit was 2% and the landlord raised the rent 1%, this year's increase is still capped at this year's limit alone. The same page also bars rounding up when calculating the allowable amount.
The notice came by email, not on Form RTB-7. Does it count?
No. The province requires landlords to use [Form RTB-7, the Notice of Rent Increase](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/housing-and-tenancy/residential-tenancies/forms/rtb7.pdf), for yearly rent increases, and the notice must state the exact dollar amount of the increase and the date it takes effect. A letter, email, or verbal message is not a lawful rent-increase notice under that requirement. Keep the message, keep paying the current lawful rent, and tell the landlord in writing that a proper RTB-7 notice is needed before any increase takes effect.
What if the increase is above the limit but my landlord says costs went up?
Higher costs alone do not make an above-limit increase lawful. The landlord has two routes: the tenant's voluntary written agreement, which must show the exact dollar amount, the effective date, any conditions, and the tenant's signature, or an application to the Residential Tenancy Branch for an additional rent increase. Expense-based applications use [Form RTB-52](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/housing-and-tenancy/residential-tenancies/forms/rtb52.pdf) and cost $300 plus $10 per affected unit to a maximum of $600. Capital-expenditure applications go through a separate process with phased notices. Until one of those routes is completed, the tenant does not have to pay more than the annual limit.
I already paid an increase that turned out to be unlawful. Can I get it back?
Yes, by deduction or by order. The province's page says tenants who paid more than the legal amount can deduct the overpayment from future rent, explaining in writing why they are not paying the amount the landlord asked for. The other route is applying for dispute resolution through the Residential Tenancy Branch, which hears the dispute and can order repayment. Keep the RTB-7 notice, every rent receipt, and the written explanation together, because the hearing turns on documents, not on either side's account of a conversation.
My landlord wants to raise the rent because a new person moved in. Is that a rent increase?
Only if the tenancy agreement says so. If the agreement states that rent varies with the number of occupants, it must state the amount by which rent varies, and the rent moves by that amount when an occupant arrives or leaves. The province's page adds two limits: a landlord cannot raise rent for a minor occupant, and the notice and timing rules for rent increases do not apply to occupant-based changes. If the agreement says nothing about occupants, the landlord cannot raise the rent because someone moved in.
Does the rent-increase limit apply to a manufactured home park site?
Not in the same way. Manufactured home park tenancies sit under their own Act and use different forms, and the allowable increase can include a proportional amount for changes in local government levies and regulated utility fees on top of the inflation figure. Do not check a manufactured home site rent increase against the RTB-7 rules in this guide. Ask the Residential Tenancy Branch which form and calculation apply to the site, and check the notice against that answer.
Has the BC government change affected rent-increase rules?
No change is reflected in the rules as published at the time of writing. Rent limits are set under the Residential Tenancy Act and the Residential Tenancy Regulation and published by the Residential Tenancy Branch, and they do not change because an election happened. A future government could change the law, but until the RTB page shows a new limit, the published figures govern. Recheck the province's rent-increases page before relying on any limit figure, especially if you are reading this guide well after its date.
Sources
- Rent increases — Government of British Columbia — 2026 limit 2.3%, 2027 limit 2.2%, three full months' notice on Form RTB-7, twelve-month rule, no carry-over, no rounding up, dispute and overpayment deduction, written agreement above the limit, historical limits.
- Rent increases to offset growing costs and expenses — Government of British Columbia — RTB-52 expense applications and $300 plus $10 fee capped at $600, RTB-53 capital-expenditure criteria and 18-month window, 3% per-phase cap, tenant verification tool, additional occupant clauses.
- 2027 annual allowable rent increase news release — BC Gov News, August 27, 2026 — 2027 limit 2.2%, down from 2.3% in 2026, taking effect January 1, 2027, once every twelve months, three months' notice.
- Rent Increases — Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre — three-full-months counting example, no top-up rule, section 42 notice requirements.