The Ontario Government Is Promising That They Will Freeze Rent Increases In 2021

Your rent might end up staying the same!

Living in Ontario, particularly in big cities, can get expensive, especially if you live in an apartment. However, an Ontario rent freeze has been announced by the government.

The legislation will be introduced this fall.

Toronto Mayor John Tory shared a press release from the Ontario government on Twitter which provided details on the upcoming bill.

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It says there would have been a maximum allowable increase of 1.5% in 2021, but instead, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark will introduce a bill ensuring that "the vast majority of families" do not see their costs go up.

The release says the government intends to "stabilize rents for Ontario's 1.6 million rental households."

"Glad to see this announcement from the provincial government today signaling a rent freeze in 2021," Tory wrote, "Look forward to seeing details of the legislation. At this point in time, the province is making the right decision to leave some more money in the hands of tenants."

The Ontario legislature will be back in session starting on September 14, and Clark is expected to introduce the new bill in the following weeks, according to a report from the Canadian Press via CBC News.

The release also notes that "this year is not like other years," and that the government plans to engage with both tenant and landlord groups to ensure that the legislation is "fair and balanced."

The original increase for this year was set at 2.2% back in 2019. The average monthly cost for any property within the province is $2,069, according to data from Rentals.ca.

Within Toronto, one-bedroom units have an average price of $2,051/month. That jumps up to $2,709 for anything with two bedrooms.

This puts it much higher than the national average, which sits at $1,411 and $1,775 for one and two-bedrooms, respectively.

In March, the Ontario government promised that tenants would not be evicted if they could not pay during this time.

However, the rules went back to normal in August.