Families and small businesses continue to be impacted by COVID-19. In response, Ontario has introduced the proposed Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, 2020 to freeze residential rent increases in 2021, and give the vast majority of Ontario’s 1.7 million tenants some relief during these unprecedented times. The proposed legislation would also support Ontario’s small businesses by extending the temporary ban on commercial evictions, and it will make legislative changes to create a single register of electors for both municipal and provincial elections.
The Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act includes the following proposed changes:
Residential Tenancies Act (RTA)
The Residential Tenancies Act sets out the formula for calculating the maximum allowable rent increase for the next year in rent-controlled units. The proposed changes would make the 2021 rent increase guideline zero per cent and freeze annual rent increases from January 1, 2021 and lasting until December 31, 2021.