Montreal landlords push for 20% rent hike, resulting in a $150 monthly increase — but tenants can fight back, here's how

A Montreal-based housing advocacy group, the Comité d'Action de Parc-Extension (CAPE), told CBC that tenants of 18 neighbouring rental buildings also received rental increase notices ranging from 5% to 20%. These notices came from two of the new landlords that utilize the same property manager, CBC found. These landlords purchased the buildings last summer.

CAPE noted how over 50 files have been opened with the organization to contest these rent hikes. Amy Darwish, a co-ordinator with CAPE, told CBC that, “People who have lived in the area for decades are now making tough financial choices with the little money they have left after rent is paid.”

Marc Lemieux is one of the landlords who owns some of the buildings mentioned. He defends the large increases, citing heating issues and non-conformity notices regarding “safety and security concerns issued by the City of Montreal” CBC noted. As a result of these issues, Lemieux and the other landlord invested $3.1 million in the buildings and chose to raise the average rent of their tenants by about 9%.

“The problems were related to the heating,” Lemieux said, adding, “So we addressed these issues, we changed the furnaces, we secured access to all units, we installed surveillance cameras, we converted the factory-made panels to breaker panels. We adjusted the system, we replaced the windows. Then we implemented an extermination program.”

Understanding Montreal’s rental landscape

Rent increases like the ones Lemieux has implemented are not new in Montreal. In fact, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada, asking rent prices in Montreal increased approximately 71% from 2019 to the first quarter of 2025 (2). What’s more, the online rental company rentals.ca noted that the average rent across apartment types in Montreal was $1,913 as of January 2026 (3).

The Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) 2025 Rental Market Report found that rent growth spiked 7.2% in 2025 outpacing “...income increases, making it increasingly difficult for households — especially the most disadvantaged — to access housing (4).”

Increasing rent prices in Montreal are part of a larger, upward trend. But are landlords allowed to simply increase rent prices at will?

How rent hikes work in Montreal

In Montreal, the legal framework for setting rent prices is defined under the Civil Code of Quebec, which gives authority to Quebec’s rental board, the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), to provide guidelines for calculating rent increases based on a number of factors (5). The TAL publishes annual “applicable percentages” used in its rent calculation model, including a base percentage tied to inflation (CPI), as well as additional percentages for property taxes, insurance costs, maintenance and major capital expenditures (6, 7). These figures are part of a standardized calculation method used to estimate reasonable rent adjustments and are commonly treated as a benchmark in disputes.

Landlords may request any rent increase they consider reasonable. However, if an increase exceeds what would be justified under the TAL’s calculation model, they must provide financial evidence to support it if the matter is challenged before the TAL by a tenant.

While this is the regulatory framework, the TAL is clear regarding what power landlords have regarding rent price adjustments: “At the time of lease renewal, the landlord is free to request a rent increase that he considers fair and reasonable.” However, the TAL only officially sets rental rates using its calculation model when the tribunal is involved to resolve a price dispute between landlords and tenants.

In practice, when a landlord is increasing rent, they are required to send a notice to the tenant based on the length of their lease (8). For instance, a year-long lease or longer would require the landlord to give a notice of a rental increase between six and eight months before the lease ends. When they receive the notice, a tenant can either accept the new terms, refuse the modifications and renew the current lease, or choose to not renew at all.

A tenant that refuses the rent increase must do so in writing within one month of receiving the notice from their landlord. If they do not send a notice within the proper timeframe, the lease modifications will be implicitly accepted without dispute.

If a tenant refuses, the landlord may apply to the TAL to have the rent set within a month of receiving the refusal notice. However, landlords carry the costs of involving the TAL, and they must justify the increase with detailed financial evidence. Both parties will be bound by the tribunal’s subsequent decision.

Can Montreal tenants fight back against unfair rent hikes?

While rent increases are sometimes financially devastating, Montrealers do have some recourse to fight back. Here are some of the most common steps tenants can take.