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On August 28, 2020, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced the government's intention to bring forward legislation this fall to freeze rents at 2020 Ievets so that the vast majority of tenants will not face an increase in 2021.
On September 17, 2020, the government introduced Bill 204, the Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, 2020, to freeze rent in 2021 for nearly alt rent-controlled and non~rent-contro|led residential units.
On October 1, 2020, the Act received Royal Assent.
The 2021 rent increase guideline, as determined through legislation, was previously set at 1.5 percent for increases in rent-controlled units between January 1 and December 31, 2021. This was published in the Ontario Gazette on August 29, 2020.
Bill 204 revises the 2021 rent increase guideline to make it zero percent, despite the formula set out in the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and the figure already published in The Ontario Gazette. Rent increases, with some limited exceptions, will be prohibited during a set rent freeze ‘period’ starting January 1, 2021 and ending on December 31, 2021.

For more information, please see:

Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, 2020
News Release: Ontario Introduces Legislation to Freeze Residential Rent in 2021
Backgrounder: Ontario Supporting Renters and Small Businesses in COVID-19 Recovery
MMAH webpage on the rent increase Guideline

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