BC rent increase calculator
Estimate the maximum regular annual rent increase under the Residential Tenancy Act, and check whether the 12-month and 3-month notice timing is lawful. This is not an additional-increase calculator and not a manufactured-home-park calculator. The result is free — no contact wall.
By Alex Lam
Enter the current monthly rent and the effective date of this increase to see the maximum new rent. Incomplete input does not show a new-rent figure. No email or phone is required to view the result.
This is the regular annual rent increase for a residential rental unit. Given the current lawful rent and an effective date, it shows the maximum new rent under the published RTB limit and whether the 12-month and 3-month notice timing is legal.
It does not price an additional rent increase, fill Form RTB-7, or calculate a manufactured-home-park increase. Use the official RTB rent-increases page and Form RTB-7 for the process that controls.
Enter the current monthly rent and the effective date you intend the increase to take effect. Optionally enter the last legal increase date — or the date rent was first payable if rent has never increased — and the date the tenant will receive the RTB-7 notice. Rent due day defaults to the 1st.
The percent is a ceiling. A smaller increase is legal. There is no banking of unused percent. A new tenancy’s first rent is not an increase.
Rates as of 2026-09-03, from the official news releases and the RTB rent-increases table. The rate is the limit for the calendar year of the effective date.
| Year | Limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3% | Official news release |
| 2026 | 2.3% | Official news release |
| 2027 | 2.2% | Official news release |
The published RTB limit for the calendar year of the effective date. A notice served in 2025 for an increase that takes effect on 1 January 2026 uses the 2026 limit (2.3%), not the 2025 limit (3%). This page does not recompute CPI.
No. Skipping a year or taking less than the maximum last year does not add leftover percent this year. This year’s maximum is this year’s published percent of the current lawful rent.
No. A regular increase may be given once every 12 months after rent was first payable or after the last legal increase, whichever is later. Move-in day is the wrong clock if a later legal increase exists. A new landlord or an assignment does not reset it.
The landlord must give at least three whole months’ written notice on Form RTB-7. The month the tenant receives the notice does not count. Official example: notice any day in January, even 1 January, has an earliest effective date of 1 May if rent is due on the 1st.
Yes. A regular annual increase for a residential rental unit must be served on the official Notice of Rent Increase — Form RTB-7. This page does not generate a filled RTB-7.
No. The first rent agreed for a new tenancy is not a rent increase. The 12-month clock starts when that rent is first payable.
A notice that is too early or gives less than three whole months does not become a lawful increase on the date written on it. The increase slides to the earliest lawful effective date rather than becoming void. Confirm the current RTB process if a notice is challenged.
Not on this page. Additional increases (RTB-52 / RTB-53) need an RTB order or written tenant agreement. They are a separate RTB process. RTB-46 is a Direct Request Worksheet, not a rent-increase form.
This is an estimate of the regular annual ceiling only. The Residential Tenancy Branch and the written notice control. Additional increases need an RTB order or written tenant agreement. Manufactured home parks are different. This is not legal advice.
Confirm current rules with the RTB before you serve a notice. Real estate and property management services are provided by Alex Lam Personal Real Estate Corporation through Coldwell Banker Prestige Realty.
Landlords in Metro Vancouver
Managing a rental in Metro Vancouver? I can help you stay onside of the Residential Tenancy Act. The calculator result above does not require this step.
Also see property management, the rental property calculator, and real estate overview.