Rent increase notice:
compliant, calculated, and provable.
A notice sent late, incomplete, or impossible to prove is a year of increase lost: the lease renews on the current terms. Here are the deadlines, the official TAL form, the justifiable-increase calculation and sending with proof of receipt: all in one place.
The notice deadlines (art. 1942 C.c.Q.)
The notice must reach the tenant within the legal window, counted from the end of the lease. Outside the window, it has no effect and the lease renews as is.
Lease of 12 months or more
3 to 6 months before the end of the lease
Lease under 12 months
1 to 2 months before the end of the lease
Indeterminate-term lease
1 to 2 months before the requested change
Lease of a room
10 to 20 days before the end of the lease
Example: for a July 1 to June 30 lease, the notice must reach the tenant between January 1 and March 31.
How much can you increase? Estimate the justifiable increase (2026)
An increase aligned with the TAL's official percentages rests on the same criteria the tribunal uses. Simplified estimate; the tribunal's official calculation prevails.
The rent on your lease, before the proposed increase.
Used to split taxes and heating across dwellings.
Increase (or decrease, negative value) of municipal and school taxes combined. Visible on the tax bill or the landlord's statement.
Capital expenditures attributable to your dwelling (lasting renovations, not routine maintenance).
The official form to download
The notice has mandatory content (articles 1942 and 1943 C.c.Q. and the regulation): the new rent, the proposed term and the tenant's rights. Use the TAL's form (free and current) rather than a homemade letter that risks being invalid.
Official TAL form
Notice of rent increase (TAL-806A)
The official form, compliant with articles 1942 and 1943 of the Civil Code and the regulation on the mandatory content of the notice. The form itself says it: the landlord should keep a copy and proof that the served notice was received.
Official TAL form
Variant: lease with personal services (TAL-819A)
The version to use when the lease includes services attached to the tenant personally (notably private seniors' residences).
Notice filled in? Send it with proof of receipt.
The tenant's one-month response window runs from reception of the notice, and their silence counts as accepting the increase. Without proof of the reception date, there is no way to establish that the deadline has passed. Locato sends the notice by certified email with a timestamped proof, in 2 minutes.
Send your notice with proofWhy proof of receipt decides everything
Every deadline around the increase notice runs from reception. The tenant has one month after receiving the notice to respond (art. 1945 C.c.Q.), and their silence counts as accepting the increase. It's the most landlord-friendly rule in the whole regime… provided you can prove when the notice was received.
Without proof of receipt, a tenant can simply claim they never got the notice: the presumption of acceptance collapses, and the increase with it. If they refuse, you have one month from the response to apply to the TAL to set the rent (art. 1947 C.c.Q.): another deadline that demands provable dates. The official form itself recommends it: keep a copy and proof of receipt of the served notice.
Notices every year? The plan covers them all.
Locato Landlord: unlimited certified sends with proof of receipt, every template and your files centralized for $99/yr. Every dwelling's increase notice, every year, without paying per send.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if the tenant doesn't respond to the notice?
If they don't respond within one month of receiving the notice, they are deemed to have accepted the increase and other changes (art. 1945 C.c.Q.). That's why the reception date must be provable: it starts the clock.
What if the tenant refuses the increase?
The tenant can refuse while keeping the dwelling. You then have one month from receiving the refusal to file a rent-setting application with the TAL (art. 1947 C.c.Q.). Without that filing, the lease renews on the current terms.
Can I increase the rent by any amount?
You can propose any amount, but if the tenant refuses, the TAL sets the rent using its criteria (taxes, energy, work, net income). An increase aligned with the official percentages is harder to contest and easier to defend.
How should the notice be sent?
By any means that proves reception: certified email with a timestamped proof, registered mail or bailiff. The notice must be sent individually to each tenant concerned, in the language of the lease. The TAL form itself recommends keeping proof of receipt.
What if I miss the deadline?
A late notice has no effect: the lease renews automatically on the same terms, including the rent, for the next period (arts. 1941 and 1942 C.c.Q.). The window comes back the following year.
Tenant? The response to an increase notice also has its official form (TAL-810) and its one-month deadline: see your rights and the calculator.