Are property tax increases also rent increases?

In Ontario, rent controls are applied to buildings occupied before November 15, 2018. Ontario has capped rental increases at 2.1% for 2026. The cap is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a common measure of inflation. If the inflation rate is above 2.5% rent increases are capped at 2.5%.

If a landlord requires an increase above 2.1%, in 2026, tenants must be notified, and the increase must be approved by the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

One of the reasons a landlord can apply for a rent increase is something called an extraordinary municipal tax increase.

Ontario is capping rent increases to 2.1% for 2026, 2.1% plus 50% is 3.15%, in other words, any municipal property tax increase above 3.15% is classified as “extraordinary” by the Residential Tenancy Act.

Just how extraordinary is Burlington?

We can see that every year, the increase to Burlington’s line on our property tax bill has exceeded the rent control limit plus 50% making Burlington truly extraordinary as defined in the Ontario Residential Tenancy Act.

This is a letter an Aldershot resident received from their landlord in July (2025).

There is a direct link between property tax increases and rent increases.

The bottom line here is that landlords can increase rents above the provincial cap if the municipality has extraordinary property tax increases.

How does this impact tenants?

Most of these increases work out to small amounts on a monthly basis, but the increases compound year after year.

Looking at just the Burlington line on the property tax bill, this table shows how Burlington’s “extraordinary” property tax increases are compounding.

For every $1,000 the landlord paid to the City of Burlington in 2022, excluding the region and education, the landlord will pay $1,449.02 in 2026.

How are the allowable rent increases compounding?

 Assuming the landlord did not apply to the LTB for additional increase(s), for every $1,000 in rent paid to the landlord in 2022, tenants now pay $1,100.

Property taxes are only a small component of rent. Rents needs to cover all the costs of the building, such as land, construction, maintenance, repairs, overhauls, property taxes, utilities, and services.

Let’s take a look at a real building. The Longmoor Terrace Apartments are in my neighbourhood. The “Notice of Written Hearing”, included above, applies to a different building. There are 92 units in the Longmoor Terrace, and the building was constructed in 1973.

This is the tax levy history from the city’s website for the Longmoor Terrace Apartments. The tax history shows the total property taxes paid to the Burlington, the Region of Halton, the Police, and education.

Tenants in this one property, through their rent, paid $59,056.87 more in property taxes in 2025 than in 2021. That works out to an average of $641.92 more per unit per year, or $53.49 more a month.

Old Age Security (OAS) payments, like rents, are adjusted based on inflation. Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) payments, like rents, are adjusted based on inflation. Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) payments, like rents, are adjusted to inflation (at least according to the province). Is this a pattern?

Year after year, we see property tax increases that are significantly above inflation, putting seniors, new Canadians, and people on fixed incomes in a precarious position.

What happens when the city consistently increases property taxes by more than the rate of inflation?

On the tenant side: Take a drive on Waterdown Road over the QEW, Burlington has a hidden homeless problem. As landlords apply for rent increases due to extraordinary property tax increases, tenants on fixed incomes, indexed to inflation, will, over time, be unable to afford their current apartments. Moving to a smaller unit means losing the protection of rent control and paying market rates; this is simply not an option for too many people.

On the landlord side:

• When a unit becomes vacant, the landlord needs to raise rents to the market rate.
• Renovictions are becoming common.
• There is less money to spend on repairs and upkeep.

Last year, we were told part of the 7.5% increase to the Burlington line on our tax bills was to support infrastructure. The City of Burlington constantly needs more money, leaving landlords with less and less to support their infrastructure – people’s homes. Here’s an example: during a recent council meeting, Emma Sankey, Executive Director, Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB), stated:

“The AGB facility is reaching the end of its life and needs replacing.”

The cost estimate for a new AGB is $116 million. The AGB was constructed in 1977 and opened in 1978. Do all the government-owned buildings in the city reach the end of their lives and need replacing after 50 years?  We don’t know how much of this cost other levels of government will pick up. We don’t know how many more full-time employees an expanded AGB will employ. What we do know is that many buildings in the city are over 50 years old, and the cost of replacing all the government-owned buildings every 50 years will cost more than most taxpayers can afford.

The Longmoor Terrace Apartment was constructed in 1973, over 50 years ago, and may still have many years of life to go. A one-bedroom, 718 sq ft. apartment rents for $2,150 a month. According to apartments.com, units in this building range from 718 sq. ft. to 933 sq. ft. These units, on average, pay $3,104.74 in property taxes to the city, the region, and the Board of Education.

Longmoor Terrace is not unique. The New Lorne Apartment was built in 1968, over 57 years ago, has 34 units; on average, each unit pays $3,168.09 in property taxes to Burlington, Halton, and the Board of Education.

And here we go again, the City of Burlington is planning a budget increase of 5.8% for 2026.

Our city council controls the City of Burlington’s budget with its proposed 5.8% increase.

The last municipal election was in 2022, and 27.6%, or just over one quarter, of eligible voters participated. Focus Burlington is encouraging all eligible voters to vote on October 26^th, 2026. Sign up for our newsletter to receive an election reminder.

Is it time for Burlington to join the pattern noted above and limit property tax increases to the rate of inflation?

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To look up the property taxes being paid by your Burlington landlord, follow the instructions here:

How do I view my tax bill online?