Rent Increases in Quebec in 2026: The TAL Rates and Your Reference Points

In short — On January 19, 2026, Quebec's Tribunal administratif du logement published its rent adjustment percentages — with a twist: the calculation method itself was revised for notices given since January 1, 2026. The base rate sits at 3.1% for a lease starting between April 2, 2026 and April 1, 2027, but that figure is neither a cap nor automatic: it only applies when the Tribunal sets the rent. Here are the reference points — rates, method, deadlines and each side's rights — with the official sources to check your own case.

Every winter, the same sequence: the TAL publishes its percentages, headlines announce "the allowed increase", and tenants and landlords alike draw conclusions the rules do not quite support. In 2026 the sequence deserves double attention, because the calculation method itself has changed.

What changes in 2026: a new method

The revision took effect with the new year: for any application where the notice of lease modification was given on or after January 1, 2026, the new calculation method applies. Notices given before that date remain under the old method. Two regimes coexist during the transition — which is why dating the notice you received or sent matters.

Under the new method, most of the rent is indexed to the consumer price index, at 3.1%, while the portion of rent tied to services to the person — relevant mostly in residences with services — is indexed at 6.7%, following a care-services cost indicator. For a lease starting between April 2, 2026 and April 1, 2027, the Tribunal's base rate is 3.1%.

What these rates are — and are not

The most misunderstood point every year: these percentages only apply when the Tribunal fixes the rent, that is, when landlord and tenant fail to agree and the file goes to the TAL. Outside that scenario:

• there is no automatic cap: a landlord may propose whatever increase they wish;
• the tenant may accept, negotiate or refuse the proposed increase;
• the published rates serve as a negotiation benchmark — roughly where the Tribunal would likely land, plus building-specific adjustments (taxes, insurance, major work).

The deadlines that matter

Lease renewal mechanics run in three steps:

1. The landlord's notice. The proposed increase arrives by written notice, within the timeframes set by the lease's duration.
2. The tenant's response. The tenant has one month from receiving the notice to respond — accept, refuse the change while staying, or leave. Without a response, the change is deemed accepted.
3. The landlord's recourse. If the tenant refuses, the landlord has one month from the response to apply to the Tribunal to have the rent fixed. Failing that, the lease renews on the same terms — without the increase.

Refusing an increase is therefore not refusing to stay: it sends the question to the Tribunal, which rules using its method and the building's actual expenses. The TAL also provides an online calculation tool both parties can use to price an adjustment before any recourse.

Why these rates do not fix affordability

The TAL's percentages govern the variation of sitting rents; they say nothing about the level of rents, which is set at turnover and in new construction. That is what our state of play on Quebec rents in 2026 shows: even with increases regulated or slowing, the average rent keeps climbing, pulled by units changing tenants and by new deliveries at today's prices. The full mechanics are laid out in our simple explanation of the housing crisis.

Durable relief runs through the production cost of housing itself — the ground covered by financing affordable modular housing and, more broadly, modular construction against the crisis. An organization, municipality or owner looking to price a cost-controlled project can prepare a quote request with us.