We just want to warn you not to get too excited when you read this – this is not Australia (although we wish it was!), it’s Canada.  This is from a forum called Tenants Help Tenants in Ontario.

2013 Rent Increase Guideline (June 22, 2012 8:30 am)
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing 

Rent increases for the one million tenant households in Ontario cannot exceed 2.5 per cent over the next year, unless a landlord makes a successful application to the Landlord Tenant Board. The McGuinty government passed legislation on June 13, 2012 to amend the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 to ensure that the Rent Increase Guideline is capped at 2.5 per cent. Without the cap, the guideline would have been 2.6 per cent in 2013. 

The annual Rent Increase Guideline continues to be based on Ontario’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada. 

The 2013 guideline applies to rent increases between January 1 and December 31, 2013. 

Quick Facts
•The average yearly increase from 2004-2012 was two per cent. The average yearly increase from 1993-2003 was 3.1 per cent.
•One million tenant households in Ontario are covered by the annual Rent Increase Guideline
•The 2013 Rent Increase Guideline is calculated pursuant to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and is based on the Ontario Consumer Price Index.

Quotes
“The cap on the Rent Increase Guideline helps ensure that more tenants have access to affordable housing and provides stability for renters to improve their quality of life.”
Kathleen Wynne
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing