Are you contemplating raising your rent for a Northwest Territories property in 2025? If so, you’ll want to know the rules surrounding rent increases. Knowing how and when you can adjust your price to avoid legal trouble and conflicts with your tenants is vital as a landlord.

In this guide, we’ll cover the ins and outs of rent increase laws for 2025 in the Northwest territories, including how high you can raise your price and how to notify your tenant.

2025 updates to Northwest Territories rent increase guidelines

There’s no rent control in the Northwest Territories, meaning you can increase your rent for a residential unit as much as you wish in 2025. 

However, some regulations limit how often you can do so. You can only increase your price once every 12 months. As per the Territories’ Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), a rent increase is allowed for 12 months following:

• The last increase in rent
• The date you first charged rent to your tenant

You must give your tenant at least three months’ written notice of the new rent fee before it takes effect. Otherwise, the rent increase is invalid, and they’re legally entitled to a refund on the extra rent paid. The three-month notice requirement applies to both fixed-term and month-to-month leases. 

Under the RTA, your tenant has the right to end the tenancy upon receiving the notice of rent increase. In other words, they can treat it as a lease termination notice and vacate the property.

Should your tenant move out due to the higher rent fee, you must rent your property to a replacement tenant at the new price. The Northwest Territories government will deem the action an improper lease cancellation if you fail to do so. As a result, you may have to pay a penalty and provide financial compensation for the tenant who moved out. 

How to raise rent in Northwest Territories: step-by-step process

Below are the steps for raising the rent in the Northwest territories for fixed-term and periodic leases in 2025.

Step 1: Determine your new rent price

Though there’s no limit to how high you can adjust your rent price in the Northwest Territories, figuring out what to charge for rent isn’t always straightforward. It’s important to strike a balance between profitability and market demand. In other words, your rent fee should allow you to earn a solid return on your property while remaining appealing to renters.

First, evaluate your operating costs and capital expenditures. Calculate how much you’ve spent maintaining your rental unit and determine the rent you’ll need to charge to cover the increased expenses. Have your property taxes, utilities expenses, and insurance premiums increased during the past year? If so, how much? Have you performed any renovations? If so, how long will it take you to recoup your investment?

Next, assess the state of the local rental market. Check out what other landlords are charging for rent on properties similar to yours in terms of build, age, and amenities offered. Is the average rent fee rising, and if so, how sharply? Remember: tenant turnover can be costly in the long run, so always consider what someone would be willing to pay to live in your rental based on local demand.

Step 2: Prepare the notice of rent increase

In the Northwest Territories, you must inform your tenant of an upcoming rent increase in writing.  

There’s no government-mandated document you need to use to prepare your notice so long as it communicates the effective date of the new rent fee. Of course, it’s also worth including other crucial details, primarily: 

• Your name and contact information
• The address of the rental unit
• The current rent amount
• Your signature and the date you created the notice

Add a note to your rent increase notice highlighting why you’re asking your tenants to pay more. Being honest and transparent about your new rent fee can go a long way in helping maintain a positive landlord-tenant relationship and encouraging lease renewals.

Step 3: Notify your tenant of the rent increase

Once your rent increase notice is ready to go, it’s time to send it off to your tenant. By law, you must give them at least three months’ notice when raising your rent, so make sure you deliver it on time.

Consider visiting the property to deliver the notice in person or sending it via registered mail. Email is also fine, but follow up with your tenant to ensure they received it and that it didn’t end up in their junk mail.

Remember, the rent increase is considered unlawful if you don’t notify your tenant within three months. As a result, the Residential Tenancies Office may issue a judgment requiring you to return all or part of the rent increase to your tenant.

Resolving issues about rent control

In cases where you cannot resolve a rent pricing conflict between you and your tenant, you can seek assistance from the Residential Tenancies Office. The organization will appoint a rental officer to hear your case and issue a judgment based on the Residential Tenancies Act and its regulations. Their decision has the same legal power as a Supreme Court order.

To initiate the dispute resolution process under the Residential Tenancies Office, you must fill out and submit the form Application to a Rental Officer. 

The Northwest Territories Government website contains additional information about preparing for a hearing, filing fees to pay, and appealing a decision made by the rental officer.

Our final thoughts

When it comes to rent increases, the Northwest Territories is landlord-friendly, as there are no rent control laws for residential rental units. You can raise your rent to whatever price you deem fit, provided you do so every 12 months. 

That said, you’re legally responsible for providing your tenant with at least three months’ written notice before your new rent fees take effect. Take extra care in delivering your notice to ensure your tenant receives it before the deadline expires.

For further details about the Northwest Territories rent increase laws, visit the Government of Northwest Territories website.