Bill 31 Quebec Rent Increase Amendments — What Changed and What It Means for 2026

Two Separate Reforms, One Year Apart

Quebec landlords dealing with rent increases in 2026 need to understand two distinct legislative changes that work together:

1. Bill 31 — enacted February 21, 2024, amending Article 1955 of the Civil Code
2. Gazette officielle no. 51 — published December 17, 2025, overhauling the rent calculation methodology effective January 1, 2026

Each reform addresses a different part of the system. Bill 31 tightened the rules around new-building rent exemptions. The Gazette overhaul modernized the formula the TAL uses to fix rent when a tenant disputes an increase.

What Bill 31 Changed — Section F Maximum Rent

Before Bill 31, landlords of newly constructed buildings could rely on the Article 1955 exemption to set rent freely for five years, provided they completed Section F of the standard Quebec lease form. The exemption meant the TAL could not fix the rent during that window — the landlord had full pricing discretion.

Bill 31 added a critical requirement: for a lease entered into on or after February 21, 2024, where the immovable was ready for its intended use after February 20, 2024, Section F must explicitly state the maximum rent the landlord may impose during the five-year exemption period. If the landlord leaves the maximum rent blank or omits it, the Section F exemption is forfeited. The standard TAL rent-fixing jurisdiction then applies, meaning the tenant can challenge a proposed increase.

This change closed a gap that allowed some landlords to double or triple rents during the exemption period without any ceiling. Now the ceiling is contractually fixed at lease signing.

The maximum-rent disclosure does not apply to a lease entered into before February 21, 2024, or to an immovable that was ready for its intended use on or before February 20, 2024.

What Gazette No. 51 Changed — The Calculation Formula

The Règlement sur les critères de fixation de loyer published in Gazette officielle no. 51 replaced the TAL's 40-year-old multi-component calculation grid with a modernized formula. The changes apply to all modification notices served on or after January 1, 2026, for renewal periods starting between April 2, 2026 and April 1, 2027.

Base rate: 3.1%. Derived from the three-year trailing average of Quebec's Consumer Price Index (4.5% in 2023, 2.3% in 2024, 2.4% in 2025). This single rate replaces the old system's separate rates for heated, unheated, and different energy types.

Taxes and insurance: excess-only. Under the old formula, the full dollar increase in property taxes and insurance premiums was added to the calculation. Under the 2026 formula, only the portion of the percentage increase that exceeds 3.1% gets added. If your taxes rose by exactly 3.1% or less, no additional amount applies — the base rate already accounts for that level of cost inflation.

Capital expenditures: 5% fixed rate. Major repairs are amortized at 5% per year over 20 years (net of subsidies and insurance payouts). The old rate varied annually — it was 4.7% in 2025 and 4.0% in the legacy 2026 grid.

Seniors' residence personal services: 6.7%. Up from 6.3% under the legacy rate.

Energy components removed. The old grid had separate adjustment factors for electricity, gas, and heating oil. These are eliminated — energy cost changes are absorbed into the CPI-based 3.1% base.

What This Means for Landlords Filing in 2026

If you are serving a rent increase notice in 2026 for a lease renewing after April 1, 2026, the new formula applies automatically. The TAL's online calculation tool (Calcul 2026) already uses the updated criteria.

The practical impact depends on your cost profile:

• Stable costs, no capital work: your increase will land at or near 3.1%
• Significant tax or insurance increases: you can claim the excess above 3.1%, but you need both years' bills to prove the variance
• Recent capital expenditures: the 5% amortization rate is slightly more generous than the 2025 rate, but you need invoices and proof of payment

If you entered into a new lease on or after February 21, 2024 in an immovable ready for its intended use after February 20, 2024, double-check that Section F includes the maximum rent amount. For a new building, the five-year period runs from when it was ready for its intended residential use. An incomplete Section F means the standard calculation applies, and the tenant can challenge a proposed increase.

Staying Current

Quebec's rent calculation criteria are updated annually. The 3.1% base rate applies to notices served in 2026 — next year's rate will be recalculated from a new three-year CPI average. Capital expenditure and personal services rates may also change.

For a complete walkthrough of the 2026 formula with worked examples, notice templates, and a TAL filing timeline, see our Quebec rent increase guide.

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