PEI Rental Law Changes: From the 2023 Rent Freeze to Today
The Old Regime
Before April 2023, PEI residential tenancies were governed by the Rental of Residential Property Act (RRPA). The RRPA had its own rent increase procedures, its own forms, and its own rules. Any guidance, template, or form you find online that references the RRPA is outdated and will not produce a valid rent increase under the current law.
Under the old legislation, allowable annual increases ran at 1.0% in both 2021 and 2022. The system was already tightening before the full legislative overhaul.
What Changed on April 8, 2023
The Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) was proclaimed into force on April 8, 2023, under Executive Council Order EC2023-268. The former RRPA was fully repealed on the same date. Key changes:
Unit-based rent control — The RTA attaches rent control to the physical unit rather than the tenant. Vacancy decontrol does not exist. When a tenant leaves, the landlord cannot reset the rent to market rate.
Statutory rent freeze — The ordinary allowable increase for 2023 was 0.0%. This did not bar all rent increases: landlords could apply for an approved additional increase under Section 50, subject to the 3.0% additional cap.
New prescribed forms — Every form changed. Form 8 replaced the old RRPA notice form for annual increases. Form 9 and Form 10 were introduced for above-guideline applications. Old-regime forms are invalid.
Above-guideline cap — Section 50 introduced a hard ceiling of 3.0% per year above the annual guideline for exceptional applications. This was new — the RRPA did not have the same structured above-guideline process.
Existing agreements — Section 2(2) of the Act says that, except as otherwise provided, it applies to tenancy agreements entered into before, on, or after the Act came into force.
The Year-by-Year Progression
| Year | Allowable Increase | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1.0% | Under the old RRPA |
| 2022 | 1.0% | Under the old RRPA |
| 2023 | 0.0% | Statutory freeze — new RTA takes effect April 8 |
| 2024 | 3.0% | First year under the new Act with increases allowed — maximum cap applied |
| 2025 | 2.3% | CPI-based determination |
| 2026 | 2.0% | Current operative standard |
| 2027 | 2.1% | Announced September 23, 2026 |
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The Ongoing Risk of Outdated Information
The proclamation of the new Act created a permanent hazard for small landlords who search online for guidance. Bing and other search engines surface pre-2023 articles, old government pages, and forum posts that describe RRPA procedures alongside current results. Using an RRPA form or following an RRPA notice period invalidates the increase entirely.
The tell is simple: if the document references the Rental of Residential Property Act, Form 12, or any procedure that does not mention the 2023 Residential Tenancy Act, it is obsolete.
What Has Not Changed
The Residential Tenancy Office and IRAC still serve the same functions — intake and first-instance hearings at the Rental Office, appeals at IRAC. For month-to-month and fixed-term tenancies, the three-month notice period for standard increases carried over from the old regime; week-to-week tenancies require three weeks' notice. And the fundamental concept of rent regulation by a provincial authority (rather than municipal bodies) remains intact.
For the current compliance sequence under the 2023 Act, see the Prince Edward Island Rent Increase Guide.
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