Tenants in older Ottawa apartments may see a slight reduction in their rents after the city adjusts tax rates on older residential buildings.
That means some 57,000 tenants, in buildings with seven units or more, could see a reduction of about $168 off their rent this year.
John Dickie, of the Eastern Ontario Landlord Organization, supports the move, which he says is beneficial to tenants facing an affordability crisis and landlords.
“When tenants pay a lower rent, they have more money for their other needs, and they’re better able to pay their rent in full and on time. That helps landlords,” Dickie told the finance and corporate services committee April 7.
“Landlords are better able to maintain older rental buildings with lower rents to compete with new rental buildings with higher rents. So, this really is a win-win.”
The adjustment was introduced last year to address issues with tax rates. Buildings built before 2001 pay a higher rate than newer builds. The proposed change will see the rate reduced from 1.4 per cent back in 2024 to one per cent by 2028.
In an effort to inform tenants of the change, the city sent out letters in the fall of 2025 to affected renters. However, it caused confusion.
“Last year, we had a lot of emails from people confused. People got a letter saying automatic rent reduction is coming as of this date,” said Capital Coun. Shawn Menard. “And then some landlords were hesitant to pass that along.”
Dickie says, while rent reduction was a good thing, it may have been offset by other fees the council implemented.
“The main reason is that at the same time as the property tax fell, the solid waste charge increased by $67 per year for apartment buildings, and $97 per unit. … There was, in fact, no decrease in the total municipal taxes and charges,” said Dickie. “You can’t expect a landlord to reduce according to their taxes and charges when there’s been no reduction.”
Additionally, Dickie says that could also explain why many didn’t receive a bigger rent reduction than they had hoped.
“Many tenants did not receive as large a rent reduction as they expected, and frankly, as councillors expected them to get,” said Dickie.
City officials say a person paying $2,000 a month could see savings of $1,900 on rent over the four-year tax adjustment.
“In terms of affordability these days and what council can actually do for affordability for people. … This is one of the biggest things,” said Menard. “Just a huge piece of good news, I think, overall for tenants that are staying in their units anyway for those four years.”
City council will cast a final vote on the change.
