How does BC's annual rent cap work?

Direct answer

For 2026 the maximum allowable rent increase in British Columbia is 2.3%. On $2,000 a month that is $46 — taking the rent to $2,046. The Residential Tenancy Branch sets the figure each November for the following calendar year and indexes it to inflation, and it is fixed for the whole year: it cannot move mid-year for an existing tenancy. A landlord may raise the rent only ONCE in any 12-month period, and must give three full months' written notice on Residential Tenancy Branch form RTB-7. Get the notice period or the form wrong and the increase is not enforceable. The cap covers fixed-term and month-to-month tenancies alike. It does NOT apply to a vacancy reset — once a tenant moves out, the next tenancy can start at any market rent — and it does not apply to tenancies outside the Residential Tenancy Act, such as commercial premises, hotels, transient accommodation, and some categories of supportive housing. One consequence worth modelling if you are buying a tenanted property: because the cap follows the tenancy rather than the unit, a home with a tenant of five years or more is often 30-50% below market rent, and that gap is what an investor is actually buying. Run both the in-place rent and the market rent before you write the offer. Separately, Bill 14 (2024) tightened the "personal use" eviction rules, so converting a below-market tenancy is harder than it was.