Is your rent below market?
Most long-held tenancies drift below market. The arithmetic of catching up is slower than people expect, because Alberta allows one increase per year.
Compare what your tenant pays against what comparable units have actually leased for recently, achieved rents, not asking prices, which run higher because they include units that never rented. In Alberta the gap matters more than elsewhere: rent can only be increased once every 365 days, so a gap of 20% or more cannot be closed in one move without prompting the tenant to leave. It becomes a multi-year plan, and each year of delay adds another year.
Why this happens to careful landlords
Rent drift is not a failure of attention. It is the rational result of a good tenancy: the tenant pays on time, looks after the place, and never calls. Raising the rent risks all of that for a couple of hundred dollars a month, so it gets deferred, once, then again, and by year four the gap is larger than a year of professional management costs.
The part most owners have not worked through is the timing. Alberta permits one rent increase per 365 days. So a large gap cannot be corrected in a single move without an increase big enough that the tenant starts looking, and a turnover typically costs a month of vacancy plus leasing and make-ready, which is usually more than the gap being chased. The only realistic route is a series of modest annual increases, which means the plan takes years, and each year of waiting adds another one.
Below market is not automatically a problem. A reliable long-term tenant has real value that does not show up in a rent comparison. The point of this calculation is to make the trade-off visible, not to argue for the maximum increase.
Work out the gap
Nothing here is sent anywhere, this runs entirely in your browser. Market rent should come from what comparable units actually leased for, not from asking prices, which run higher because they include units that sat empty and never rented at that number.
If you decide to raise it
Alberta places no cap on the amount, but the timing rules are strict and an incorrectly served notice is simply void, the increase does not take effect, and nobody discovers it until the tenant pays the old amount.
- 365 days must have passed since the last increase or the start of the tenancy, whichever is later.
- 3 full tenancy months' written notice. for a month-to-month tenancy, measured in full tenancy months, so notice part-way through a month does not make that month count.
- Rent cannot be increased at all during a fixed term.
- The notice must be written, dated, state the effective date, and be signed.
The rent increase calculator works out the earliest lawful date from your specific dates.
Below market, and not sure it is worth fixing?
Send the address and what you charge now. I will tell you what it should rent for and whether closing the gap beats the turnover it might cost you.
Rather hand it to someone?
I offer two landlord services in Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane and Okotoks, through KO Realty.
- Full management: screening, rent collection, inspections and the tenancy paperwork, for 8–10% of rent collected.
- Tenant placement only: I find, screen and sign the tenant for 50–75% of one month's rent, once, and you manage from there.
Questions
How do I find out what my rental is worth?
Compare against what similar units have actually leased for recently, same community, bedroom count and property type. Achieved rents are the right benchmark; advertised rents run higher because listings that never rented stay visible while the ones that leased quickly disappear.
How often can I raise the rent in Alberta?
Once every 365 days, measured from the last increase or the start of the tenancy, whichever is later. There is no cap on the amount, but a month-to-month tenancy requires 3 full tenancy months of written notice, and rent cannot be increased during a fixed term.
Should I raise rent to market if my tenant is good?
Not necessarily, and not all at once. A reliable long-term tenant has real value that a rent comparison does not capture, and a turnover typically costs a month of vacancy plus leasing and make-ready, often more than the gap. Where the gap is large, closing it over several annual steps usually beats one increase big enough to prompt a move.
Sources
- Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC): Rental Market Survey data tables
- Government of Alberta: Residential Tenancies Act (Alberta), full text
- Government of Alberta: RTA Handbook for Landlords and Tenants
Rules, fees and programs change. Confirm current details with the issuing authority before acting.
Last updated 2026-09-28 · Written by Mohammad Emon, REALTOR® (SRES®) & Licensed Property Manager, KO Realty · RECA licence CON-00133897