How to Fill Out and Serve the BC Rent Increase Notice (RTB-7)

To raise rent on a residential tenancy in British Columbia, you serve the BC rent increase notice, form RTB-7, on the tenant at least three full calendar months before the new rent takes effect, and the increase cannot exceed 2.3% for 2026.¹ Get the amount, the effective date, or the delivery method wrong and the increase either shifts to a later date or does not bind the tenant at all.

Three Rules to Satisfy Before You Fill Anything In

The RTB-7 only works if the underlying increase is legal. Check all three of these first.

Twelve months since the last increase. You cannot raise the rent until at least 12 months after the date rent was first set under the tenancy agreement, or 12 months after the effective date of the last increase if there has already been one.²
Three full calendar months of notice. The tenant must be deemed to have received the RTB-7 at least three full calendar months before the new rent starts. “Deemed received” is not always the day you delivered it.²
2.3% cap for 2026. The increase cannot exceed the annual limit set by the Residential Tenancy Branch, and you cannot round up when converting the percentage to a dollar figure.¹

If your notice misses the timing rules, section 42(4) does not void it. It shifts the effective date forward to the earliest date that would comply.² Useful safety net, but it means your target date slips.

Get the Current Form

Download the RTB-7 from the Residential Tenancy Branch’s tenancy forms page.³ It is a fillable PDF: type into it on a computer or print a blank copy and complete it by hand.⁴ The current edition is dated August 2024. Using an older version invites a challenge at dispute resolution.

The RTB-7 covers standard residential rental units. If you rent out manufactured home sites, use the RTB-11a instead.⁵

Filling Out the RTB-7

The form is one page. Every field needs to be accurate and legible. Mistakes in names, addresses, or dollar figures give tenants grounds to challenge the notice.

Tenant Information

Enter the first, middle, and last name of every tenant named on the original tenancy agreement. Below the names, fill in the mailing address (suite or unit number, city, province, postal code) and the rental unit address if it differs.⁴

Landlord Information

Enter your full legal name. If the landlord is a business, put the full legal business name in the last-name field. Include a mailing address and phone number. Using a property management company? Their legal name and contact details go here instead of yours.⁴

Rent Increase Details

Three dollar figures are required: the current rent, the dollar amount of the increase, and the new total. Select the payment schedule (weekly, monthly, or other). Enter the effective date of the new rent in the “payable starting on” field in DD/MM/YYYY format.⁴

Check the math. If the current monthly rent is $1,800 and the 2026 cap is 2.3%, the maximum increase is $41.40. Not $41.50. Not $42. No rounding up.¹ The new rent would be $1,841.40. Overcharging even by a few cents lets the tenant refuse the excess amount.

Signature and Date

Print your name, sign, and date the form. An unsigned RTB-7 has no legal force, and the tenant is not obligated to pay a higher rent based on it.⁴ Keep a photocopy or a digital scan for your records.

Serving the Notice

Filling out the form is only half the job. Section 88 of the Residential Tenancy Act lists the delivery methods that count, and each method has its own deemed-receipt date. That deemed-receipt date is what starts the three-month countdown, not the date you actually delivered the paper.⁶

In person to the tenant: deemed received that same day.
Left with an adult at the tenant’s residence: deemed received that same day.
Ordinary or registered mail: deemed received on the fifth day after mailing.
Mailbox or mail slot: deemed received on the third day after you leave it.
Attached to the door or another visible spot: deemed received on the third day after posting.
Fax: deemed received on the third day after faxing.⁷

Handing the form directly to the tenant is cleanest: no waiting period and no ambiguity. If that is not workable, registered mail gives you a Canada Post delivery confirmation, which helps if the tenant later says the notice never arrived. Whichever method you use, record the date, time, and method on your file copy. A witness is worth having if you are posting the notice on a door or leaving it at the residence.

Counting Backward From the Effective Date

The three-month clock runs from deemed receipt, not from the day you signed or mailed the form. This trips landlords up more than anything else about the RTB-7.

Say you want the increase to take effect October 1. Three full calendar months before October 1 is July 1, so the tenant must be deemed to have received the notice no later than June 30. Hand it to them on June 30 and deemed receipt is June 30. You are fine. Drop it in their mailbox on June 30 and deemed receipt is July 3, so the earliest compliant effective date shifts to November 1. Mail it on June 30 and deemed receipt is July 5, pushing the effective date further still.

Plan backward from your target effective date and build in the buffer for the method you actually plan to use.

If the Notice Contains an Error

Timing errors are survivable. If the effective date lands less than 12 months after the last increase or less than three full months after deemed receipt, section 42(4) automatically pushes the date forward to the earliest compliant one.² You do not have to reissue the form, but the tenant does not owe the higher rent until that corrected date.

Dollar-amount errors are different. If the increase exceeds the 2.3% cap, the tenant does not have to pay the excess.¹ The safest course is to issue a corrected RTB-7 with the right figures and re-serve it within the required notice period. The RTB-7 itself directs both parties to contact the Residential Tenancy Branch if you are unsure whether an error is fatal.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Two enforcement layers apply. The RTB director can impose an administrative monetary penalty of up to $5,000 per contravention, and if a violation continues over multiple days, a separate penalty of up to $5,000 can be imposed for each day it persists. Separately, contravening the timing rules in section 42 or the amount limits in section 43 is a provincial offence, and a conviction carries a fine of up to $5,000.⁸

Increases Above the 2.3% Cap

The RTB-7 is for standard annual increases within the cap. To raise rent above the cap to recover eligible capital expenditures, you apply separately to the Residential Tenancy Branch using the RTB-53 forms, not the RTB-7.⁹ That is a different process with its own eligibility rules and approval step.

1
Province of British Columbia. Rent Increases
2
BC Laws. Residential Tenancy Act – Section 42
3
Province of British Columbia. Tenancy Forms
4
Residential Tenancy Branch. Notice of Rent Increase – Residential Rental Units
5
Province of British Columbia. Rent Increases for Manufactured Homes
6
Province of British Columbia. Policy Guideline 12 – Service Provisions
7
BC Laws. Residential Tenancy Act – Section 88
8
BC Laws. Residential Tenancy Act – Section 95
9
Province of British Columbia. Rent Increases to Offset Growing Costs and Expenses