Bill 608 inserts a statutory rent‑increase framework into The Residential Tenancies Act that limits how much landlords may raise rent during a tenancy and sets out narrow paths to exceed that cap. It also creates a separate mechanism allowing landlords in larger residential complexes to raise the rent for a unit when it becomes vacant.
This matters to property owners, developers and tenants across Saskatchewan: it imposes predictable limits on in‑tenancy increases while preserving some means for landlords to reset rents on turnover or to seek above‑cap increases tied to capital work or added services. The changes will shift maintenance, pricing and development decisions without establishing an administrative approval process for disputed increases.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill caps rent increases during an existing tenancy at an annual guideline and permits above‑guideline increases only by mutual agreement tied to capital expenditures or additional services, or via statutory exemptions. It also allows landlords of complexes with four or more units to raise the rent for a specific unit upon vacancy up to the building’s average for comparable units.
Who It Affects
Landlords and property managers of multi‑unit residential complexes, developers of new and rehabilitated buildings, and tenants in both long‑term and turnover situations. Small landlords and boarding‑house operators are treated differently under the exemption list.
Why It Matters
The bill ties yearly caps to a Saskatchewan CPI measure and formalizes vacancy‑based rent adjustments, creating predictability for tenants while giving landlords structured routes to increase revenues — changes that will influence renovation timing, turnover strategies and investment decisions.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The Rent Control Act, 2025 inserts three new provisions into The Residential Tenancies Act. First, it establishes a single statutory cap on rent increases during an existing tenancy: landlords cannot raise rent above the annual guideline unless the tenant agrees to an above‑guideline increase or the unit falls into a listed exemption.
The guideline is a formula rather than an administrative percentage — the statute points to a CPI‑based calculation and requires publication of the resulting number before the calendar year begins.
Second, the bill identifies specific circumstances where parties may lawfully agree to increases above the guideline: namely when a landlord is carrying out a specified capital expenditure or is providing a new or additional service in exchange for the higher rent. The statute also enumerates categories of units that are not subject to the guideline, including transient accommodations, employee and caretaker units, boarding houses, and certain new or rehabilitated buildings for a five‑year window after first occupancy or permit issuance.Third, the bill introduces a vacancy provision that applies only in residential complexes of four or more rental units.
When the landlord lawfully regains possession of a unit — or is about to — the landlord may increase that unit’s rent so that it is no higher than the average rent charged for similar or comparable units in the same complex. The provision ties rent resetting to turnover within the building rather than to an external market index.Operationally, the statute sets timing rules for the guideline number (a specific averaging period and a publication deadline) and contains transitional language treating the guideline for the year of coming into force as ‘deemed’ established.
The act comes into force on proclamation or assent as stated in the text, meaning landlords and tenants should expect immediate applicability once the bill receives assent and no later administrative steps are specified in the text.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The guideline is calculated from the year‑over‑year percentage change in the Saskatchewan Consumer Price Index, averaged over the 12‑month period ending March 31 of the prior calendar year and rounded to one decimal place.
The government must publish the guideline in The Saskatchewan Gazette no later than August 31 preceding the calendar year to which the guideline applies.
Landlords and tenants may agree to above‑guideline increases specifically in exchange for a specified capital expenditure or for a new or additional service provided by the landlord.
Units in new buildings and designated rehabilitated or subsidized/social housing are exempt from the guideline for five years after the earlier of first occupancy or issuance of the first occupancy permit (or, if no permit required, five years after first occupancy).
The vacancy rule applies only to residential complexes with four or more rental units and lets a landlord raise a vacated unit’s rent to no more than the average of rents for similar or comparable units within that same complex.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Statutory rent increase guideline (cap for in‑tenancy increases)
This provision makes it unlawful for a landlord to raise rent during a tenancy by more than the statutory guideline except where an agreement or exemption applies. It prescribes the data source and formula for calculating the guideline (Saskatchewan CPI, 12‑month average ending March 31, rounded to one decimal) and requires publication in the Saskatchewan Gazette by August 31. The clause also contains transitional language to determine what counts as the guideline in the calendar year the section comes into force.
Agreements and exemptions that allow above‑guideline increases
This section permits contractual departures from the guideline when a landlord undertakes specified capital work or provides a new/additional service in return for higher rent. It then lists unit categories excluded from the guideline: transient lodging, caretaker/employee units while occupied, boarding‑house rooms, and new or rehabilitated buildings for five years after first occupancy or permit date. Practically, this creates a negotiated mechanism for some upgrades and shields certain classes of units from the cap for a defined window.
Vacancy‑based rent reset for larger complexes
This clause lets landlords in complexes with four or more rental units increase the rent for a unit when they lawfully regain possession, up to the average rent charged for comparable units in the same complex. The language ties the landlord’s ability to adjust rents to turnover within a building rather than to an external market, but it does not define how to identify 'similar or comparable' units or the method for calculating the average.
Coming into force
The act comes into force on assent. The bill includes deemed‑guideline rules for the year it becomes law and for the next calendar year if it comes into force on or after September 1, but it does not create an administrative process or timeline for disputes, approvals or recordkeeping related to above‑guideline agreements.
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Explore this topic in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Long‑term tenants: Receive greater predictability and protection against mid‑tenancy rent shocks because in‑tenancy increases are capped by a statutory guideline.
- Tenants in protected unit classes (e.g., boarding houses, employee/caretaker units): Are exempt from the guideline provisions that could otherwise leave them uncertain about allowable increases.
- Developers and owners of newly built or rehabilitated buildings: Gain a five‑year window during which the guideline does not apply, improving revenue certainty during lease‑up and early operations.
- Landlords of multi‑unit complexes: Obtain a structured pathway to lift rents on turnover up to the building‑average for comparable units, enabling faster alignment of some units with prevailing in‑building rents.
Who Bears the Cost
- Individual and small landlords with occupied units: Face legal limits on raising rents during tenancies, which may compress margin and constrain cash flow where operating costs rise faster than the guideline.
- Tenants who move or are in high‑turnover segments: Could face higher rents on vacancy if landlords reset prices toward the building average, shifting costs onto incoming tenants.
- Provincial regulators and tribunals: May shoulder disputes about what counts as a 'specified capital expenditure', 'new or additional service', or 'similar or comparable' units without the bill providing clarification or a dedicated administrative process.
- Owners of older rental stock not benefitting from new‑build exemptions: May see incentives to convert, renovate or repurpose units to avoid the cap or to trigger vacancy resets, potentially reducing affordable supply.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central trade‑off is between tenant stability and landlord revenue incentives: the bill protects tenants from mid‑tenancy shocks through a CPI‑linked cap, but it preserves mechanisms — vacancy resets, exemption windows, and negotiated above‑cap increases tied to capital works — that let landlords restore or increase rents. That split protects current renters while leaving landlords structured paths to recover market‑level income, a compromise that will be contested in how the undefined terms and calculation rules are applied.
The statute is precise about the data source and timing for the annual guideline but leaves several implementation details to interpretation. It does not define key terms such as 'specified capital expenditure', 'new or additional service' or 'similar or comparable rental units', nor does it prescribe evidentiary or notice requirements for agreements that take a rent above the guideline.
That gap creates a likely flood of disputes to tribunals or courts over whether an increase was lawful and what documentation suffices.
The vacancy provision ties revenue recovery to in‑building averages, which may produce large intra‑building rent gaps and create incentives for landlords to accelerate turnover or reclassify units. Because the five‑year exemption for new or rehabilitated buildings applies regardless of market conditions, the measure may encourage construction and rehabilitation — but it also risks privileging newer stock and shifting upward pressure onto remaining older units.
Finally, the guideline’s reliance on a CPI average that ends March 31 and is published by August 31 introduces a lag between inflation swings and the applicable cap, which can either overstate or understate current cost pressures for landlords during volatile periods.
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