Ontario · Tenant
Last month’s rent deposit interest.
Ontario landlords must pay tenants annual interest on a last month’s rent (LMR) deposit, at a rate equal to that year’s rent-increase guideline. This calculates the simple interest owed, year by year.
Inputs
Result
Enter your deposit amount and a year range, then press Calculate.
How the interest is calculated
Section 106(6) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 requires a landlord to “pay interest to the tenant annually on the amount of the rent deposit at a rate equal to the guideline determined under section 120 that is in effect at the time the interest payment becomes due.” That is simple interest on the original deposit amount, applied once per calendar year at that year’s own guideline rate — the statute has the landlord pay (or credit) the interest out annually rather than letting it compound onto a growing balance. In practice, when the rent increases the landlord may ask for the deposit to be topped up to match, and that year’s interest is commonly credited against the top-up rather than paid in cash, but the amount owed is the same calculation either way.
Because the interest rate equals the rent-increase guideline, it was 0% for 2021 (the COVID-19 rent freeze year) — a real, sourced figure, not a missing one.
Source, last verified 2026-09-24: Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s.106(6); guideline table per ontario.ca — Residential rent increases.
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedWhether I get interest on my last month's rent deposit depends on what the lease says.
What the source saysThe Landlord and Tenant Board's guide says landlords owe the tenant interest on the deposit each year, at the same rate as the rent increase guideline. The lease does not set a different rate. [1]
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Often assumedA landlord can ask for a last month's rent deposit worth more than one month, if the unit is expensive.
What the source saysThe Board's guide says that where rent is paid by the month, the deposit cannot be more than one month's rent. Where rent is paid weekly, it cannot be more than one week's rent. [1]
Checked against these sources on .
Not legal advice
If a landlord has not paid interest owed, s.106(9) of the Act lets a tenant deduct the amount from a later rent payment. For a dispute, consult the Landlord and Tenant Board or a paralegal/lawyer. This tool runs entirely in your browser: nothing you type is transmitted, stored, or logged.