When comparing an older building with a new build in Calgary, renters may wonder whether the building’s age affects Alberta’s rent-increase rules. Alberta places no cap on how much a landlord can raise the rent, in a 2013 tower or a 1960s walk-up alike, so building age changes what a unit costs, but not what the law lets a landlord charge for it.<\/p>\n\n
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No. Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act does not set a maximum percentage or dollar amount for a rent increase, in any building, regardless of when it was built or first occupied. That is the single biggest difference between Calgary and a province like Ontario, where a building’s first occupancy date decides whether annual increases are capped. In Alberta, the cap simply does not exist, for old stock or new.<\/p>\n\n
What Alberta regulates instead is process, not price: how much notice a landlord must give, and how often an increase can happen. The Community Legal Education Association of Alberta (CPLEA) confirms landlords must give tenants on a monthly periodic tenancy at least three full tenancy months’ written notice of an increase, and cannot raise the rent again until 365 days have passed since the tenant moved in or since the last increase, whichever is later.<\/p>\n\n
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If price protection is not the difference, condition and cost structure are. A newer building may offer in-suite laundry, a builder’s warranty, tighter building envelopes and lower heating losses, or amenities like a gym or a parcel room, though features vary by property. An older building may offer a larger unit for the same asking rent, established landscaping, or a walkable, already-built-out neighbourhood, and sometimes has utilities folded into the rent instead of separately metered, but renters should confirm features for each property.<\/p>\n\n
Neither factor is legally protected in Alberta the way it would be in Ontario. A brand-new Calgary tower is not exempt from anything, because there is nothing to be exempt from; an older Calgary walk-up is not shielded from a steep increase either, once the 365-day and notice rules are satisfied.<\/p>\n\n
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Keynote Two<\/a> in East Village, completed in 2013 according to the Skyscraper Center’s building database<\/a>, is a good example of the new-build case: taller, amenity-heavy, and priced for its condition rather than its age. Bankview 1737 Apartments<\/a>, on 26 Avenue SW in Bankview, sits among the neighbourhood’s characteristic four-storey walk-ups, a building type the Calgary Real Estate Board’s community profile<\/a> dates to the 1960s. Both are generally subject to the same provincial rent-increase rules described above; what actually separates their price is unit size, finish and amenities, not a legal ceiling attached to one and not the other.<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n Calgary’s asking rents eased again this month. The rent report provides a citywide average and does not break out figures by building age. According to liv.rent’s September 2026 Calgary and Edmonton rent report<\/a>, Calgary’s average unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent fell 5.3% year over year to $1,442, down from $1,465 in August 2026. The average furnished one-bedroom fell further, down 13.5% year over year to $1,539, down from $1,576 in August.<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\nCalgary rent by building type this month<\/h2>\n\n