Here’s how much you can earn renting a basement in Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville and the GTA

As homeowners struggle with increased mortgage costs, many might consider renting their basement for some extra income.

A new report from digital real estate website Wahi looks into how much homeowners can earn in different parts of the Greater Toronto Area.

Most homeowners can earn from $1,800 to $2,600 a month in the GTA, Wahi says.

“Whether as a mortgage helper or a way to earn some extra cash, Wahi has seen strong interest for houses with rental potential,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “Separate entrance was the most-searched term on Wahi in 2023, many buyers are on the hunt for houses they can partly rent out.”

The four communities with the highest median asking rents for basement units were all located in the City of Toronto, although Oakville, Mississauga and York were also in the top 10, Wahi says.

Old Toronto led with rents of around $2,600 per month — or $31,200 potential annual rental income. Of course, these homes are also among the highest priced.

But the highest potential monthly rental income is only part of the equation, Wahi says. Homeowners and potential buyers must also consider the cost of the home.

For each GTA community, Wahi also looked at annualized rental yields (the median monthly asking rent, multiplied by 12) as a percentage of the local median home price.

While Oshawa’s median monthly rent of $1,875 was the third-lowest in the GTA, the city also had the lowest median sale price in the region by more than $200,000. So Oshawa wins with the highest share of the median sale price at (2.8 per cent) of any GTA community.

Seven other communities had a yearly rental yield greater than two per cent of the median sale price.

To gauge rental-income potential for house hunters, Wahi analyzed median asking rents for one- and two-bedroom lease listings for detached and semi-detached homes in communities throughout the GTA. In some cases, the listing may be for a first- or second-floor rental, but the majority that Wahi’s data team reviewed were basements.

The data was sourced from Information Technology Systems Ontario and the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board and covers a 12-month period ending in June 2024. Communities with fewer than 120 samples were excluded from calculations. Overall, 29 communities met the sales minimum.

Wahi cannot guarantee that all rentals listed are legal apartments. Prospective homebuyers should do their due diligence before making plans to rent out part of their homes.

For the full report, see the website here.

Lead photo: Vecislavas Popa