Rents surge 32% in last 3 years; 7 Ontario cities most expensive in Canada

April marked three years since rents across Canada dropped due to the pandemic.

But since April 2021, average rents have soared by a total of 32 per cent, which translates to an additional $526 per month, according to the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.

“The rental market in Canada has become increasingly fragmented, with expensive cities seeing rents soften and affordable markets experiencing a continued rapid escalation,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation. “Without a sufficient supply response, those affordable markets are at risk of quickly becoming unaffordable, leaving renters nowhere to turn.”

Average asking rents for all residential property types in Canada increased 9.3 per cent year-over-year in April, reaching an average of $2,188 per month according to the report. This rate of increase is an acceleration from the 8.8 per cent annual increase recorded in March.

And Ontario cities remain some of the most expensive places to live in Canada. Seven of the 10 most expensive places to rent are in Ontario, according to the report.

The top two spots are held by Vancouver at an average of $2,646 for a one-bedroom apartment, and Burnaby, B.C. at $2,553, and Victoria is in the 10th spot at $2,113.

The top Ontario cities with rents for one-bedrooms all over $2,000 are Toronto at $2,459, Etobicoke at $2,281, Mississauga $2,277, Kanata at $2,235, Scarborough at $2,173, Burlington at $2,156, and Brampton at $2,137.

Kanata, a small community outside of Ottawa, actually saw rents shoot up 15.4 per cent year-over-year for a two-bedroom apartment.

Despite the high rents across the board, some Ontario communities saw a small drop in rents. Mississauga’s rents dropped by 0.3 per cent for one- and two-bedroom apartments compared to March. Brampton’s dropped 1.3 per cent month-over-month.

The fastest-growing average rent in Ontario was Waterloo, which saw and 18.7 per cent increase on average rents compared to this time last year. A one-bedroom apartment there came in at $2,055 last month.

When looking at Ontario overall, rents decreased -0.3 per cent monthly and -0.7 per cent annually to an average of $2,404.

All provinces recorded month-over-month and year-over-year increases in asking rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments except for Ontario, according to the report.

See the complete National Rent Report here.