Nova Scotia sees highest increase in average rent: survey

HALIFAX -

The cost to rent an apartment is up across Canada, and Halifax is hanging around at the top with the nation’s largest cities.

“You’re going to find the hardest hit areas obviously are in Metro Vancouver, Metro Toronto and also Halifax, rents have gone up quite a bit there,” says Paul Danison the content director for Rentals.ca.

Their latest survey shows Nova Scotia in fact has the highest increase in average rent, up 35.5 per cent to $2453, that’s more expensive than a rental in Ontario.

“After the pandemic a lot of people discovered Halifax is a pretty nice place to live. Students who went there either stayed or went back there where rents were a little bit cheaper than where they are in the GTA so we had a lot of people move there. Supply has been historically low there and now it’s even lower,” adds Danison.

Housing advocate Lina Hamid says some Nova Scotians can’t keep up.

“People are on the streets, people are funded by the government, the provincial government to stay in hotels,” says Hamid.

The province does have a two per cent cap on rent increases but it doesn’t apply to everyone.

“The existing rent cap only applies to tenants that are in the unit so a new build for example, a newly vacated unit, the rent cap would not apply,” says the minister responsible for the Residential Tenancy Act.  

The president of the Investment Property Owners Association says the act should be scrapped.

“Really what it tells us is that rent control doesn’t work. Two years of rent control in Nova Scotia and rents have almost gone up by a total of 50 per cent and rent control is a failed policy that is making life harder for everyone,” says Kevin Russell.

There could be some good news in the survey as well. There are indications that these rent hikes could start to flatten as we head into the fall and winter.

Russell adds they have some ideas that could help keep rent increases in Nova Scotia down, they just need a seat at the table and have the province listen to what they have to say.