Rental prices in Canada hit record highs: report

A house for rent in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

According to a new report from rentals.ca, it's never been so expensive to rent a place to live in Canada.

The price of a one-bedroom unit rose over 10 per cent in the past 12 months. But the new study seems to provide a glimmer of hope that the cost of renting an apartment is slowing down.

The Halifax Regional Municipality has experienced a year-over-year increase of 3.4 per cent for a bachelor or studio apartment. However, from May to June, prices dropped by 2.7 per cent.

“Whether it be a combination of price frustrations or just price exhaustion, the rental market has begun to cool clear across-the-board,” says David Aizikov of rentals.ca.

But that cooling might not last because apartment seekers tend to ride a seasonal wave.

“We expect to see slightly higher rents throughout the summer, but as the weather starts to cool again, we expect those month-over-month rent increases to start to slow again,” Aizikov says.

Provincially, the average price for a rental unit is also down, sitting at $1,924, just below the national average of $1,968.

“I would say, ‘Don’t get too excited,’” cautions Kevin Russell from the Investment Properties Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS).

Russell says despite the increase in construction of condos and large apartment buildings, the availability rate isn’t improving. He blames the rent cap put in place by the provincial government because it has forced some landlords to sell.

“When these units are sold, they take rental product out of the market because these units are sold into the single-family home market rather than the rental market,” Russell says.

Affordable housing advocates contend the rent cap is working but they’d like to see the province take things a step further.

“The government needs to step in and they need to roll back rents because right now $1,400 a month for a one-bedroom apartment, sometimes more, people just can’t afford that,” says Fabian Donovan, the chair of the Mainland Chapter of ACORN Nova Scotia.

The study also showed that provincially, Nova Scotia showed modest rental increases, except for bachelor apartments, which decreased by 13 per cent.

There was no decline in rent for two-bedroom apartments.

“Certainly in the urban market where there is the most competition, people are the most price-conscious, and there is the greatest concentration,” says Aizikov. “Two bedrooms and three bedrooms really offer the most bang for your buck.”