Renting in Canada This Week: Renters Want the Basics

What amenities do renters crave?

Surprisingly, according to a new study of millions of rental listings, it's not the luxury ones. Basic renter stuff such as off-street parking and in-unit laundry is apparently what renters want first and foremost.

Gyms and pools? Not so much. 

We've got all this and more in this edition of Renting in Canada This Week. Enjoy:

Be careful who you short-term rent to - a Toronto Airbnb host says he lost almost $40,000  after a guest who was staying at the high-end unit was arrested on drug and gun charges last December.

All parties agree that Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (Board) is dysfunctional. But rent advocates argue any fix must involve fairness. 

So, what amenities do renters want? Zillow analyzed 5.6 million rental listings to find out.   

 

Windsor West MP Brian Masse and some NDP colleagues want to know whether AI is used in Canada to raise and price-fix rents. 

According to Sean O'Shea of Global News, a Brampton, Ontario couple finally got their home back after a tenant stopped paying his rent and utility bills soon after he was asked to move out.

 

Rents in New Brunswick are up nearly 10 percent in the last year, encampments have grown around cities, and unaffordability has increased in rural areas. Three experts weigh in on what's gone wrong with housing. 

Fort McMurray, Alberta, has the lowest rents among mid-sized Canadian cities. Here are 10 things newcomer renters should know about Fort Mac.

Brampton remains a popular destination for immigrants to Canada. Although asking rents rose slightly in September, they are down 5.3 percent year over year.

 

 

Would you pay $900 monthly to rent a narrow hallway in Toronto? The landlord was blasted on social media for this "head-scratching" rental. 

Finally, can a landlord "lock" the thermostat in your rental? Find out exactly what a landlord can and can't do legally to regulate temperatures in your rental unit.

If you have a question, please email us at rentals@prepareforcanada.com

Steve Tustin is the Editor for Rentals for Newcomers and a contributing editor for Prepare for Canada. He is also the former managing editor of Storeys.com and a former senior editor at the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.

*No AI-generated content was used in the writing of this story, and all sources are cited and credited where possible.

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