Renting This Week in Canada: Renters Remain Anxious Despite Good News
January 2025 rolls on, and Canada looks to remain a renters market for the foreseeable future.
That's great news for all renters, however affordability, availability and anxiety are still challenges, forcing many renters, including newcomers to Canada and international students, to leave larger urban regions such as Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary for smaller urban centres.
In other positive Canadian rental news, this country does not have the highest rents in the world and being a renter shouldn't prevent you from getting rich.
As Canada slogs through deep winter, catch up on these rental trends and housing issues with our latest Renting This Week in Canada Roundup:
Here's some good news about rental availability: According to Robin MacLennan, the Editor of Ontario Construction News the growth in rental supply pushed the national vacancy rate to 2.2 per cent from a record low of 1.5 per cent in 2023, Canada’s supply of purpose-built rental apartments grew by 4.1per cent, hitting a 30-year high.
Alexandre Silberman of CBC News reports that, according to a new survey, immigrants to the Canadian Prairies find housing search more difficult than the national average, survey finds. Like many Canadians, recent immigrants have "serious anxieties" about the cost of living.
In The Pointer, Muhammad Hamza explains how overcrowding in rental accommodations is getting worse in Brampton, putting public health and the safety of tenants at risk.
Knowing how to spot and avoid common rental scams in Canada is vital for newcomers looking for their first rental accommodation. Fortunately, there are smart tips for newcomers and international students can prevent you from falling victim to scammers.
Ever wonder how much it costs to rent in other countries? Personal finance website loveMoney came up with a ranking of 25 countries - Canada was NOT the most expensive. (that honour went to Singapore). The report was based on the data from Numbeo, the world’s largest cost of living database.
As Rentsync CEO Max Steinman points out, "affordability has been prioritized by renters over just about everything." So here are the cheapest places to live in Canada, according to Rentals.ca.
According to Laine Mitchell of the Daily Hive, a new report reveals that it now takes 19 months for renters in Edmonton to save up an "emergency fund." The study showed that it takes 27 months for Vancouver renters to do the same.
For current renters and newcomers to Canada, working with a professional real estate agent can help you locate that affordable apartment in the city where you want to live easier, faster and safer. Here's why renting through a realtor can be a smart strategy.
Ever feel as if “renting is throwing your money away?” It's not, so listen as the Globe and Mail's Rob Carrick and Ben Felix, chief investment officer at PWL Capital, discuss how to grow your wealth while renting in Canada.
With no end to Canada's rent affordability challenges on the horizon, the strain of high rent prices is frustrating aspiring homebuyers, writes Fergal McAlinden in Canadian Mortgage Professional.
Related Content:
What are the Types of Housing in Canada?
How to Find an Apartment for Rent in Toronto from Abroad
10 Quick Tips for Landlords and Newcomer Tenants
Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper told Bloomberg that he believes more investors will return to the housing rental market acting as landlords in 2025. What will this mean for newcomers and international students looking to rent in Canada?
According to Mitchell Bailey & Rebecca Lau of Global News, “a scene from a horror film” is how a Yarmouth, N.S., couple describes their rental property after their former tenant left following a three-month stay.
Renters are vulnerable to disaster damage
Finally, as wildfires continue to devastate Los Angeles and force homeowners AND renters from their homes, some landlords are using the disaster to gouge renters, who are always the most vulnerable in such disasters. Experts also predict that Los Angeles rental prices will ‘inevitably’ spike post-wildfires. Damage from fires (and water) also serves as a reminder that tenant insurance can help mitigate renter hardship when the unexpected strikes. Here's what renters in Canada need to know.
Steve Tustin is the Content 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.
*Rent prices were accurate when this article was published but may change over time.
© Rentals for Newcomers 2025