Canada’s Rental Vacancy Rates on the Rise

by | Nov 9, 2015 | Rental Property Management Tips

According to the latest Rental Market Survey conducted by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, landlords in Canada’s largest city centres experienced an increase in rental vacancies.

The vacancy rate for purpose-built rental apartments increased to 3.3 per cent in October 2015, up from 2.8 per cent in October 2014.  Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC, attributes the rise to lower net migration in those regions most affected by low oil prices, and also an increase in inventory of rental apartment units.

tenant screeningOverall, the average rent for two-bedroom apartments increased 2.4 per cent between October 2014 and October 2015. In October 2015, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in new and existing structures was $960.

The vacancy rate for condos across the country ranged from 5.3 in Edmonton to 0.4 per cent in Hamilton. Average monthly rents for two-bedroom condominium apartments were highest in Toronto at $1,754, and lowest in Québec at $1,065.

Consistent with results from previous surveys, condominium vacancy rates were found to be lower than vacancy rates for purpose-built rental apartment units in most centres, while all centres registered higher average rents for rental condominium apartments. That’s because condominiums are typically newer and tend to offer a greater range of amenities than purpose-built rental apartments, according to CMHC.

CMHC plans to release the final 2015 Rental Market Survey report and data on December 16, 2015.

This post is provided by Tenant Verification Service, Inc., helping landlords reduce the risks of renting with fraud prevention tools that include Tenant Screening, Tenant Background Checks, (U.S. and Canada), as well as Criminal Background Checks, and Eviction Reports (U.S. only).

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this post in not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be considered a substitute for obtaining individual legal counsel or consulting your local, state, federal or provincial tenancy laws.

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