Are increased rental costs taking a financial toll? We want to hear from you

Calgary sees quickest growth in rental costs The federal government is promising 71,000 new rental units across Canada by 2028 to try to deal with rising rent. Bill Fortier reports.

National data has shown that the average rental cost for one-bedroom units has been steadily increasing on a monthly basis for 16 Canadian cities.

According to the national Canadian rent index, last month’s average rent for a one-bedroom unit climbed one per cent to $1,894, while two-bedrooms increased 0.3 per cent to $2,350.

Increased rental costs come during the highest inflation rate since 1983, with the annual rate of rent growth in Canada reaching 9.9 per cent in October, as reported by Rentals.ca.

This increase represents the fastest annual increase of the past seven months.

For the sixth month in a row, asking rent rates in Canada hit a new high, averaging an 8.8 per cent increase per month ($175), according to Zumper’s Canadian Rent Report, which is based on rental data from hundreds of thousands of active listings across the country.

The city with the highest average rent for a one-bedroom unit is Vancouver, with rent hovering at $2,780 per month. Not too far below, Toronto’s average for a one-bedroom unit monthly rate is $2,550, while areas in B.C., such as Burnaby and Victoria, also remain over $2,000 per month.

The average one-bedroom rental costs for Halifax, Kitchener, Ottawa and Kelowna all are above $1,900, Zumper reports, with Calgary landing at an average cost of $1,890, and Oshawa – the lowest one-bedroom rent average – reaching $1,880.

The three cities with the highest year-over-year rent price increase was Calgary (at 26 per cent), Winnipeg (21.7 per cent), and Burnaby (21 per cent).

According to Rentals.ca, Canadian rent inflation has been particularly concentrated within Nova Scotia, Quebec and Alberta, provinces that have “experienced a combination of strong population growth and large infusions of new rental supply priced at above-average market rents.”

According to the data, the average asking rent for condominium apartments in Alberta reached $1,686 last month, which is a 16.4 per cent spike year-over-year. Nova Scotia’s average asking rent for apartments increased 13.6 per cent since last year, landing at $2,097. Quebec’s annual growth was 13.3 per cent at $1,977, as reported by Rental.ca.

If you have been affected by rent increases, CTVNews.ca wants to hear from you.

How hard is it to find an affordable rental unit in Canada? Are landlords asking for more personal information now, in an effort to avoid being scammed? Have you, as a renter, been scammed by a fake listing? Are landlords offering any perks amidst higher rental costs?

Share your questions by emailing us at [e-mail] with your name, general location and phone number in case we want to follow up. Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.