Major rental markets across Canada – British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec – are noticing a rise in the number of condos being sublet for spare rooms. This is a major trend that is supposed to persist for a long time. Given that affordability isn’t improving and the job market also remains stumpy, single-room rentals make all the more sense. Property owners get more money for the same area and renters find budget-friendly accommodation.
A new report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation explains, “Vancouver and Toronto, two of Canada’s most expensive metropolitan areas, have experienced a notable increase in condo units where owners are subletting spare bedrooms… Additionally, condo investors in these cities are listing individual bedrooms within larger units, thereby offering lower asking rents to attract prospective tenants.”
The data rolled out by Rentals.ca reveals shared accommodations listings have shot up by 48.7% – which is insane. As a result, the number of basement units being rented has also gone up – mostly as studio apartments. The report highlights that single-family homeowners are “renting out individual bedrooms within occupied homes, likely as a means to offset rising mortgage payments.”
BC, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec have seen the average asking rents rise 6.9% year over year. The average rent was $1,009 in September. Additionally, roommate rents also rose up with Alberta recording a rise of 5.6% jump to an average of $905. British Columbia and Ontario have the highest average shared accommodation rents at $1,210 and $1,102, respectively.
The demand for shared rentals is being driven by Gen Z as humorously highlighted by Matt Danison, CEO of the Rentals.ca Network who said, “Gen Z could become the ‘Boomerang Generation’ moving back in with the parents or the‘Roommate Generation’ splitting rent as it’s unaffordable for many Canadians to pay rent on their own.”
