Rent for one-bedroom apartment in Toronto up more than 10 per cent from last year

The CN Tower is reflected in a high rise building behind a construction crane in downtown Toronto on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (Pawel Dwulit / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Students renting a new apartment in Toronto for the school year may have been shocked to find rental prices have jumped by more than 10 per cent in the city compared to a year ago.

A new report from rentals.ca says the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city jumped to $2,620 in August — up 10.5 per cent from August 2022. The price of an average two-bedroom apartment now sits at $3,413 per month, up 7.1 per cent from a year ago.

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Rental prices have also shot up in other parts of the GTA. In Brampton, the price of a one-bedroom apartment has skyrocketed 29 per cent compared to last year and now sits at $2,274 per month. The price of a two-bedroom apartment in Brampton now sits at $2,650 per month, up 25.7 per cent from a year ago.

Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Mississauga is up 15.3 per cent to $2,379, while the cost of a two-bedroom apartment in the city has jumped 18.4 per cent to $2,872.

Nationally, Vancouver still has the highest rent, with rent for a one-bedroom sitting just under $3,000 at $2,988 and rent for a two-bedroom sitting at $3,879.

According to the report, rental prices in Canada are up 1.8 per cent monthly and 9.6 per cent annually, reaching a record high of $2,117 in August.

While Toronto and Vancouver remain the most expensive markets for apartment renters, month-over-month rent increases were actually below average in the two cities in August. They rose just around 1.2 per cent across one and two-bedroom apartments in Toronto compared to July, and actually dropped about 0.9 per cent across the same housing types in Vancouver in the same period.

Those looking for a roommate are asking more too. In Ontario, the average asking rent for a roommate went up to $1,040 a month, up $73 from last year. In Toronto the average rate for a roommate is now $1,302 a month. While that may sound pricey to many, it's still cheaper than Vancouver, where the average asking price for a roommate sits at $1,773 per month.

According to the report, asking rents are up by more than $100 over the past three months nationally across all housing types.

“Over the last three-month period between May and August, asking rents in Canada have increased by 5.1%, or by an average of $103 per month,” the report states.

“Despite rental apartment completions in Canada over the past 12 months reaching their highest level since the 1970s, rent growth has remained exceptionally strong. This can be attributed to the country’s record-high population growth and sharp deterioration in homeownership affordability.”

The latest report comes as housing continues to be a major priority locally and federally. Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau attended an event in London Wednesday where he announced $74 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund to build 2,000 more high-density homes in the city over the next three years. London is the first city to get money through the fund and the federal government said it would like to see the program fast-track at least 100,000 new homes across the country. The agreements for the funds require municipalities to end exclusionary zoning practices and encourage apartment building around public transit.

The provincial government has also made housing a key priority, vowing to build 1.5 million homes across Ontario over the next decade.