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January 2021 Toronto Rent Report

4 min read
Kristina Ikavalko

Kristina Ikavalko

Creative Content Writer at liv.rent

Published on January 08, 2021

Last updated on March 31st, 2021

As we begin the new year with positive vaccine news, Toronto continues to battle rising COVID-19 numbers with additional province-wide restrictions. This continues to dampen the rental market recovery in the Greater Toronto area. Many students have not returned, and business travel and tourism continue to be severely impacted. In addition, a number of new developments have come to market introducing new supply and placing further downward pressure on the rental market.

With these factors in mind, we take a closer look at the reported average rent prices for the month of January across the Greater Toronto Area. Based on data gathered from numerous listing websites and our own liv.rent platform, our rent reports seek to identify and share key market data and trends, to help inform and educate landlords and tenants alike.

Jump to the following Toronto Rent Report sections:

Complete January 2021 Toronto Rent Report: Download Here


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  • Here we take a look at the average rent of a 1 bedroom, unfurnished apartment over a 6-month period from August 2020 to January 2021. The drop in rental rates seems to have slowed though downward pressure persists and is expected to continue into spring.


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    Month-to-Month Rent Change

    Below, we show the percentage change in average rent from December to January’s figures. The volatility of earlier pandemic months seems to have returned to some neighbourhoods in the GTA. Markham saw prices drop on average by 7.46% in the furnished rental category and 4.56% in the unfurnished rental category. Markham’s larger 2 and 3 bedroom units experienced the biggest drops: -10.05% and -11.47% respectively. Vaughan/Richmond Hill’s furnished rental rates recovered seeing a 7.24% increase.

    Toronto Furnished vs. Unfurnished Averages

    What is the average rent in Toronto? The average rent in Toronto for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment is $1,700 down from December’s $1,715. The average rent in Toronto of a furnished apartment declined, too, to $1,717 from December’s $1,742.

    Neighbourhood Breakdown

    Brampton continues to have the lowest average rent in the GTA for an unfurnished, 1 bedroom unit at $1,450, down from December’s $1,510. Curiously, a furnished rental in Brampton cost less this month at $1,320. While the highest average 1 bedroom rent in the GTA for a similar home in January was, predictably, in Downtown Toronto at $1,903, down again from December’s $1,993.

    >> Recommended Reading: December 2020 Toronto Rent Report

    To assist you further in your rental decision, here is a breakdown of rental averages across other GTA neighbourhoods. Comparing 1, 2, and 3 bedroom rates for both unfurnished and furnished listings across each neighbourhood.


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    Average Rent in Canada

    The slide in average rents in Toronto pushed rents lower but Toronto remains the most expensive city in Canada in a city by city comparison, Toronto’s average rent in January was $1,700 compared to Vancouver’s $1,670.

    Vancouver has always been a close second but the decline in rental rates has been less dramatic there resulting in its closer second-place ranking as we kick off the new year. There are many similarities and a few key differences between the two most popular and expensive cities in Canada, discussed in our Cost of Living comparison – link below.

    Downloadable Resources

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    Looking for the full report? Download it for free here.

    Complete January 2021 Toronto Rent Report: Download Here



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    Subscribe to receive monthly updates on Canada’s major rental markets. Discover last month’s Rent Reports below:

    Vancouver Rent Report
    Toronto Rent Report
    Montreal Rent Report
    Calgary and Edmonton Rent Report



    COVID-19 Resources 

    For information regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) and landlords and tenants, refer to our comprehensive resource posts. They include information on the various federal and provincial assistance initiatives available to help support landlords (small business relief) and tenants (rent relief):

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