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March 2021 Toronto Rent Report

5 min read
Sarah Anderson

Sarah Anderson

Creative Content Writer at liv.rent

Published on March 03, 2021

Last updated on April 23rd, 2021

Toronto has long held its title of the most expensive city in Canada to rent. However, the tides may have finally turned. This March, we’re seeing a dip in rental prices that Torontonians are going to be interested to hear about.

With vacancy up and rental prices down, right now is a good time to be a renter. Consider that when international travel is back, and more and more people come to the city again, this downturn in rent might not be here forever.

You can get the latest updates on the Toronto rental market straight to your inbox when you subscribe to keep on top of the trends while we continue to see the effects of COVID-19 on the rental industry.

Let’s take a closer look at the reported average rent prices for March across the Greater Toronto Area.

These numbers are based on data we gathered from our own liv.rent platform and other listing websites. This report and the rental trends we’ve identified will help both tenants and landlords to make informed and empowered decisions as we spring ahead into 2021.

Jump to the following Toronto Rent Report sections:

Complete March 2021 Toronto Rent Report: Download Here


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  • If you look at the average rent for a one-bedroom unfurnished apartment in Toronto over a six-month period from October 2020 to March 2021 — a definite trend emerges.

    As expected, rent is continuing to drop as we head into spring and it’s at a low we haven’t seen in a long time.

    Toronto rental trends for an average one bedroom unfurnished apartment.


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    Month-to-month rent change

    We’re going to see how rent has changed since February by looking at the exact percentage change month-over-month.

    Furnished Toronto rent trends

    Markham, an area we’ve noticed is getting more and more popular, is the only place that saw furnished rent skyrocket up (+14.38%) — on the other hand, in Mississauga furnished rent dropped an astounding 12.8% and other neighbourhoods followed that downward trend in furnished rent.

    Unfurnished Toronto rent trends

    Unfurnished rent continued to drop in most places, most notably in the Downtown (-6.34%) and Etobicoke (-2.36%) neighbourhoods. However Brampton, historically one of the more affordable neighbourhoods, saw unfurnished rent go up 7.7% in contrast.

    The percentage change month vs month in toronto rent.

    Toronto furnished vs. unfurnished averages

    So, what is the average rent in Toronto now? Well, for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment you can expect to pay $1,679 on average — that’s up three dollars from February’s averages. For a furnished apartment, the average dropped from $1,749 to $1,704.

    The average rental market price for a one-bedroom both furnished and unfurnished.

    Neighbourhood breakdown

    The lowest average rent in the GTA is still Brampton where an unfurnished one-bedroom unit will cost on average $1,468 in monthly rent.

    Downtown continues to be the most expensive place to get an apartment, and the average rent for a one-bedroom will set you back $1,809 which is significantly cheaper than rent was last month at $1,873.

    Toronto neighbourhood rent prices comparing Downtown to Brampton.

    Let’s take a look across the entire GTA and see what’s going on in each neighbourhood. These charts compare the rental averages of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units, both for unfurnished and furnished listings.

    Key takeaways:

    • The cheapest three-bedroom apartments are in Scarborough
    • The cheapest one and two-bedroom apartments are in Brampton
    • Rent in North York & Etobicoke is approaching that of Downtown
    average rental rates by listing type for unfurnished homes in toronto.
    average rates by listing type for furnished units in toronto.

    Gain comprehensive insights about your listings with the new liv.rent Landlord listing Dashboard. Sign in to unlock live insights – find out the average rent for a comparable property, number of views your listing received and more!

    Average rent in Canada

    For the first time, we’ve seen Vancouver just slightly edge out Toronto as the most expensive city to rent in Canada. The difference right now is small, but rent in Vancouver seems like it’s already starting to trend upward while Toronto rent remains in a downward trend.

    Downloadable Resources

    Impress at your next video conference by repping the latest rental averages and trends with our custom virtual backgrounds. 

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

    Complete March 2021 Toronto Rent Report: Download Here



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    Subscribe to receive these monthly updates on the Toronto rental market. Discover last month’s Rent Reports below:

    February 2021 Vancouver Rent Report
    February 2021 Toronto Rent Report
    February 2021 Montreal Rent Report


    COVID-19 Resources 

    For information regarding COVID-19, refer to these 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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