Is it cheaper to rent or buy in London right now?

Renting is the cheaper option in London right now. A typical two-bedroom costs less than owning a typical single-family home in October 2026, both month to month and over five and 10 years, and buying doesn’t catch up inside the 25 years we searched. The comparison assumes a 20% down payment and a 5.14% five-year fixed rate from RBC, dated October 19, 2026, and the comparison figures here are as of October 2026.

We started with the September 2026 MLS Home Price Index (HPI) single-family price of $600,700 for the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS (LSTAR) area, and set it against a two-bedroom asking rent of $1,920 a month from Statistics Canada for the second quarter of 2026. Owning in London would cost about $3,502 a month before principal and $4,299 once principal is included, against $1,920 for renting. To buy, you’d need about $137,640 in cash on closing day.

The one number that matters

The monthly gap before principal is about $1,582 in the first month, using October 2026 prices and rates. For a London owner, that’s the extra spent on interest, property tax, insurance, and maintenance beyond what the same household would pay to rent. General information, not financial or legal advice.

What does it cost to buy in London?

If you buy the typical single-family home in London, you’re looking at about $600,700 and about $137,640 in cash on closing day, using September 2026 LSTAR data and October 2026 mortgage rates. Borrowing the remaining $480,560 at the 5.14% five-year fixed rate RBC listed on October 19, 2026 means a payment of about $2,833 a month, and that’s before property tax, insurance, or maintenance.

The London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS (LSTAR) release for September 2026 put the single-family HPI price at $600,700, down 0.2% from August and 2.1% from June. It also listed the composite price at $552,500, the townhouse price at $421,500, and the apartment price at $317,100. The same release counted 561 sales in September, up 5.3% from September 2025, with an average sale price of $611,509, and 5.9 months of inventory. LSTAR’s statistics show that inventory had reached a new high of 6.3 months in August. We use the single-family price because we’re pricing a house, not a condo or townhouse.

How is London property tax calculated here?

The City of London’s 2026 tax rates schedule lists a total residential rate of 1.727111%, made up of a municipal (general) rate of 1.574111% and the provincial education rate of 0.153%. Applied to the $600,700 price, that works out to about $10,375 a year, or $865 a month, for 2026. CTV News London reported in November 2025 that London council approved a 3.4% property tax increase for 2026.

The City of London’s January 12, 2026 report to the Infrastructure and Corporate Services Committee says the 2026 assessment continues to use a valuation date of January 1, 2016. So a rate applied to the $600,700 market price overstates the bill for any home assessed below that price. No City average bill was available for this comparison, so we’ve used the same method as for every other city. In October 2026, every $1,000 a year of tax removed lowers the monthly gap by about $83.

What does Ontario land transfer tax add?

Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax works in bands: 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1% up to $250,000, 1.5% up to $400,000, and 2% on the portion above $400,000, according to ontario.ca. A $600,700 purchase comes to $8,489 at October 2026 rates. We haven’t counted the refund some first-time buyers can claim, since not every buyer qualifies.

What does it cost to rent in London?

If you’re renting a two-bedroom in London, Statistics Canada table 46-10-0092-01 (released September 9, 2026) puts the average asking rent at $1,920 a month in the second quarter of 2026. That’s the rent we used. The first quarter of 2026 figure was $1,930. Statistics Canada’s June 9, 2026 chart showed London’s average two-bedroom asking rent down 4.5% from a year earlier in the first quarter of 2026. That was tied for the fourth-largest decline among the census metropolitan areas it listed.

The same table reports an average paid rent of $1,560 for London two-bedroom apartments in the second quarter of 2026, which measures sitting tenancies rather than listings. At $1,560 a month, the first-month gap before principal rises from $1,582 to $1,942 and buying still doesn’t break even within 25 years on October 2026 figures. Statistics Canada marks these figures as experimental.

CMHC’s Housing Market Information Portal shows a vacancy rate of 4.0% for private apartments in the London census metropolitan area in CMHC’s October 2025 survey, up from 2.9% a year earlier. The average two-bedroom rent was $1,651. Those aren’t like-for-like numbers, though. CMHC’s survey draws on purpose-built buildings, many of them with long-time tenants, while the asking rent comes from what’s currently listed, so the two shouldn’t be compared directly.

How do the monthly costs compare?

For the first month, renting a London two-bedroom costs about $1,920, while owning costs about $3,502 before principal and about $4,299 once principal is included. If you buy instead of rent, that’s a gap of about $1,582 a month before principal and $2,379 after it, on October 2026 figures.

The running cost is property tax of about $865 a month, insurance of $100, maintenance of about $501, and mortgage interest on top. About $797 of the $4,299 all-in payment in month one goes to principal. That money isn’t lost, since it builds equity, but you still pay it each month. These figures use October 2026 rates, September 2026 prices, and London’s 2026 tax rate.

When does buying catch up in London?

Our October 2026 comparison says a typical London house doesn’t catch up with renting within 25 years. Over five years, owning has a net cost of $217,264 against $119,901 in rent, and over 10 years it’s $378,142 against $252,282.

Owning’s net cost covers selling costs, land transfer tax, closing costs, maintenance, insurance, property tax, and mortgage interest, along with the return the upfront cash could have earned elsewhere, less the price gain. On October 2026 figures, the gap widens to about $128,000 at 15 years. Then it narrows to about $98,000 at 20 years and $27,000 at 25 years, as the mortgage balance falls and the home gains 2.0% a year in value.

What would change the result?

Anything that narrows London’s gap would bring break-even closer: a lower mortgage rate, a lower property tax bill, or home prices rising faster than 2.0% a year. Falling prices, as LSTAR showed from June to September 2026, and falling asking rents, as Statistics Canada showed for London in the first quarter of 2026, push the other way.

What do renters and buyers need to know in Ontario?

Rent increases in London are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and the guideline for them is 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027, according to ontario.ca. If you rent, your landlord must give you written notice, in the proper form, no later than 90 days before an increase takes effect.

Who does the guideline cover?

The guideline applies to most private rentals, says the Ontario government. Units occupied for the first time for residential purposes after November 15, 2018 are among the exemptions. The Rental Laws section on liv.rent has the wider Ontario rules.

What changed at the Landlord and Tenant Board in September 2026?

Changes at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) took effect September 21, 2026, the board said, after Bill 60 and Bill 97 amended the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. Its operational update shrinks the notice period for an N4 notice for non-payment of rent to seven days from 14, for notices given from that date forward. Giving at least 120 days’ notice of an N12 for the landlord’s own use now means no compensation is owed. If notice is shorter, existing compensation rules still apply, and the change doesn’t reach an N12 for a purchaser’s own use.

What should buyers know?

When you buy in London, Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax falls due at closing: $8,489 on a $600,700 home, at ontario.ca’s October 2026 rates. For renters, the Rental Resources section offers more guidance.

Who is better off renting, and who is better off buying in London?

In London, where buying doesn’t catch up within the 25 years we tested, renting suits households that want to keep their cash invested or may move for work or study. Buying suits you if you plan to stay a very long time and put control over your home ahead of the lowest monthly cost. It also takes roughly $137,640 in upfront cash at October 2026 prices. General information, not financial advice.

If you rent

If you rent, London’s numbers favour you right now. Asking rents are down, and CMHC’s October 2025 survey showed a 4.0% vacancy rate for London private apartments. The gap before principal is about $1,582 a month in October 2026.

If you are a landlord

If you’re a landlord, owning costs about $1,582 a month more than renting before principal in October 2026, which gives London tenants little financial reason to leave for a purchase. Asking rents are falling, and CMHC’s October 2025 survey showed a 4.0% apartment vacancy rate. In Ontario, a sitting tenant in a covered unit faces increases capped by the 2.1% guideline for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027; rent for a new tenancy is agreed at turnover. The landlord resources on liv.rent go into pricing and screening.

If you are deciding between London and another Ontario city

Every city we compare runs through the same calculator, so you can line London up against others directly. Our buy vs rent comparison for Windsor and our comparison for Kingston each swap in their own home price, property tax, rent, and transfer tax.

How we calculated this

Every city in this comparison goes through the same calculator with the same assumptions. Only four local numbers change from place to place: the home price, the yearly property tax, the monthly rent, and the transfer tax. These are assumptions for comparison, not a quote or advice. We haven’t modelled mortgage qualification (the stress test), and we’ve left out condo fees. Here’s every assumption, so you can see exactly what we used.

The London figures we used are a single-family MLS Home Price Index price of $600,700 (LSTAR, September 2026). Property tax is $10,375 a year (City of London 2026 total residential rate of 1.727111%, applied to the price). The rest are rent of $1,920 a month (Statistics Canada average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment, second quarter of 2026) and Ontario land transfer tax of $8,489 (ontario.ca rates). The RBC mortgage rates page and the Bank of Canada supplied the rates, which we recorded on October 19, 2026.

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