October 2026 Montreal rent report

At a glance

• Montreal rents remain below last year, but the unfurnished gap is the smallest in six months
  • The average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom was $1,611 in October 2026, down 2.2% from $1,647 in October 2025. The year-over-year gap was 6.2% in July. Furnished one-bedrooms are down 3.8% over the same period, from $1,708 to $1,643.
• Downtown overtakes Westmount as the priciest of the 10 neighbourhoods we track
  • Downtown unfurnished one-bedroom rents rose 2.19% from September to $1,845, while Westmount fell 5.98% from $1,853 to $1,743. Villeray-Parc-Extension remains the most affordable at $1,387.
• Furnished one-bedrooms gained ground while unfurnished units eased
  • The average furnished one-bedroom rose 0.29% from September to $1,643, while the unfurnished average decreased 0.57% to $1,611. A furnished one-bedroom now rents for $32 more per month than an unfurnished one, up from $18 in September, and furnished rents rose in six of the nine neighbourhoods with data.

Download liv.rent’s 2026 Canada rental market trends report for in-depth insights and forecasts on average rent prices, regional market comparisons, key economic drivers, and emerging AI trends shaping Canada’s rental landscape.

Average rent across Montreal

This month, the average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in Montreal decreased 0.57% from September, settling at $1,611 per month. Since October 2025, the Montreal average for an unfurnished one-bedroom has decreased 2.2%, a drop of $36.

Viewed across the year so far, unfurnished one-bedroom rents have moved within a narrow band of $1,586 to $1,636 and have stayed below the same month in 2025 every month. The gap against last year has narrowed from 6.2% in July to 2.2% in October.

Want a point of comparison? Browse our Metro Vancouver and Toronto rent reports to see how Montreal stacks up against two of Canada’s other major rental markets.

Planning a lease renewal? For leases renewing between April 2, 2026 and April 1, 2027, the Tribunal administratif du logement’s base percentage for rent increases is 3.1%. It is a guideline and not a cap: a tenant can refuse an increase and stay, and the landlord can then ask the tribunal to set the rent. Our guide to Quebec rent increases explains the steps.

Month-to-month rent change

To better understand how rents have shifted across Montreal neighbourhoods since September, here are the most significant month-to-month movements for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units.

Among furnished one-bedroom units, Westmount recorded the largest increase at 4.03%, followed by Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/Côte-des-Neiges at 3.70% and Le Plateau-Mont-Royal at 3.30%. Villeray-Parc-Extension posted the largest decrease at 4.74%, followed by Ahuntsic-Cartierville at 2.50% and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve at 1.99%.

Among unfurnished one-bedroom units, Saint Henri recorded the largest increase at 7.12%, followed by Villeray-Parc-Extension at 4.68% and Downtown at 2.19%. Westmount posted the largest decrease at 5.98%, followed by Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/Côte-des-Neiges at 5.52% and Verdun at 3.77%.

Montreal unfurnished vs. furnished rent averages

Average prices moved in opposite directions this month. Furnished one-bedrooms increased 0.29% to $1,643 per month, while unfurnished units decreased 0.57% to $1,611. A furnished one-bedroom currently rents for $32 more per month than an unfurnished one on average. Compared with October 2025, furnished one-bedrooms are down $65 and unfurnished are down $36.

Looking for our full October 2026 Montreal rent report? Download your copy in the downloadable resources section for all the latest insights, including a detailed breakdown by neighbourhood.

Neighbourhood breakdown

Across the 10 neighbourhoods we track, Downtown is the most expensive place to rent this month, with an unfurnished one-bedroom asking $1,845 per month. Villeray-Parc-Extension is the most affordable at $1,387 per month.

Let’s look even closer at how rents moved by listing type between September and October:

• Downtown was the only neighbourhood that saw an increase in price across all types of unfurnished units.
• Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/Côte-des-Neiges, Saint-Laurent, and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve were the only neighbourhoods that saw a decrease in price across all unfurnished unit types.
• Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Villeray-Parc-Extension, and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve were the only neighbourhoods where furnished one-bedroom rents decreased.

The table below lists average asking rents for every unit type, with a year-over-year column comparing each neighbourhood’s unfurnished one-bedroom rent with October 2025. Seven of the 10 neighbourhoods sit below last year’s level, while Saint Henri is up 11.3%, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve is up 1.9%, and Downtown is up 1.3%. The table is interactive: sort any column, or download it as an image.

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Downloadable resources

Data collection methodology

Rethink the way you rent

Not on liv.rent yet? Experience the ease of digital applications and contracts, verified tenants and landlords, virtual tours, and more, all on one platform. Sign up for free or download the app.

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

Vancouver rent report
Ontario rent report
Montreal rent report
Calgary and Edmonton rent report

The post October 2026 Montreal rent report appeared first on liv.rent blog.

September 2026 Montreal rent report

At a glance

• Montreal’s unfurnished one-bedroom rents remain below year-ago levels
  • The citywide average for an unfurnished one-bedroom rose 0.9% from August to $1,620 this month, but that is still 2.7% below the $1,665 recorded in September 2025. Furnished one-bedroom rents followed a similar path, up 1.7% month-over-month to $1,638 and down 2.5% year-over-year.
• Westmount is now Montreal’s most expensive neighbourhood
  • Westmount’s unfurnished one-bedroom average jumped 8.3% month-over-month to $1,853, the highest of any neighbourhood in this month’s report. Verdun now ranks second at $1,809, followed by Downtown at $1,806, after Downtown had held the top spot from June through August.
• Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/Côte-des-Neiges splits by furnished status
  • It was the only neighbourhood where every unfurnished unit type increased in price this month, with unfurnished one-bedroom rents up 1.8% to $1,605, even as furnished one-bedroom rents in the same neighbourhood fell 2.1% to $1,420.

Download liv.rent’s 2026 Canada rental market trends report for in-depth insights and forecasts on average rent prices, regional market comparisons, key economic drivers, and emerging AI trends shaping Canada’s rental landscape.

Average rent across Montreal

This month, the average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in Montreal increased by 0.9% from August, settling at $1,620 per month. Since September 2025, the citywide average has decreased by 2.7%, a drop of $45. Montreal remains considerably more affordable than other major Canadian rental markets like Metro Vancouver and Toronto.

Month-to-month rent change

To better understand how rent prices have shifted across Montreal, here are the most significant month-over-month movements for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units.

Among furnished one-bedroom units, Verdun recorded the largest increase at 4.1%, followed by Le Plateau-Mont-Royal at 2.0% and Ahuntsic-Cartierville at 1.2%. Saint Henri posted the largest decrease at 4.2%, followed by Saint-Laurent at 3.1% and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/Côte-des-Neiges at 2.1%.

Among unfurnished one-bedroom units, Westmount recorded the largest increase at 8.3%, followed by Hochelaga-Maisonneuve at 5.8% and Verdun at 3.8%. Saint Henri posted the largest decrease at 4.5%, followed by Villeray-Parc-Extension at 3.1% and Le Plateau-Mont-Royal at 2.8%.

Montreal unfurnished vs furnished rent averages

Average prices for both furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units increased across Montreal this month. Furnished one-bedroom rents increased by 1.7% to $1,638 per month, while unfurnished rents increased by 0.9% to $1,620. A furnished one-bedroom currently rents for $18 more per month than an unfurnished one on average.

Looking for our full September 2026 Montreal rent report? Download your copy in the downloadable resources section for all the latest insights, including a detailed breakdown by neighbourhood.

Neighbourhood breakdown

We break Montreal down by neighbourhood for a more complete picture of the city’s rental market. This month, Westmount is the most expensive neighbourhood to rent in, with an unfurnished one-bedroom asking $1,853 per month. Villeray-Parc-Extension is the most affordable at $1,325 per month.

Let’s look even closer at the different listing types to see the differences in one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental rates across each area.

• Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/Côte-des-Neiges was the only neighbourhood that saw an increase in price across all types of unfurnished units.
• Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Saint Henri, and Ahuntsic-Cartierville were the only neighbourhoods that saw a decrease in price across all unfurnished unit types.
• Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Downtown, Verdun, and Ahuntsic-Cartierville were the only neighbourhoods where furnished one-bedroom rents increased.

For the full breakdown by unit size, here is average rent by listing type across all ten neighbourhoods this month.

Explore the full, interactive table below, including each neighbourhood’s year-over-year change.

Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list so you never miss an update on the Montreal rental market.

Downloadable resources

Data collection methodology

Rethink the way you rent

Not on liv.rent yet? Experience the ease of digital applications and contracts, verified tenants and landlords, virtual tours, and more, all on one platform. Sign up for free or download the app.

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

Vancouver rent report
Ontario rent report
Montreal rent report
Calgary and Edmonton rent report

The post September 2026 Montreal rent report appeared first on liv.rent blog.

What are Montreal’s short-term rental rules in summer 2026?

As of summer 2026, Montreal allows tourist rentals of 31 days or fewer in a host’s principal residence only, and only between June 10 and September 10 each year, according to the City of Montreal. Outside that window, renting out a principal residence to tourists isn’t permitted, no matter what permits a host holds.

The summer window: June 10 to September 10

The window runs on a fixed calendar, not a running total of nights. A host can rent their principal residence more than once during those months, as long as each stay is 31 days or fewer, per the city’s current guidance on renting a principal residence to tourists. There’s no provision to bank unused summer days and use them later in the year, though that’s one of the things city hall is currently reconsidering (more on that below).

Principal residence only, and what it means for tenants

The rule is tied to where the host actually lives, not simply to ownership. A second property or an investment condo rented out full time doesn’t qualify. Under those same city rules, a tenant can’t sublet their unit as a short-term rental unless the lease allows it or the landlord gives written authorization first, and a landlord can’t list a tenant’s unit that way without that same consent.

Registration steps and what they cost in 2026

Getting set up legally means clearing two separate registrations. Quebec requires anyone offering a stay of 31 days or fewer for payment to register the property, and the province’s 2026 fee for a principal-residence tourist accommodation establishment is $54, according to the Government of Quebec. Montreal then requires its own municipal host permit, currently priced at $350 including taxes. Hosts are expected to complete both the provincial registration and the municipal permit process before advertising a qualifying principal residence on a booking platform.

Which Montreal boroughs restrict short-term rentals?

Three boroughs are excluded from the summer window entirely. Lachine, Saint-Laurent, and Saint-Léonard don’t allow a principal residence to be rented to tourists, even between June 10 and September 10, according to the City of Montreal.

What the restriction covers, and what it doesn’t

The restriction applies to principal-residence tourist rentals specifically, the type most hosts use. It doesn’t necessarily settle the question for every commercial or specially zoned tourist accommodation in those boroughs, which can fall under separate zoning rules. Anyone planning around short-term income in Lachine, Saint-Laurent, or Saint-Léonard should confirm zoning directly with the borough rather than assume the door is fully closed or fully open.

How to check the rules for your address

Rules can vary by street even within a permitted borough, since some zones limit or exclude tourist accommodation regardless of the citywide window. The most reliable way to confirm what applies to a specific address is to check directly with the City of Montreal or the property’s borough office. For more on rental rules across the province, see liv.rent’s Quebec rental law resources.

Did the rules actually increase long-term housing supply?

This is the least settled part of the story. The city, an independent academic study, an industry-commissioned report, and Canada’s national housing agency have each looked at some version of this question over the past year and a half, and they don’t all point the same direction.

What the city estimated when the rule passed

When Montreal adopted the bylaw in 2025, the city estimated the change could return roughly 2,000 units to the long-term rental market, according to CBC News reporting at the time. That figure was a projection made before the rule took effect, not a measured outcome, and it hasn’t been publicly updated since.

What an independent McGill study found

Some of the more substantial independent evidence comes from a McGill University study, highlighted in an August 12, 2026 university news release drawing on peer-reviewed research published in the journal Regional Studies. Looking at Canadian municipalities that restricted principal-residence short-term rentals between 2017 and 2022, researchers linked the restrictions to renters saving a combined $192.4 million a month by 2023. Rents in the 309 regulated neighbourhoods studied ran about $24 lower within a year of a restriction, climbing to $55 lower over time, while rents in nearby unregulated neighbourhoods fell by roughly $40, a pattern the researchers read as evidence that rental markets respond regionally rather than block by block. Montreal’s rules specifically were linked to lower rents in neighbouring Laval and Longueuil. The study is national in scope, so it doesn’t measure Montreal’s 2025 bylaw in isolation.

What an Airbnb-commissioned analysis found

The opposing view comes from an analysis by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, commissioned by Airbnb and published in March 2026. It argues Montreal’s rules haven’t meaningfully improved vacancy rates or long-term rents, and projects a shortfall of more than 26,000 accommodation nights, with over $19 million in economic activity at risk, during the 2026 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix and UCI World Cycling Championships. Because Airbnb commissioned the analysis, it’s best read as an industry perspective rather than an independent evaluation of Montreal’s housing outcomes.

What CMHC and liv.rent’s own numbers show

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s mid-year 2026 update, published June 9, found Montreal’s vacancies rose while tenant turnover fell across most rent quartiles, concentrated in buildings completed after 2020 and near post-secondary institutions. liv.rent’s own August 2026 Montreal Rent Report adds a first-party data point: the average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom fell 5.2% year over year to $1,605, and nine of the ten neighbourhoods liv.rent tracks posted lower unfurnished one-bedroom rents than a year earlier, led by a 13.8% drop in Villeray-Parc-Extension. None of this proves the short-term rental rules caused the decline on their own. Montreal’s rental market has several forces moving through it at once, including a wave of new purpose-built supply, so the rules are best read as one plausible contributor among several, not the whole explanation.

What the summer window means for renters searching right now

Summer is the toughest season to compete with short-term listings

For renters, summer is when legal short-term rental activity can peak, since June 10 to September 10 is when qualifying principal-residence hosts can operate in most Montreal boroughs. That overlaps with the same months when many long-term leases turn over in Quebec, so renters searching in July can end up competing with furnished, short-stay inventory for units in the same buildings and neighbourhoods.

What happens after September 10

After September 10, a principal residence that qualified for summer hosting can no longer be rented to tourists for stays of 31 days or fewer, under the city’s summer window rules. That stays true until the following June 10. It’s possible some hosts shift toward longer stays or a long-term lease once the window closes, but there’s no published City of Montreal figure confirming how many units convert to long-term rental use each year.

The 31-day workaround, and where to look for a real lease

Quebec’s tourist-accommodation registration requirement applies to paid stays of 31 days or fewer. A lease of a month or longer generally falls outside that framework, though it’s still subject to ordinary lease, housing, and municipal rules, it just isn’t governed by the short-term rental regime. For renters who want a genuine long-term home rather than a month-to-month stopgap, checking the lease term, an ID-verified landlord, and a verified listing badge is a reasonable way to tell a real long-term rental from a short-stay listing dressed up as one. liv.rent’s Montreal listings and its guide to finding a long-term rental are built around exactly that kind of search.

What the rules mean for Montreal landlords and property owners

Who’s actually allowed to operate a short-term rental

In most Montreal boroughs, a host can only rent their own principal residence to tourists during the permitted summer window. A landlord generally can’t use a separate investment property as a short-term rental simply because they own it, since the rule is tied to the operator’s own principal residence, not to ownership alone. For an investor holding a Montreal condo purely as a rental property, the seasonal short-term option generally isn’t available at all, which pushes most investment-property owners toward long-term leasing by default.

Quebec’s 2026 rent-setting rules for long-term leases

For landlords leasing long term instead, Quebec’s Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) lists the 2026 base percentage applicable to rent at 3.1%, down from 4.5% in 2025. That figure isn’t an automatic increase every landlord can apply across the board; it’s one input into a building-specific calculation that also weighs costs, taxes, and capital work, and either side can bring a dispute to the TAL if they disagree with the result.

Weighing a summer rental income against a long-term tenant

The seasonal option is narrower than it might first look: roughly three months of potential tourist-rental income, two separate registration or permit costs, and competition from every other host doing the same thing in the same window. A long-term lease produces income across 12 months and falls under Quebec’s rent-setting framework rather than a fixed summer calendar. liv.rent’s guide to screening tenants and guide to writing an attractive rental ad are built for landlords choosing that route.

How Montreal compares with other Canadian cities

Toronto: principal residence plus an annual night cap

Toronto also restricts short-term rentals to an operator’s principal residence and requires city registration. The City of Toronto lists its 2026 renewal fee at $390. Rather than a seasonal window, Toronto caps whole-home short-term rentals at 180 nights a year, and its official operator guidance doesn’t describe anything resembling Montreal’s fixed calendar restriction.

British Columbia: a province-wide, not city-specific, framework

British Columbia takes a third approach. In many B.C. communities, the province’s principal-residence requirement limits short-term rentals to a host’s main home, plus in some cases one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on the same property. Hosts in B.C. have also had to register with the provincial short-term rental registry to operate since May 1, 2025. Because the principal-residence requirement doesn’t apply the same way in every community, hosts and renters alike should check the current provincial list and local bylaws before relying on it.

Here’s how the three frameworks compare on the points renters and hosts ask about most:

Of the three, Montreal is the only one built around a fixed calendar window rather than a running total of nights or a straightforward principal-residence rule, though that’s the piece the city is now actively working to change.

What could change next

The city’s own plan to replace the summer window

This isn’t a fringe idea anymore. Soraya Martinez Ferrada campaigned on replacing the fixed June 10 to September 10 window with a flexible cap of up to 90 days a year that hosts could use anytime, according to CBC News coverage of the campaign, and her party, Ensemble Montréal, went on to win Montreal’s November 2025 municipal election. Since taking office, her administration has confirmed it’s moving ahead with that change: alongside the flexible 90-day allowance, the plan includes banning short-term rentals of commercial spaces and expanding the number of inspectors who enforce the rules.

Where things stand as of August 2026

The original June 10 to September 10 window remains the rule in effect. The changes weren’t ready in time for the 2026 Formula 1 Grand Prix in May, and the mayor’s office has said it intends to introduce a new bylaw this fall. Airbnb has been actively lobbying city hall to loosen the rules further, while Ericka Alneus, the city council’s opposition leader from Projet Montréal, has argued that more than 7,000 short-term rental units could return to Montreal’s long-term rental market if commercial short-term rentals are banned outright, a claim tied to her push for the administration to move faster and more clearly on the file.

What it could mean for long-term supply

The two rules under discussion pull in different directions. A year-round 90-day allowance would remove the predictable autumn conversion point renters currently see, since hosts could spread their nights across the calendar instead of clustering them in summer. A ban on commercial, non-principal-residence short-term

The post What Montreal’s short-term rental rules mean for long-term supply this summer appeared first on liv.rent blog.

How much cheaper is Trois-Rivières than Montreal for renters in 2026?

Trois-Rivières appears substantially cheaper to rent in than Montreal based on the two datasets available for 2026, though the comparison needs a caveat up front: liv.rent’s August 2026 Montreal Rent Report tracks a one-bedroom asking-rent average, while the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2025 Rental Market Report averages Trois-Rivières across all unit types. In Montreal, the average unfurnished one-bedroom cost $1,605 a month in August, up 1.2% from July but $88 below where it stood a year earlier. In Trois-Rivières, CMHC’s report, released December 11, 2025 and covering the October 2025 survey, put the average rent across all unit types at roughly $980 a month, up 15.2% year-over-year. Both cities fall under Quebec’s residential lease rules, administered by the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), which lists a base percentage of 3.1% for rent-increase notices given on or after January 1, 2026, down from 4.5% under the previous notice period.

Rent by the numbers

The figures below use different methods, so treat this as a directional comparison rather than a strict one-bedroom-to-one-bedroom match.

Sources: liv.rent’s August 2026 Montreal Rent Report; CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report (October 2025 survey, released December 11, 2025), as reported by FRAPRU’s summary of the CMHC data.

What the gap means over a year

Comparing the two averages, the gap works out to roughly $625 a month, or about $7,500 a year, in Trois-Rivières’ favour. Because CMHC’s Trois-Rivières figure blends unit types, it’s best read as a broad market benchmark rather than a one-bedroom-specific estimate.

What does everyday cost of living look like beyond rent?

Rent is the largest line item, but getting around adds to the picture. A Monthly, All Modes A pass, the standard adult fare covering Montreal’s STM network, costs $110 and covers travel within Zone A, effective July 1, 2026. Trois-Rivières’ Société de transport de Trois-Rivières (STTR) set its 2026 general monthly pass at $81. Trois-Rivières is also a more car-dependent city than Montreal, so renters who don’t drive should budget time, not just money, around a smaller bus network.

A tighter market than the headline suggests

Trois-Rivières’ vacancy rate sat at 2.7% in CMHC’s October 2025 survey, indicating a relatively tight market despite lower absolute rents than Montreal. That’s tighter than it sounds next to the city’s lower average rent: fewer available units can put upward pressure on asking rents at turnover, even while Trois-Rivières remains cheaper than Montreal in absolute terms.

What are Quebec’s 2026 TAL rent-increase rules?

Quebec’s residential lease rules are administered by the Tribunal administratif du logement, which sets a base percentage each year that feeds into a rent-increase calculation. For a notice of lease modification given on or after January 1, 2026, TAL lists a base percentage of 3.1% applicable to rent, down from 4.5% under the previous notice period. That figure is one input into a calculation specific to each building and dwelling, not an automatic increase every landlord can charge, and it applies the same way in Montreal and Trois-Rivières.

A simpler formula

The rules that took effect January 1, 2026, also simplified how TAL calculates a rent increase, replacing nine separate expense categories, from electricity to management costs, with three: a base percentage on rent, a percentage for services of a personal nature, and an allowance for capital expenditures, which stayed at 5% in both years.

What 3.1% looks like in dollars, and the new-build exception

As a rough illustration only, since TAL calculates each case individually, 3.1% works out to about $30 a month on Trois-Rivières’ roughly $980 average and about $50 a month on Montreal’s $1,605 one-bedroom average. Renters in both cities can generally refuse a rent increase and stay in their unit while TAL settles the matter, with one exception. For a building constructed or converted to residential use five years ago or less, the lease itself must state that restriction, and a tenant in that situation cannot refuse the increase and remain. The choice is to accept the new rent or move out.

Are security deposits legal in Quebec?

No, not in Montreal, not in Trois-Rivières, not anywhere in the province. Under Article 1904 of the Civil Code of Quebec, a landlord may require no more than one month’s rent in advance and cannot demand any additional sum, described in the law as a deposit or otherwise, as a condition of the lease. That rules out damage deposits, extra last-month’s-rent deposits, and key deposits above the cost of an actual replacement key. The law also says a landlord cannot demand a postdated cheque, though a tenant and landlord remain free to agree to one voluntarily.

If a landlord asks anyway

A renter who is asked for a deposit can decline, and contact TAL or a local housing legal clinic for next steps if the landlord insists. As of April 1, 2026, a rent-fixing, rent-revision, or rent-reduction application costs $92 when the monthly rent is more than $600. This is general information, not legal advice, and a renter with a specific dispute should speak with TAL directly or a housing legal clinic.

Is moving from Montreal to Trois-Rivières worth it?

For remote workers and students, often. For anyone commuting into Montreal regularly, it depends on how often. Trois-Rivières sits roughly 140 kilometres from Montreal, about one hour and 40 minutes by highway in normal traffic. By coach, Orléans Express scheduled four daily departures between the two downtowns as of this writing, with an average trip of about two hours and 15 minutes; schedules and fares can change, so confirm current details before budgeting around a regular commute.

Who benefits most

Someone earning a Montreal salary while living in Trois-Rivières captures the full rent gap with no offsetting commute cost. Students at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières are in a similar position, renting in a market built around a large student population. A hybrid worker travelling into Montreal one or two days a week may still come out ahead once fuel, parking, or coach fares are weighed against the rent savings, though the math depends on the specific costs involved. A daily commuter has the least room: five round trips a week on Orléans Express, or the equivalent in gas, parking, and vehicle wear, eats into the advantage fast.

How to vet a rental in Montreal or Trois-Rivières

Every residential lease in Quebec has used TAL’s mandatory standard lease form since September 1, 1996, and two sections are worth reading closely before signing, in either city. Section G requires the landlord to disclose the lowest rent paid for the dwelling in the 12 months before the new lease starts. Section F applies to buildings five years old or less: it must state that the unit is exempt from a tenant’s right to refuse a rent increase, along with the maximum rent permitted during the building’s first five years in use.

Search both markets on liv.rent

Before viewing a unit, ask the landlord directly what the previous tenant paid and how old the building is. On liv.rent, renters can use built-in messaging and verified listing details to ask landlords key questions before booking a viewing, then browse Montreal and Trois-Rivières listings side by side and complete a Trust Score profile so their application stands out to landlords in either city. For a full walkthrough of Quebec’s 2026 rent rules, see liv.rent’s Quebec rent increase guide, and for more on renting in the province, browse liv.rent’s rental resources or read the renter’s guide to using liv.rent.

The post Montreal vs. Trois-Rivières cost comparison for renters: what your rent actually buys in 2026 appeared first on liv.rent blog.

Is Gatineau actually cheaper than Montreal to rent in 2026?

Montreal’s average unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent sat at $1,605 in August 2026, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Montreal Rent Report. liv.rent doesn’t currently publish a comparable Gatineau rent report, and CMHC’s 2025 purpose-built rental data doesn’t support the assumption that Gatineau is automatically cheaper. Here’s what rent, transit, and Quebec’s 2026 tenant rules actually look like in both cities this year.

The honest answer: it depends on which dataset you trust, and by how much. liv.rent’s most recent Montreal Rent Report puts the citywide average unfurnished one-bedroom at $1,605 a month for August 2026, up 1.2% from July but still 5.2% ($88) below where it stood a year earlier.

The most reliable comparison for Gatineau comes from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2025 Rental Market Report, which tracks purpose-built rental buildings rather than individual listings. On that measure, Gatineau’s average purpose-built two-bedroom rent ran higher than Montreal’s in 2025 ($1,460 versus $1,346), even though Gatineau’s purpose-built vacancy rate was higher too (3.8% versus 2.9%). That’s the opposite of the popular “Gatineau is the bargain” story, and it’s a reminder that the answer changes depending on the dataset and unit type behind it.

Here’s how the two cities compare on paper:

For renters weighing both cities, the practical move is to compare like with like (unit type, furnished versus unfurnished, and the same month) rather than lean on a single headline number.

Montreal’s rent range, from Villeray to Downtown

Even within Montreal, the spread is wide enough to change the entire comparison. In liv.rent’s August 2026 data, Downtown was the most expensive neighbourhood tracked, with unfurnished one-bedrooms asking $1,819 a month, while Villeray-Parc-Extension was the most affordable at $1,368, a neighbourhood that also posted the steepest year-over-year drop citywide at 13.8%. Hochelaga-Maisonneuve was the only one of the ten tracked neighbourhoods to see rent climb year over year, up 1.3% to $1,419; the report puts the average decline across the other nine at roughly 5.7%.

Montreal’s own internal range, roughly $450 a month between its cheapest and priciest neighbourhoods, is nearly as wide as the entire Montreal-versus-Gatineau debate. Where you rent inside Montreal can matter as much as which city you pick.

How do transit costs compare between Montreal and Gatineau?

Transit is where the two cities diverge most clearly. Montreal’s STM sells its Monthly, All Modes A pass, covering bus, métro, and REM service within Zone A, for $110 a month at the regular adult rate, or $66 for eligible reduced fares.

Gatineau’s STO runs a bus-only network, but it connects directly with Ottawa’s OC Transpo for cross-river trips. Its 2026 regular fare schedule prices the monthly pass at $116.50, with single trips at $4.00 through the e-wallet system or $4.75 in cash. A full monthly pass currently costs a bit more in Gatineau than in Montreal, even without a métro network behind it, so renters who commute into Ottawa regularly should factor that in rather than assume Gatineau’s smaller system is automatically cheaper to use.

What Quebec’s 2026 tenant rules mean for Montreal and Gatineau renters

Because Montreal and Gatineau are both in Quebec, renters in either city answer to the same provincial residential lease rules, administered by the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), and the same rule changes apply equally in both markets.

Significant updates to the province’s rent-setting and lease-notice rules took effect on January 1, 2026, according to the TAL’s calculation for rent increase page. For leases renewing between April 2, 2026, and April 1, 2027, the TAL lists a 3.1% base percentage applicable to rent, but this is part of the calculation method rather than a fixed cap. A landlord can propose a different amount based on the building’s own costs.

Tenants in both cities keep the same protections after a rent-increase notice: you generally have one month to refuse an increase in writing, and if you do, your landlord then has one month to apply to the TAL or the lease renews on its previous terms. Newer buildings, built or converted within the last five years, can be exempt from standard rent-fixing rules only if the restriction is stated in the lease itself. None of this is legal advice, so for a specific notice, the TAL’s own forms and info offices are the place to confirm your options. For more, see liv.rent’s guide to Quebec’s rent increase limit.

Beyond rent: Quebec’s subsidized childcare system

One cost that does not change between Montreal and Gatineau is subsidized childcare. Quebec’s reduced contribution rate for a spot in a subsidized CPE (centre de la petite enfance) is $9.65 a day in 2026, indexed each January by the province, whether the centre is in Montreal or Gatineau. That rate only applies once a child is actually admitted to a subsidized spot, and wait times vary enough by neighbourhood that they’re worth checking locally.

Who should choose Montreal, and who should choose Gatineau?

Neither city is the clear winner for every renter. Montreal suits renters who want a large rental market with a wide price range to shop across, a métro network you can rely on without a car, and access to Quebec’s largest job market, spanning finance, tech, and creative industries.

Gatineau tends to suit renters who work in Ottawa, including the many who commute into federal government jobs there, and who want Quebec’s cost structure and tax treatment while keeping that commute practical. It also works for renters who’ve simply found more space for their budget on the Quebec side of the river. Since both cities are governed by identical tenant protections, the deciding factors come down to commute, transit dependence, and where your paycheque comes from, not which city offers better tenant rights, because it’s the same provincial law either way.

How to find and secure a rental in Montreal or Gatineau in 2026

A few Quebec-specific basics apply everywhere in the province. All residential leases must use the TAL’s mandatory lease form, required since September 1, 1996, so it’s worth knowing what that document looks like before you sign anything else. If a landlord tells you a newer building is exempt from standard rent-fixing rules, that exemption needs to be written into the lease itself, not just mentioned verbally.

liv.rent lists rentals in both Montreal and Gatineau. Landlords who complete the platform’s ID Verified process carry that badge on their profile, so you can see at a glance who you’re renting from in either market.

The post Montreal vs Gatineau cost comparison for renters: what your rent actually buys in 2026 appeared first on liv.rent blog.

August 2026 Montreal rent report

At a glance

• Every Montreal neighbourhood except Hochelaga-Maisonneuve saw unfurnished rents fall year-over-year
  • Nine of Montreal’s 10 tracked neighbourhoods recorded lower unfurnished one-bedroom rents in August compared with a year earlier, with declines ranging from 1.4% in Ahuntsic-Cartierville to 13.8% in Villeray-Parc-Extension. Across those nine neighbourhoods, rents decreased by an average of approximately 5.7%. Hochelaga-Maisonneuve was the lone exception, edging up 1.3% to $1,419.
• Villeray-Parc-Extension posts the city’s steepest year-over-year decline
  • Villeray-Parc-Extension’s unfurnished one-bedroom rent fell 13.8% year-over-year to $1,368, down from $1,587 in August 2025, the steepest decline of any Montreal neighbourhood. That drop also leaves Villeray-Parc-Extension as the city’s most affordable neighbourhood this month.
• Furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom rents moved in opposite directions this month
  • Montreal’s average unfurnished one-bedroom rent rose 1.2% month-over-month to $1,605, while the average furnished one-bedroom rent eased 0.8% to $1,610.

Download liv.rent’s 2026 Canada rental market trends report for in-depth insights and forecasts on average rent prices, regional market comparisons, key economic drivers, and emerging AI trends shaping Canada’s rental landscape.

Let’s look now at the current rental costs and overarching trends in Montreal for August 2026.

Average rent across Montreal

This month, the average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit increased 1.2% from July, settling at $1,605 per month. Since August 2025, the Montreal average for an unfurnished one-bedroom has decreased 5.2%, a drop of $88, though it remains well below rates in other major Canadian rental markets like Metro Vancouver and Toronto.

Viewed across the year so far, unfurnished one-bedroom asking rents in Montreal have held below the same months in 2025 throughout, though the gap has narrowed over the course of the year.

Month-to-month rent change

To better understand how rent prices shifted across Montreal this month, here are the most significant month-over-month movements for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units.

Among furnished one-bedroom units, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/Côte-des-Neiges recorded the largest increase, rising 5.2%, followed by Downtown at 3%. Le Plateau-Mont-Royal posted the largest decrease, falling 7.9%, followed by Villeray-Parc-Extension at 3.5%.

Among unfurnished one-bedroom units, Westmount recorded the largest increase, rising 4.7%, followed by Villeray-Parc-Extension at 4.1%. Ahuntsic-Cartierville posted the largest decrease, falling 3.4%, followed by Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, which eased 0.2%.

Montreal unfurnished vs furnished rent averages

Average prices for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units in Montreal moved in opposite directions this month. Furnished one-bedrooms eased 0.8% to $1,610 per month, while unfurnished units increased 1.2% to $1,605. Based on the displayed averages, a furnished one-bedroom currently rents for $5 more per month than an unfurnished one.

Looking for our full August 2026 Montreal rent report? Download your copy in the downloadable resources section for all the latest insights, including a detailed breakdown by neighbourhood.

Neighbourhood breakdown

We break Montreal down by neighbourhood for a more complete picture of the city’s rental market. Across all 10 neighbourhoods we track, Downtown is the most expensive place to rent this month, with an unfurnished one-bedroom asking $1,819 per month. Villeray-Parc-Extension is the most affordable at $1,368 per month.

The table below breaks down this month’s average asking rent by neighbourhood and listing type, along with each neighbourhood’s year-over-year change on unfurnished one-bedroom units. The table is interactive: sort any column, or download it as an image.

Let’s look even closer at the different listing types to see the differences in one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental rates across each area.

• Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Downtown, and Westmount were the only neighbourhoods that saw an increase in price across all types of unfurnished units this month.
• Saint-Laurent and Ahuntsic-Cartierville were the only neighbourhoods that saw a decrease in price across all types of unfurnished units.
• Downtown, Saint Henri, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/Côte-des-Neiges, and Ahuntsic-Cartierville were the only neighbourhoods where furnished one-bedroom rents increased this month.

The chart below shows the percentage change since last month for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units across every Montreal neighbourhood.

Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list so you never miss an update on the Montreal rental market.

Downloadable resources

Data collection methodology

Rethink the way you rent

Not on liv.rent yet? Experience the ease of digital applications and contracts, verified tenants and landlords, virtual tours, and more, all on one platform. Sign up for free or download the app.

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

Vancouver rent report
Ontario rent report
Montreal rent report
Calgary and Edmonton rent report

The post August 2026 Montreal rent report appeared first on liv.rent blog.

What is the price-to-rent ratio, and why does it matter for renters in 2026?

The price-to-rent ratio is a simple way to compare the cost of owning a home against the cost of renting one in the same city. Divide the median home price by the median annual rent, meaning monthly rent multiplied by 12, and the result shows roughly how many years of rent would equal the price of the home.

In 2026, renting is the cheaper monthly option in nearly every major Canadian city, and the gap is widest in Oakville, Vancouver, and Surrey, where owning costs $1,957 to $2,240 more per month than renting a comparable home. Only two cities, Regina and Winnipeg, currently tip the other way, where a mortgage payment runs below average rent. Here is a city-by-city look at where the price-to-rent math favours renters most in 2026, using the latest data, and what the numbers do not tell you.

Three rough zones help make sense of the number. A ratio under 15 tends to favour buying. A ratio between 16 and 20 is close to neutral. A ratio above 21 tends to favour renting on a pure cash-flow basis, according to Rain City Properties’ 2026 rent-versus-buy analysis of the Vancouver market. Vancouver itself sits at a ratio of about 24.7, calculated using Greater Vancouver Realtors’ May 2026 average apartment price of $697,800 and comparable May 2026 condo rent data, firmly in rent-favourable territory.

Nationally, home prices have also been climbing faster than rents since 2015. Canada’s OECD-tracked price-to-rent index reached 122.8, on a scale where 2015 equals 100, in the first quarter of 2026, per OECD data compiled by CEIC, down slightly from 124.6 the previous quarter but still well above the 2015 baseline. That gap between home price growth and rent growth is exactly what shows up, city by city, in the numbers below.

The 2026 city-by-city snapshot: where renting saves the most

Every January, Zoocasa runs the numbers on mortgage payments versus average rent across 30 Canadian markets. Its January 2026 analysis found that Oakville has the widest gap in the country: the average monthly mortgage payment there runs $2,240 higher than average rent. Vancouver follows at $2,011, and Surrey is close behind at $1,957, all in Lower Mainland and Southern Ontario markets where home prices have pulled well ahead of rents.

Tier by tier: how the ownership premium narrows

Victoria’s renters save $1,413 a month over homeowners, per the same Zoocasa analysis, while Waterloo’s gap sits at $781, driven in part by home price growth tied to the region’s tech sector. Moving into more moderate territory, Calgary at $433, Montreal at $434, and Ottawa in the $400 to $450 range show a smaller but still meaningful renting advantage, and Alberta cities like Lethbridge at $382, Airdrie at $144, and Red Deer at $114 narrow the gap further still.

Table reflects Zoocasa’s January 2026 snapshot. Several cities have moved since then, most notably Winnipeg and Edmonton; see the sections below for July 2026 updates.

Source: Zoocasa, “Decoding Canada’s Price-to-Rent Ratios in 2026,” January 2026.

Toronto did not appear as an isolated line item in Zoocasa’s latest release, but the city’s home prices remain among the country’s highest, and liv.rent’s July 2026 Ontario Rent Report puts the average unfurnished one-bedroom in the city at $1,961 a month, down $87 year-over-year. With home prices still well above the national average, the renting advantage there remains substantial even without a single dollar figure attached.

For an ongoing read on what renters are actually paying month to month, liv.rent’s Canadian rent reports track asking rents across these same cities, updated monthly.

Where buying actually beats renting in 2026

Regina and Winnipeg are the only two cities in Zoocasa’s dataset where a mortgage payment lands below average rent. In Regina, the average home price is $330,900, the estimated mortgage payment is $1,377, and average rent is $1,497, a $120 monthly edge for buyers. In Winnipeg, homeowners come out $92 ahead each month.

A moving target: rents are not standing still

Those figures come from Zoocasa’s January 2026 snapshot, and six months of new data suggest the picture is shifting. liv.rent’s July 2026 Winnipeg Rent Report shows the average unfurnished one-bedroom climbing to $1,353 a month, up 1.1% from June and higher year-over-year in five of the city’s six neighbourhoods. If Winnipeg rents keep climbing while home prices hold steadier, that $92 buying advantage could narrow or disappear before year end.

Edmonton sits closest to the tipping point among renting-favourable markets, with owners paying just $85 more than renters, according to Zoocasa. liv.rent’s July 2026 Calgary and Edmonton Rent Report shows Edmonton rents actually moving the other way, down $17 month-over-month and $68 lower than July 2025, which would widen rather than close that gap if the trend holds.

What the ratio does not tell you: the full renting vs. buying picture

A price-to-rent ratio is a snapshot of monthly cash flow, not a full financial plan. Buying builds equity with every payment, and in a market like Vancouver, with a ratio near 24.7, Rain City Properties notes that owning tends to outperform renting financially only after a hold of about seven to 10 years, depending on the mortgage rate path and how much home prices appreciate over that time.

The costs a mortgage payment does not include

Property taxes, strata or condo fees, maintenance, home insurance, and, for many buyers, CMHC mortgage insurance all sit outside the basic mortgage-versus-rent comparison, and they add up over a full year of ownership. Renters face none of these directly, though they also do not build equity, which is the trade-off at the heart of the decision.

Rent control adds another layer worth factoring in. Ontario’s 2026 rent increase guideline caps most existing tenants’ increases at 2.1%, a real protection against market swings for renters who plan to stay put, as detailed on Ontario’s residential rent increases page. For renters weighing a long stay in a high-ratio city, that guideline meaningfully lowers the long-term cost of staying put compared to a market with no cap at all.

For renters who have decided renting is the right call for now, liv.rent’s rental resources for renters cover everything from lease basics to move-in budgeting.

How to use the price-to-rent ratio to choose where you live

Three steps turn this into something you can actually act on.

Step 1: pull local numbers

Look up the median home price and average asking rent for your target city or neighbourhood. liv.rent’s monthly rent reports and renter’s guide to using liv.rent to find a rental listing are a good starting point for current asking rents on verified listings.

Step 2: calculate and compare

Divide the home price by 12 times the monthly rent, then check where that number falls against the 15, 20, and 21 thresholds described above.

Step 3: layer in the qualitative factors

Rent control rules, local vacancy rates, and how long you plan to stay all shift the real-world math. National conditions are working in renters’ favour right now: Canada’s average asking rent was $2,033 in June 2026, down 4.3% year-over-year and marking the 21st consecutive month of annual decline, per a Rentals.ca and Urbanation report covered by CBC News. That kind of softening gives renters more room to negotiate, particularly in markets with rising vacancy.

Provincial rent control rules and the renting vs. buying decision

Rent control is set province by province, and it changes how much a renting advantage is worth holding onto. Ontario’s 2026 guideline caps most increases at 2.1% for units first occupied on or before November 15, 2018, per the province’s official guidance. British Columbia’s 2026 cap sits at 2.3%, confirmed on the province’s rent increases page, and already reflected in liv.rent’s July 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report.

Manitoba is not an uncontrolled market

Manitoba, home to buy-favourable Winnipeg, actually caps most rent increases too. The province’s Residential Tenancies Branch set the 2026 guideline at 1.8%, effective January 1. Saskatchewan and Alberta, by contrast, have no percentage cap at all, so landlords there can raise rent by any amount with proper written notice.

Renters looking for a deeper breakdown by province can check liv.rent’s rental laws by province resources before making a decision either way.

liv.rent’s take: where this is heading for the rest of 2026

The renter’s advantage in high-ratio cities is about as wide as it has been in years, and the data across liv.rent’s own July 2026 reports backs that up. Vancouver’s average unfurnished one-bedroom fell to $2,089 a month, down $143 year-over-year. Montreal’s citywide average dropped to $1,586, its lowest point in over a year. Calgary and Edmonton moved in opposite directions, Calgary up $2 to $1,469 while Edmonton fell $17 to $1,236, and Winnipeg climbed to $1,353. Nationally, CMHC’s 2026 mid-year rental market update found asking rent-to-income ratios easing across most major metro areas, with the steepest drops in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton.

None of this guarantees the gap stays this wide. Toronto’s own numbers offer an early signal either way: liv.rent’s July 2026 Ontario Rent Report shows the city’s average unfurnished one-bedroom easing to $1,961 a month, down $87 year-over-year, while Downtown Toronto specifically posted one of the GTA’s smallest annual declines, at just 1.0%, a sign that submarket may be closer to bottoming out than most. For renters currently sitting in a high price-to-rent city, that argues for locking in a lease sooner rather than later. Search verified listings on liv.rent to see what is currently available in your city.

The post Where renting saves you the most vs. buying: Canada’s 2026 price-to-rent ranking appeared first on liv.rent blog.

• Most Montreal neighbourhoods saw year-over-year declines in unfurnished one-bedroom rents
  • Seven of Montreal’s ten neighbourhoods recorded lower year-over-year unfurnished one-bedroom rents. Villeray-Parc-Extension experienced the largest decline at 14.7%, falling from $1,541 in July 2025 to $1,314 in July 2026, while Westmount followed with a 13.0% decrease from $1,878 to $1,634.
• Le Plateau-Mont-Royal records Montreal’s strongest start-of-year growth in unfurnished one-bedroom rents
  • Le Plateau-Mont-Royal posted the largest start-of-year increase in unfurnished one-bedroom rents among the Montreal neighbourhoods tracked, rising 4.8% from $1,557 in January to $1,632 in July. That represents a $75 increase, ahead of Saint-Laurent and Verdun, which increased by $53 and $50, respectively, over the same period.
• Downtown Montreal’s rental premium continues to narrow
  • Downtown remained Montreal’s most expensive market for unfurnished one-bedroom rentals despite rents declining 4.2% since January ($1,860 → $1,782) and 6.8% year over year ($1,913 → $1,782). Over the same period, the price gap between Downtown and Verdun narrowed from $188 in January ($1,860 vs. $1,672) to $60 in July ($1,782 vs. $1,722), highlighting Verdun’s growing competitiveness.
    

Download liv.rent’s 2026 Canada Rental Market Trends Report for in-depth insights and forecasts on average rent prices, regional market comparisons, key economic drivers, and emerging AI trends shaping Canada’s rental landscape.

Average rent across Montreal

This month, the average rent price for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit decreased by $13, bringing Montreal’s citywide average rent to $1,586/month. This remains well below rates in other major Canadian rental markets like Metro Vancouver and Toronto. Looking at a year-over-year comparison, Montreal’s citywide rental rate for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit is $105 lower than it was in July 2025.

Month-to-month rent change

Looking at both furnished and unfurnished units, there were some notable changes in rental rates across Montreal neighbourhoods this month. Looking first at unfurnished one-bedroom units, notable decreases were seen in Villeray-Parc-Extension and Saint Henri. On the other hand, Ahuntsic-Cartierville saw the largest increase. For furnished one-bedroom units, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Villeray-Parc-Extension saw the largest increases, while Notre-Dame-de-Grâce/Côte-des-Neiges and Saint Henri saw the largest decreases this month.

Montreal unfurnished vs furnished rent averages

This July, average monthly rent prices for both furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units decreased. Unfurnished one-bedroom units decreased by 0.8% to $1,586/month, while furnished one-bedroom units decreased by 0.7% to $1,623/month.

Looking for our full July 2026 Montreal Rent Report? Download your copy here to get all the latest insights, including a detailed breakdown by neighbourhood.

Neighbourhood breakdown

This July, average monthly rent prices for both furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units decreased. Unfurnished one-bedroom units decreased by 0.8% to $1,586/month, while furnished one-bedroom units decreased by 0.7% to $1,623/month.

Let’s look even closer at the different listing types to see the differences in one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental rates across each area.

• Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Saint-Laurent were the only neighbourhoods that saw an increase in price across all types of unfurnished units
• Downtown and Le Plateau-Mont-Royal were the only neighbourhoods that saw a decrease in price across all unfurnished unit types.
• Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, and Villeray-Parc-Extension were the only neighbourhoods where furnished one-bedroom rents increased.

Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list so you never miss an update on the Montreal rental market.

Downloadable Resources

Data collection methodology

Rethink The Way You Rent

Not on liv.rent yet? Experience the ease of digital applications & contracts, verified tenants & landlords, virtual tours and more – all on one platform. Sign up for free or download the app.

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

Vancouver Rent Report
Ontario Rent Report
Montreal Rent Report
Calgary and Edmonton Rent Report

The post July 2026 Montreal Rent Report appeared first on liv.rent blog.

Why the Montreal vs Laval cost comparison matters more than ever in 2026

In the Montreal vs Laval cost comparison, Laval is no longer the automatic bargain many renters expect. As of mid-2026, average rent in Laval sits above Montreal’s citywide median, and cross-zone transit adds another cost renters often overlook. Neither city wins outright. The right answer depends on unit size, commute, and whether a car is already part of the budget.

For years, moving off the island of Montreal to Laval was the go-to money-saving move for renters priced out of the city. That assumption no longer holds up cleanly. Zumper’s mid-2026 data puts Laval’s median rent at $2,107 a month, about $187 more than Montreal’s median of $1,920 for roughly the same period. liv.rent’s June 2026 Montreal Rent Report tells a similar story from a different angle: the city’s unfurnished one-bedroom average actually fell to $1,599 a month, down $89 from June 2025 and $37 from the month before. Laval may still make sense for renters who need more space or already own a car, but the rent gap alone shouldn’t be the deciding factor anymore.

Rent prices in Montreal vs Laval: a unit-by-unit breakdown for 2026

Broken down by unit size, the picture gets more nuanced. Laval actually undercuts Montreal on one-bedrooms, but Montreal pulls ahead on two-bedroom and larger units, where family-sized space in Laval carries a real premium.

liv.rent’s own June data, which tracks only current asking rents rather than occupied-unit averages, puts Montreal’s unfurnished one-bedroom average even lower, at $1,599 a month, with furnished units averaging $1,635. The cheapest Montreal neighbourhood this month is Ahuntsic-Cartierville at $1,392, while downtown tops out at $1,783.

Transit costs: the hidden price of living in Laval vs Montreal

Rent is only part of the commute math. Starting July 1, 2026, the ARTM raised transit fares across Greater Montreal by about three percent, a change confirmed by CBC News. A Zone A monthly pass, covering the island of Montreal only, now costs $110. A Zone AB pass, which Laval commuters need to reach Montreal, costs $170, a $60 monthly premium just for crossing the river. Riders who skip transit altogether face a bigger number still: Laval’s suburban layout means many residents rely on a car, and ownership, insurance, and gas routinely add several hundred dollars a month on top of rent. For a renter weighing a move to Laval purely on price, that $60 transit gap, or a car payment, can erase much of the apparent rent savings within a year.

Groceries, utilities, and everyday costs in Montreal and Laval

Everyday costs narrow the gap even further. Numbeo’s comparison of the two cities puts Montreal restaurant prices about 3.9% higher than Laval’s, and Montreal grocery prices about 3.5% higher, both modest differences rather than the dramatic suburban discount some renters expect. CareerBeacon estimates a single renter in Laval spends roughly $500 a month on groceries and $117 on utilities, figures that land close to what a Montreal renter without a car would budget for the same categories. Hydro-Québec’s electricity rates apply across both cities, so utility bills mostly come down to unit size and heating type rather than which side of the Rivière des Prairies a renter lives on.

Quebec rental laws: what renters and landlords need to know in both cities

Whichever city a renter chooses, the legal ground rules stay the same. Both Montreal and Laval fall under the Civil Code of Quebec and the Tribunal administratif du logement, so rent increase guidelines, notice periods, and tenant rights don’t change at the city line. For leases renewing between April 2, 2026, and April 1, 2027, the TAL recommends a base rent increase of 3.1%, down from the 4.5% suggested for leases renewing on or before April 1, 2026. Landlords must give written notice of any increase between three and six months before a twelve-month lease ends, and a tenant who doesn’t respond within a month is considered to have accepted it. Quebec’s rental laws apply identically in both cities, which is one less variable renters need to weigh when comparing Montreal and Laval.

Total monthly budget comparison: living in Montreal vs living in Laval

Adding it all up changes the conversation. CareerBeacon estimates a single renter’s total monthly cost of living in Laval, including rent, transportation, groceries, and other essentials, at around $3,392. Lifemoney.ca’s 2026 analysis puts a comparable Montreal budget at $2,800 to $3,400 a month. The ranges overlap, which means the deciding factor usually isn’t the city itself but the household’s situation. Laval tends to make more sense for a couple or family who needs a larger unit and already owns a car. Montreal tends to win for a single renter who can live car-free near transit and doesn’t need the extra square footage Laval offers.

Where to find Montreal and Laval rentals and make your decision

Once the numbers are on the table, the next step is comparing real, available units rather than averages. Renters can search verified Montreal and Laval listings on liv.rent, filter by budget, unit size, and included utilities, and message landlords directly to confirm what a listing actually includes. Before signing anywhere in Quebec, ask to see Section G of the lease, which discloses the lowest rent paid in the past twelve months for that unit. A landlord who won’t provide it, or a rent that jumps well above that figure without explanation, is worth a second look. Combined with liv.rent’s renter’s guide, Section G gives renters in both cities a clear paper trail before they commit.

Frequently asked questions

The post Montreal vs Laval cost comparison: which city is cheaper in 2026? appeared first on liv.rent blog.

Why the buy or rent question hits differently in Montreal

Whether you should buy or rent in Montreal in 2026 depends mostly on how long you plan to stay, how much you have saved, and how much risk you are ready to carry. The average home in the city now costs $689,908, while a typical unfurnished one-bedroom rents for $1,599 a month, according to liv.rent’s June 2026 Montreal Rent Report, one of the narrower ownership gaps among Canada’s major cities.

Montreal is a renter-majority city, and that matters

About 63.5% of Montreal households rent rather than own, according to Statistics Canada’s 2021 census, a much higher share than in most other large Canadian cities. That renter-first culture shapes the building stock and the negotiating dynamic between landlords and tenants, and it means staying in the rental market for years is a normal, financially sound choice here, not a stopgap.

How Montreal compares on affordability

Montreal home prices have climbed steadily, but the city remains considerably less expensive than Toronto and Vancouver on a dollar for dollar basis. That gap gives Montreal renters and buyers more room to plan than their counterparts in Canada’s two priciest markets, even as local prices set fresh records of their own.

What makes the 2026 market different

The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% again at its July 15, 2026 announcement, the same level it has held since October 2025. Borrowing costs are cheaper than they were two years ago, but home prices have not pulled back to match, which changes the calculation for anyone asking whether they should buy or rent in Montreal right now.

What it actually costs to rent in Montreal in 2026

Average rent by unit type

According to liv.rent’s June 2026 Montreal Rent Report, the citywide average for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment is $1,599 a month, down $37 from May and $89 lower than June 2025. Furnished one-bedroom units moved the other way, rising to $1,635. Two-bedroom purpose-built rentals across Greater Montreal average $1,346 a month, compared with $1,826 for two-bedroom condos, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data.

Neighbourhood rent ranges

Ahuntsic-Cartierville is currently the least expensive major neighbourhood for an unfurnished one-bedroom at $1,392 a month, while downtown Montreal is the priciest at $1,783. Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Saint Henri were the only two neighbourhoods to post annual rent growth this month, while Westmount and Verdun recorded the steepest year over year declines in the city.

What renters often forget to budget beyond rent

Hydro Quebec electricity, tenant insurance, and parking, which is often billed separately from the unit itself, can add a few hundred dollars a month on top of listed rent. Quebec is also one of the only provinces where landlords cannot collect a security deposit, which helps renters plan their upfront costs with more certainty.

What it actually costs to buy a home in Montreal in 2026

Home prices by property type

The average home price across Greater Montreal reached $689,908 in June 2026, up 5.0% year over year, according to WOWA’s Montreal housing market data, citing the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB). Condos hit a fresh all-time high median of $435,000, single-family homes sit at a median of $649,000, and plexes reached a record $880,000.

Down payment, insurance, and closing costs

The minimum down payment is 5% on the first $500,000 of a home’s price and 10% on the remainder, which works out to roughly $44,000 on a home priced at Montreal’s current average. Anything below 20% down also requires mortgage default insurance, which gets added to the loan itself rather than paid upfront.

The welcome tax, Montreal’s hidden buying cost

Quebec’s land transfer tax, known as the welcome tax (taxe de bienvenue), is calculated on progressive brackets and billed separately from the mortgage, typically three to six months after closing. The City of Montreal’s own published example puts the bill at $9,349 on a $700,000 property. A new Quebec refundable tax credit, retroactive to January 1, 2026, reimburses first-time buyers up to $5,875 of that cost (100% of the first $5,000, plus 25% of the next $3,500), phasing out above $750,000 and disappearing entirely at $1 million. Notary fees, required on every Quebec property transfer, typically add $1,500 to $3,000.

The buy vs rent math: breaking down Montreal’s price to rent ratio

Anyone weighing whether they should buy or rent in Montreal is really asking how the two monthly numbers compare once every cost is accounted for. A $435,000 condo with 5% down, financed at nesto’s lowest insured five-year fixed rate of 4.14% as of July 2026 over a 25-year amortization, works out to roughly $2,300 a month in principal and interest alone, before property taxes and condo fees. That compares with $1,599 for the average unfurnished one-bedroom rental. Most analysis of the 2026 market points to buying starting to outperform renting somewhere between the three and five year mark for someone planning to stay, once equity growth is weighed against upfront and carrying costs. Montreal home prices have risen roughly 24.8% over the past five years.

Quebec rental laws every renter should know before deciding to stay

In Quebec, landlords and tenants operate under different rules than the rest of Canada, and those rules are a real part of the buy or rent decision.

The TAL’s 3.1% guideline

The Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) recommends a base rent increase of 3.1% for leases renewing between April 2, 2026 and April 1, 2027, down from 4.5% the year before and well below the historic 5.9% recommended in 2025. This figure is a reference point for negotiation and tribunal decisions, not a legal cap, since Quebec has no hard ceiling on rent increases.

Your right to refuse an increase

Tenants can refuse a proposed rent increase in writing within one month of receiving notice. If the landlord wants to proceed anyway, they must apply to the TAL to set a new rent, and the tenant stays in the unit at the current rent until that process concludes.

Bill 31 and lease transfers

Under Bill 31, landlords can now refuse a lease transfer for any reason, which ends the practice of tenants passing a low-rent unit on to someone else. Buildings less than five years old are also exempt from standard rent-setting rules if the landlord noted this in the lease.

When renting makes more sense in Montreal

Anyone planning to relocate within one to three years will not recoup the welcome tax and closing costs quickly enough for buying to pay off. Renters still building a down payment can put that money into a First Home Savings Account (FHSA) or the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan instead of tying it up in a home. The Greater Montreal unemployment rate climbed from 6.3% in January 2026 to 7.7% in April, its highest level since 2016 outside the pandemic, according to QPAREB’s labour market data, which makes the lower financial exposure of renting more appealing for anyone facing job uncertainty. Rents have also cooled across most of the city, and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Saint Henri were the only two neighbourhoods with annual rent growth in liv.rent’s June 2026 data, giving renters more negotiating room than they had a year or two ago.

When buying makes more sense in Montreal

The case for buying rests on staying long enough to build equity. Anyone planning to stay three to five years, with a down payment and a separate emergency fund ready, is well positioned to benefit from Montreal’s price growth of roughly 24.8% over the past five years. Condo listings surged 21% year over year as of April 2026, giving buyers considerably more choice and negotiating room in that segment than in recent years, even as single-family homes in areas like Pointe-Claire, Beaconsfield, and Kirkland continue to sell within weeks. Buyers should have their down payment, welcome tax cash (which cannot be folded into the mortgage), and Quebec’s mandatory notary fee ready well before closing, and should look into the FHSA, the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan, Quebec’s new refundable tax credit, and the City of Montreal’s own Home Ownership Assistance Program, which offers up to $15,000 for a new build or a rebate on the welcome tax for a resale purchase.

Montreal neighbourhoods: where renters and buyers stand in 2026

For renters on a budget, Ahuntsic-Cartierville remains the most affordable major neighbourhood at $1,392 for an unfurnished one-bedroom, while downtown Montreal tops the list at $1,783. For buyers, single-family homes in the West Island, including Pointe-Claire, Beaconsfield, and Kirkland, are moving quickly with multiple offers, while Plateau-Mont-Royal and Westmount remain premium. Leaving the island does not automatically mean lower rent either, since nearby suburbs don’t always undercut Montreal’s own averages. Comparing actual current listings, rather than assuming any single market is cheaper, is the more reliable approach. Buyers comparing properties across the Montreal-Laval or Montreal-Longueuil border should also remember that Montreal’s welcome tax surcharge above $500,000 adds meaningfully to closing costs compared with many suburban municipalities.

How to use liv.rent whether you buy or rent in Montreal

Wherever this leaves you, liv.rent can help with the next step. Renters can browse verified Montreal listings, message landlords directly, and sign digital leases, all backed by liv.rent’s own monthly Montreal Rent Report. If you are still saving for a down payment, renting through a platform with ID-verified landlords and predictable Quebec lease protections is a reasonable way to build savings without added risk. And landlords who own a plex or condo they rent out can use liv.rent’s screening tools and digital lease management to keep that investment running smoothly.

Frequently asked questions

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