• Three-bedroom furnished rents increase nearly 18% since January, the highest among all unit types and the only category to rise year-over-year
  • Average three-bedroom furnished rents rose from $2,877/month in January to $3,384/month in April (+17.6%), marking the strongest growth since the start of 2026. Compared to April 2025, this segment also increased (+4.7%), while all other unit types declined, highlighting a clear divergence in larger furnished units.
    
• Markham sees the largest overall rent decline across Ontario markets year-over-year
  • Across unfurnished unit types, Markham recorded the largest average decrease (−9.3%), with one-bedroom rents falling from $2,295/month to $2,007/month (−12.5%), two-bedroom rents declining from $2,831/month to $2,600/month (−8.2%), and three-bedroom units decreasing from $3,294/month to $3,053/month (−7.3%), indicating broad-based softening compared to April 2025.
    
• Oshawa and Brampton remain the most affordable neighbourhoods despite overall rent declines
  • Oshawa and Brampton ranked among the lowest-priced markets in both April 2025 and April 2026, with Oshawa decreasing from $1,777/month to $1,603/month and Brampton from $1,918/month to $1,779/month, indicating consistent affordability despite broader market declines.
    

On December 10th 2025, the Bank of Canada announced that the interest rate would stay at 2.25%, closing out last year on a low trend. Experts predict the rate to hover around the same amount for 2026.

As of April 2026, the City of Toronto’s average monthly rent price for an unfurnished one-bedroom saw a YoY drop of $176 to a new monthly average of $1,950/month this month. Let’s take a look now at the latest data and see which neighbourhoods are experiencing the biggest changes in furnished and unfurnished rental rates.

Ontario rent trends

Compared to last month, the average rent price for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in Toronto decreased by $22 this April to $1,950/month. The average rent for a furnished one-bedroom increased by $26 since last month, bringing the rate to $1,983/month.

Planning on raising rent this year? Ontario’s Annual allowable rent increase limit for 2026 is 2.5%. Find out when and how you can increase rent and ensure you’re complying with provincial guidelines by reading our updated Guide to Ontario Rent Increases.

liv.rent’s 2026 Canada Rental Market Trends Report is now live.

Month-to-month rent change

This chart breaks down the percentage change in rent prices across all GTA cities/municipalities between March and April 2026.

Unfurnished Toronto rent trends

For unfurnished one-bedroom units, Markham (-5.66%), North York (-3.01%), and Mississauga (-1.85%) saw the largest decreases. Meanwhile, Downtown (2.74%) and Brampton (0.71%) saw minor increases.

Furnished Toronto rent trends

This month, average rates for furnished one-bedroom units in the GTA saw some notable changes. Downtown (-0.94%) and Markham (-0.57%), saw some minor decreases, while Scarborough (9.47%), North York (4.73%) Vaughan-Richmond Hill saw increases (3.61%).

Toronto furnished vs unfurnished averages

This month, prices for unfurnished one-bedroom units saw a decrease (-1.10%) to $1,950/month while furnished units increased (1.34%) to $1,983/month. The average furnished one-bedroom unit rents for $33 more than a one-bedroom unfurnished unit.

Rent per square foot

Our monthly Rent Reports also look more closely at the average rent per square foot in cities throughout the Greater Toronto Area. This April, Etobicoke ($3.52/sq. ft.) had the highest rent per square foot. At the other end of the spectrum, Ottawa has the lowest rent per square foot ($1.79/sq. ft.).

Active listing data

We’ll also look at detailed statistics for currently active listings available to see which property types and number of bedrooms are the most represented. For renters, these numbers show which types of units you’re most likely to encounter in the Greater Toronto Area, while for landlords, you can assess how much competition you’ll face based on the current supply.

Active listings by property type

As of April 2026, the most common rental property type was apartments, dominating the majority of all listings in the GTA at 95.79%. Partial houses were the second most common unit type this month, representing 1.81% of active listings, followed by houses at 1.60% and townhouses at 0.80%.

Active listings by number of bedrooms

In terms of the number of bedrooms, we saw a varied spread across active listings on the market this April. One-bedroom units were the most common type of listing in the GTA this month at 47.85%, while two-bedroom units represented 40.37% of the region’s active listings. Three-bedroom units made up the remaining 11.78%.

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

City breakdown

This April, Oshawa is the cheapest municipality to rent in out of the areas we look at for our Rent Reports, while Oakville is the region’s most expensive place to rent this month.

The average rent price for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit in Oakville currently stands at $2,137/month, while in Oshawa the same type of unit rents for an average of $1,603/month – a difference of $514 between the two.

With Ontario’s different communities being so diverse, we’re breaking down the GTA into its different cities and municipalities to see the price difference within listing types: one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units, both unfurnished and furnished.

• All prices for unfurnished one-bedrooms decreased except in Brampton and Downtown.
• All furnished one-bedroom units increased except in Downtown and Markham.
• All types of furnished units decreased in price in Downtown.

Rental averages for other Ontario cities

We’ve also looked at data from cities and municipalities in other regions within and surrounding the GTA. Looking at these additional cities, London is the least expensive to rent in April for one-bedroom unfurnished units at $1,529/month. Oakville is the most expensive for unfurnished one-bedroom units at $2,137/month.

For complete data on these cities as well as other municipalities outside of the Greater Toronto Area, download our full report here to view the complete report.

Most expensive cities in Canada

This April, all of the country’s most expensive cities are located in Metro Vancouver. West Vancouver is the most expensive city in the country to rent in, followed by North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond.

Downloadable resources

Our complete April 2026 Rent Report has information on even more key areas, broken down into region and unit type for a complete overview of rental averages in Ontario. To view these and all the other new information we’ve added, be sure to download your copy of the Rent Report below.

Renting in Ontario

For more information on renting in Ontario, refer to these comprehensive resource posts:

• What’s A Standard Rental Application?
• What do you need when applying for a rental?
• What Can A Landlord Ask For On A Rental Application In Ontario?
• How Do I Fill Out A Rental Application?
• Ontario Standard Lease Explained
• Frequently Asked Questions: Everything You Need to Know About Eviction in Ontario

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 April 2026 Ontario Rent Report appeared first on liv.rent blog.

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

Right now, renting is cheaper. In our October 2026 comparison, a typical two-bedroom in Guelph costs less to rent than a typical detached home costs to own, every month and at every horizon our calculator tests, up to 25 years. We assume 20% down and RBC’s 5.14% five-year fixed rate, listed on October 19, 2026. The result also holds under both of the checks we describe below, one on the price measure and one on property tax.

We start from the September 2026 median sale price of a detached home in Guelph, $790,000. Guelph differs from the other cities we’ve compared on one point. It has no MLS Home Price Index (HPI) single-family price this month, so you’re looking at a median sale price rather than an HPI figure. Our calculator then pairs that price with Statistics Canada’s second-quarter 2026 two-bedroom asking rent, $2,190 a month. The result is that owning costs about $4,421 a month before principal and $5,468 a month once principal is included, against $2,190 for renting. As a buyer, you’d also need about $182,125 in cash on closing day.

The one number that matters

The monthly gap before principal is about $2,231 in the first month, at October 2026 prices and rates. In Guelph, that gap is the interest, property tax of about $984 a month, insurance, and maintenance an owner pays beyond what the same household would pay to rent. General information, not financial or legal advice.

What does it cost to buy in Guelph?

If you buy a detached home at Guelph’s September 2026 median price of $790,000, you’ll need about $182,125 in cash on closing day, using October 2026 mortgage rates. The remaining $632,000 mortgage costs about $3,726 a month at RBC’s 5.14% five-year fixed rate (listed October 19, 2026), before property tax, insurance, or maintenance.

The price comes from a September 2026 sold-price analysis by the real estate team Beth & Ryan Waller, which is based on City of Guelph residential MLS sales reported through OnePoint and PropTx. It counted 134 sales, 95 of them detached homes. The median detached sale price was $790,000 and the average was $891,274, with detached sales from $525,000 to $2,400,000 that month. The team’s monthly market update puts the median across all property types at $745,000, down 2.0% from a year earlier.

Which price do we use for Guelph?

We normally price a typical single-family home with the MLS HPI published by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), as the Windsor, Barrie, and London comparisons do. For Guelph, that figure isn’t available. CREA’s board statistics for Guelph and District carry a notice that all market statistics from December 2024 onward are temporarily on hold, and show no September 2026 price. So we’ve used the median detached sale price of $790,000, which is a good stand-in for a typical house but a different measure from the HPI. We chose the median over the $891,274 average because a few large sales pull the average up.

The median gives buying its better case. Re-running the calculator at the $891,274 average price widens the first-month gap before principal from $2,231 to $2,785, and buying still doesn’t catch up with renting within 25 years, as of October 2026. The Guelph result matches the other cities in method but not in the exact price measure.

How is Guelph property tax calculated here?

The City of Guelph’s 2026 tax rates show a total residential rate of 1.494407%. That’s a municipal rate of 1.341407%, which includes a 0.001312% hospital levy, plus a provincial education rate of 0.153%. Applied to the $790,000 price, it gives about $11,806 a year, or $984 a month, for 2026. The City’s 2026 budget puts the total 2026 levy increase at 7.87%: 3.36% for City services, 4.40% for local boards and shared services, and 0.11% for the hospital levy.

We treat the $11,806 as a cautious figure. The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) says 2026 assessments still rest on a January 1, 2016 valuation date. A home assessed below its market price will owe less than a current rate applied to a September 2026 price suggests. The City’s budget gives $410,000 as the median residential property value for a single-family detached home in 2025, and at the 2026 total rate we worked out that comes to about $6,127 a year. In a re-run at $6,127 a year in property tax, the first-month gap before principal falls from $2,231 to $1,757 and break-even arrives in year 22, as of October 2026. Even so, renting still costs less over five years ($245,929 against $136,762) and 10 years ($412,344 against $287,759).

What does Ontario land transfer tax add?

The rates at ontario.ca (page updated April 22, 2026) set Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax in bands: 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1% up to $250,000, 1.5% up to $400,000, and 2% above that. A $790,000 purchase pays $12,275. We’ve left out the refund some first-time buyers can claim, because not every buyer qualifies.

What does it cost to rent in Guelph?

In the Guelph census metropolitan area, the average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $2,190 a month in the second quarter of 2026, according to Statistics Canada table 46-10-0092-01 (released September 9, 2026). That’s the rent we used, slightly above the first quarter of 2026 ($2,180) and below the fourth quarter of 2025 ($2,210) in the same table. Statistics Canada’s June 9, 2026 chart showed the average two-bedroom asking rent in Guelph down 4% from a year earlier in the first quarter of 2026. That was the sixth-largest decline among the census metropolitan areas it listed.

CMHC’s Housing Market Information Portal shows a vacancy rate of 2.9% for purpose-built row and apartment units in the City of Guelph in CMHC’s October 2025 survey. The average rent was $1,759 across all unit sizes. Don’t compare that directly with the asking rent above. It reflects purpose-built buildings, many with long-time tenants, while the asking rent tracks what’s listed now. Statistics Canada flags its asking-rent estimates as experimental.

How do the monthly costs compare?

In the first month, if you rent a Guelph two-bedroom you’d pay about $2,190, while owning costs about $4,421 before principal and about $5,468 once principal is included. That leaves a gap of about $2,231 a month before principal and $3,278 after it, at October 2026 prices and rates.

Property tax is about $984 a month of the running cost, insurance is $100, and maintenance is about $658, with mortgage interest covering the rest. Principal repaid in month one accounts for the $1,047 difference between the two owner lines. It builds equity rather than costing anything, but it still leaves your account each month. All figures use October 2026 rates, September 2026 prices, and the 2026 tax rate.

When does buying catch up in Guelph?

If you buy a typical Guelph house, it doesn’t catch up with renting within 25 years, at least in liv.rent’s calculator. As of October 2026, owning has a net cost of $275,483 over five years against $136,762 in rent, and over 10 years it’s $474,527 against $287,759.

The net cost of owning adds closing costs, land transfer tax, and selling costs to mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, and maintenance. We then add the return your upfront cash could have earned elsewhere and subtract the price gain. As of October 2026, the gap widens to about $201,000 around year 14, then narrows to about $175,000 at 20 years and $96,000 at 25 years. That’s because the mortgage balance falls and the home gains 2.0% a year in value.

What would change the result?

A lower mortgage rate would bring break-even earlier, and so would a lower property tax bill or home prices rising faster than 2.0% a year. Property tax matters most in Guelph: every $1,000 a year of tax removed lowers the monthly gap by about $83 as of October 2026. Asking rents below last year’s, as Statistics Canada showed for Guelph in the first quarter of 2026, push the other way.

What do renters and buyers need to know in Ontario?

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 covers rent increases for tenants like you across Ontario, and ontario.ca sets the guideline at 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027. Before an increase can take effect, a landlord has to give written notice in the proper form at least 90 days ahead.

Who does the guideline cover?

Most private rentals are covered, the Ontario government says, with exemptions for units first occupied for residential use after November 15, 2018. If you’re in an exempt unit, the Rental Laws section on liv.rent covers the wider rules.

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

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) says amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 brought changes into effect on September 21, 2026. Its operational update sets a seven-day notice period, down from 14 days, for an N4 notice for non-payment of rent given on or after that date. Where a landlord gives at least 120 days’ notice of an N12 for the landlord’s own use, compensation and another acceptable unit are no longer required. On shorter notice, the earlier compensation rules still apply, and an N12 for a purchaser’s own use isn’t part of the change.

What should buyers know?

If you’re buying in Guelph, Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax is payable when the sale closes: $12,275 on a $790,000 home, at the rates ontario.ca lists in October 2026. Property tax follows the home’s assessed value rather than its market price. Renters can also turn to the Rental Resources section.

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

In Guelph, renting suits households that want to keep their cash invested, may move for work or study, or don’t plan to stay for decades. Buying suits households that expect to stay a very long time and have the roughly $182,125 in upfront cash (as of October 2026) without draining savings. It also suits those who value control over their home more than the lowest monthly cost. General information, not financial advice.

If you rent

If you rent in Guelph, the October 2026 numbers favour you. Asking rents were 4% below a year earlier in the first quarter of 2026, and the gap is about $2,231 a month before principal, as of October 2026. That gives you room to compare listings, but the gap only helps if it’s saved or invested.

If you are a landlord

If you’re a landlord, owning costs about $2,231 a month more than renting before principal, as of October 2026. Guelph’s first-quarter 2026 asking rents were 4% below a year earlier, so a unit priced above comparable listings may take longer to rent. Only sitting tenants in covered units are held to the guideline’s limit on increases, 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027, while a new tenancy’s rent is agreed at turnover. The landlord resources on liv.rent include pricing and screening guidance.

If you are deciding between Guelph and another Ontario city

Every city we’ve compared follows the same method, with one difference: Guelph uses a median sale price where the others use the HPI. Our buy vs rent comparison for Windsor and our comparison for London follow the same method, each with its own local price, tax, and rent.

How we calculated this

Every city in this comparison goes through the same calculator with the same assumptions, so the only things that change from place to place are four local numbers: 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.

Guelph’s four local numbers come from these sources, so you can check each one. The home price is a median detached sale price of $790,000 (Beth & Ryan Waller analysis of OnePoint MLS data, September 2026, used because no HPI price is published for Guelph). Property tax is $11,806 a year (City of Guelph 2026 total residential rate of 1.494407%, applied to the price). Rent is $2,190 a month (Statistics Canada average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment, second quarter of 2026). Ontario land transfer tax is $12,275 (ontario.ca rates). Both rates were recorded on October 19, 2026, from the RBC mortgage rates page and the Bank of Canada.

The post Buy or rent in Guelph in 2026? Renting costs $2,231 less a month appeared first on liv.rent blog.

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

Our October 2026 comparison points one way, and the sections below show you how we got there. Renting a typical two-bedroom in Barrie costs less than owning a typical single-family home, both month to month and over five and 10 years. Owning doesn’t break even with renting until year 25, the last year our calculator tests, assuming 20% down and a five-year fixed rate of 5.14%, the figure RBC listed on October 19, 2026.

We started from the September 2026 MLS Home Price Index (HPI) single-family price for Barrie ($669,900), published by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). Then we set it against Statistics Canada’s two-bedroom asking rent of $2,100 a month for the second quarter of 2026. Owning costs about $3,749 a month before principal and $4,637 a month once principal is included, against $2,100 for renting. You’d also need about $153,902 in cash on closing day.

The one number that matters

The monthly gap is about $1,649 in the first month, before principal, at October 2026 prices and rates. In Barrie, that covers interest, property tax of about $819 a month, insurance, and maintenance, beyond what the same household would pay to rent. It’s general information, not financial or legal advice.

What does it cost to buy in Barrie?

If you buy the typical single-family home in Barrie, you’re looking at about $669,900 and about $153,902 in cash on closing day, based on September 2026 TRREB data and October 2026 mortgage rates. The mortgage on the remaining $535,920 comes to about $3,160 a month at the 5.14% five-year fixed rate RBC listed on October 19, 2026. That payment doesn’t include property tax, insurance, or maintenance.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s Simcoe County Market Watch for September 2026 shows Barrie with 130 sales, an average price of $686,941 across all home types, 5.2 months of inventory, and 888 active listings. TRREB’s HPI put the single-family price at $669,900 (down 4.77% from a year earlier) and the composite price at $617,100 (down 5.14%). Since the comparison prices a house, the $669,900 single-family figure is the one we use.

How is Barrie property tax calculated here?

The City of Barrie’s 2026 tax rates table sets the residential rate at 1.314503% for the City and 0.153% for education, or 1.467503% in total. The table is Appendix A to staff report CCS-010-2026, behind by-law 2026-044, which passed April 29, 2026. Applied to the $669,900 price, that works out to about $9,831 a year, or $819 a month, for 2026.

The $9,831 is a cautious figure. The City says 2026 assessments from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) are still based on a January 1, 2016 valuation date. Barrie assessments therefore sit well below current market values, and a rate applied to a September 2026 price overstates the bill for a home assessed lower. BarrieToday reported in December 2025 that a typical Barrie home was assessed at $372,000, which comes to about $5,459 a year at the 2026 total rate. Run our October 2026 comparison again with $5,459 a year in property tax, and the first-month gap before principal drops from $1,649 to $1,284 and break-even moves from year 25 to year 19. Renting still costs less over five years ($210,241 against $131,142) and 10 years ($353,819 against $275,933).

What does Ontario land transfer tax add?

On a $669,900 purchase, Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax comes to $9,873. It’s charged at 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1% up to $250,000, 1.5% up to $400,000, and 2% above that, as ontario.ca (page updated April 22, 2026) lays out. First-time buyers can claim a refund of up to $4,000, though not every buyer qualifies, so we’ve left it out of our totals.

What does it cost to rent in Barrie?

If you rent a two-bedroom apartment in Barrie, the average asking rent was $2,100 a month in the second quarter of 2026, according to Statistics Canada table 46-10-0092-01 (released September 9, 2026). We used the $2,100 figure in the Barrie comparison. The same table shows $2,140 in the first quarter of 2026 and $2,180 in the fourth quarter of 2025, and asking rents have eased for two quarters. Statistics Canada’s June 9, 2026 chart showed Barrie’s average two-bedroom asking rent up 0.9% from a year earlier in the first quarter of 2026, while the average across all census metropolitan areas fell 0.9%.

CMHC’s Housing Market Information Portal adds some context on vacancy. It shows a rate of 4.2% for purpose-built row and apartment units in Barrie in CMHC’s October 2025 survey, and 3.6% for two-bedroom units. The average two-bedroom rent in that survey was $1,749. The $1,749 isn’t directly comparable with the $2,100 asking rent. CMHC’s survey covers purpose-built buildings, many with long-time tenants, whereas asking rents reflect listings advertised today. Statistics Canada labels the Barrie asking-rent estimates experimental.

How do the monthly costs compare?

In the first month, renting a Barrie two-bedroom would cost you about $2,100, and owning would cost about $3,749 before principal. Once principal is included, owning comes to about $4,637. That’s a gap of about $1,649 a month before principal and $2,537 after it, at October 2026 prices and rates.

Of the $3,749 running cost, property tax is about $819 a month, insurance is $100, and maintenance is about $558, with mortgage interest covering the rest. The $888 gap between the two owner lines in month one is principal repaid. That builds equity, though it still leaves your account each month. All figures use October 2026 rates, September 2026 TRREB prices, and the City of Barrie’s 2026 tax rate.

When does buying catch up in Barrie?

In liv.rent’s October 2026 calculator, buying pulls even in year 25 for a typical Barrie house. After five years, owning has a net cost of $232,993 against $131,142 in rent. After 10 years, it’s $401,692 against $275,933.

Net cost of owning combines mortgage interest, closing costs, land transfer tax, selling costs, property tax, insurance, and maintenance. It adds the return the upfront cash could have earned elsewhere and subtracts the gain in the home’s $669,900 price. In October 2026 terms, the gap widens to about $126,000 at 10 years. It then narrows to about $120,000 at 15 years and $76,000 at 20 years, as the mortgage balance falls and the home gains 2.0% a year in value.

What would change the result?

A lower mortgage rate would bring break-even earlier than year 25. Lower property tax would do the same, as would home prices rising faster than 2.0% a year. Property tax matters most in Barrie: every $1,000 a year of tax removed lowers the monthly gap by about $83 in October 2026. Falling prices, like the drop TRREB showed for September 2026, push the other way.

What do renters and buyers need to know in Ontario?

If you rent in Barrie, Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 is what governs your rent increases. On ontario.ca (page updated June 23, 2026), the guideline is 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027. Your landlord needs to give you at least 90 days’ written notice, in the proper form, before an increase starts. Most increases also need 12 months to have passed since the last one or since the tenancy began.

Who does the guideline cover?

Most private rentals fall under the guideline, the Ontario government says, but a unit whose first residential occupancy came after November 15, 2018 is exempt. Our Rental Laws section goes into the wider rules.

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

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) lists September 21, 2026 as the date amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 took effect under Bill 60 (the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act) and Bill 97. In its operational update, the LTB says an N4 notice for non-payment of rent now carries a seven-day notice period instead of 14, for notices given from that date onward. An N12 for the landlord’s own use no longer brings a duty to pay compensation or offer another acceptable unit when the landlord gives at least 120 days’ notice. Where notice is shorter, the existing compensation rules continue to apply, and an N12 for a purchaser’s own use falls outside the change.

What should buyers know?

At closing in Barrie, you’ll owe $9,873 in Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax on a $669,900 home, going by the rates ontario.ca lists as of April 22, 2026. A first-time buyer can claim a refund of up to $4,000 by meeting the conditions. One is occupying the home as a principal residence within nine months of the transfer, as ontario.ca explains (page updated February 10, 2026). Our Rental Resources section goes further for renters.

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

Which side you land on depends on your plans. Renting suits most Barrie households that want to keep their cash invested, may move for work, or don’t plan to stay close to 25 years. Buying suits households that expect to stay 25 years or longer and value control over their home more than the lowest monthly cost. They also need the roughly $153,902 in upfront cash that October 2026 prices call for, without draining savings. That’s general information, not financial advice.

If you rent

If you rent, the October 2026 numbers favour you. Prices are falling and the monthly gap is about $1,649 before principal. That gap only helps if it’s saved or invested.

If you are a landlord

If you’re a landlord, owning costs about $1,649 a month more than renting before principal as of October 2026. With asking rents easing, a unit priced above comparable Barrie listings can sit empty. The guideline limits what a landlord can raise for a sitting tenant in a covered unit (2.1% for 2026, 1.9% for 2027), but rent on a new tenancy is set by agreement at turnover. The landlord resources on liv.rent have more guidance for landlords.

If you are deciding between Barrie and another Ontario city

We run every city through the same method. Each city’s price, tax, and rent come from its own local sources: Barrie’s price from TRREB, its tax from the City of Barrie, and its rent from Statistics Canada. Our buy vs rent comparison for Windsor and our comparison for Kingston use the same assumptions as this one.

How we calculated this

Every city in this comparison goes through the same calculator with the same assumptions, so the only things that change from place to place are four local numbers: 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.

If you want to check our work, these are Barrie’s four local numbers. Price: a single-family MLS Home Price Index price of $669,900 (TRREB, September 2026). Property tax: $9,831 a year (City of Barrie 2026 total residential rate of 1.467503%, applied to the price). Rent: $2,100 a month (Statistics Canada average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment, second quarter of 2026). Transfer tax: Ontario land transfer tax of $9,873 (ontario.ca rates). We recorded the rates at the RBC mortgage rates page and the Bank of Canada on October 19, 2026.

The post Buy vs. rent in Barrie, Ontario: what renters need to know right now appeared first on liv.rent blog.

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

Right now, in October 2026, renting is cheaper. A typical Windsor two-bedroom costs less than owning a typical single-family home every month, and over every stretch our calculator tests, up to 25 years. That’s with 20% down and RBC’s five-year fixed rate of 5.14% (listed October 19, 2026), and it holds even though Windsor home prices have been falling. The modelled figures below all come from that same October 2026 comparison.

We started from the September 2026 MLS Home Price Index (HPI) single-family price of $618,900 for the Windsor-Essex County Association of REALTORS (WECAR), published by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Renting a two-bedroom, by comparison, costs $1,850 a month at Statistics Canada’s second-quarter 2026 asking rent. That puts owning at about $3,795 a month before principal and $4,616 once principal is included, against $1,850 for renting. If you buy, closing day would also take about $141,916 in cash.

The one number that matters

The number to remember is the monthly gap before principal: about $1,945 in the first month, using October 2026 prices and rates. That gap is what interest, property tax, insurance, and maintenance add to a Windsor owner’s monthly costs over renting. General information, not financial or legal advice.

What does it cost to buy in Windsor?

Buying the typical single-family home in Windsor means about $618,900 for the home and about $141,916 in cash on closing day, based on September 2026 CREA data and October 2026 mortgage rates. The remaining $495,120 becomes a mortgage payment of about $2,919 a month at the 5.14% five-year fixed rate RBC listed on October 19, 2026. That’s before property tax, insurance, or maintenance, and it’s a big up-front cost.

WECAR’s September 2026 figures, published on CREA’s board statistics page, show 417 sales (down 10.1% from September 2025). Inventory was 5.3 months, against 4.9 months a year earlier and a long-run average of 3.1 months for September. The HPI single-family price fell 2.1% from a year earlier, the composite price was $570,000 (down 2.4%), and the average sale price was $544,184 (down 4.6%). We use the single-family price because we’re pricing a house; WECAR’s September 2026 HPI price for an apartment was $368,500 and for a townhouse $422,600.

How is Windsor property tax calculated here?

The City of Windsor’s residential tax rates table lists a 2026 total residential rate of 2.096514%, made up of a municipal rate of 1.943514% and a provincial education rate of 0.153%. Apply that to the $618,900 price and you get about $12,975 a year, or $1,081 a month, for 2026. The City’s 2026 budget announcement says it held its municipal levy increase at 0% for 2026.

That’s a cautious figure for most buyers. The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) says the fixed valuation date for 2026 remains January 1, 2016, so Ontario homeowners still pay property tax on assessed values from that year. MPAC’s 2016 update for Windsor put the typical residential property at approximately $164,000. So applying Windsor’s 2026 rate to the September 2026 market price overstates the bill for a home assessed below it. The City says the average Windsor taxpayer pays about $5,402 a year in total residential charges, and that figure also includes water, wastewater, and stormwater, as the City’s 2026 budget update explains. Treating the whole $5,402 as property tax is a generous upper bound for an average household, not a quote for a $618,900 house. If we re-run the calculator at $5,402 a year, the first-month gap before principal drops from $1,945 to $1,314 and break-even moves to year 21, in October 2026 terms. Even at that lower tax, renting costs less over five years ($196,265 against $115,530) and 10 years ($331,449 against $243,084).

What does Ontario land transfer tax add?

Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax is charged in tiers, ontario.ca (page updated April 22, 2026) shows: 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1% up to $250,000, 1.5% up to $400,000, and 2% above that. Windsor’s $618,900 price puts the tax at $8,853. A first-time buyer can claim a refund of up to $4,000, ontario.ca (page updated February 10, 2026) says, but our totals leave it out because not every buyer qualifies.

What does it cost to rent in Windsor?

The average asking rent for a Windsor two-bedroom was $1,850 a month in the second quarter of 2026, according to Statistics Canada table 46-10-0092-01 (released September 9, 2026). That’s the rent we used in our calculator. The same table shows $1,860 in the first quarter of 2026 and $1,870 in the fourth quarter of 2025, and asking rents have eased slightly over the past two quarters. Statistics Canada’s June 9, 2026 chart put the change in the average two-bedroom asking rent in Windsor in the first quarter of 2026 at down 1.1% from a year earlier.

Vacancy isn’t tight. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) put the 2025 vacancy rate for purpose-built apartments in the Windsor census metropolitan area at 3.7%. Its 2025 Rental Market Report also put the average two-bedroom rent at $1,454, with the same-sample two-bedroom rent up 3.6%. CMHC said declining international migration and tariff-related challenges kept Windsor’s market conditions soft, with fewer international students and temporary foreign workers renting. CMHC measures rents across purpose-built apartments, including long-standing tenancies, while asking rents come from current listings. So the two figures shouldn’t be compared directly.

Does a Windsor renter lose anything by staying put?

If you’re a Windsor renter in a unit covered by the guideline, you can expect smaller increases than a new tenant would face at today’s asking rent. The gap between CMHC’s 2025 average of $1,454 and the $1,850 asking rent in 2026 shows why staying often costs less than moving. The two measures cover different units and different dates.

How do the monthly costs compare?

In month one, renting a Windsor two-bedroom costs about $1,850, while owning costs about $3,795 before principal and about $4,616 once principal is included. That’s a gap of about $1,945 a month before principal and $2,766 after it, using October 2026 figures.

Of the $3,795 running cost, property tax is about $1,081 a month, insurance is $100, maintenance is about $516, and mortgage interest is the rest. The $821 gap between the two owner lines in month one is principal repaid. Principal isn’t a cost, because it builds equity, but that $821 still leaves your account. Every figure here uses October 2026 rates, September 2026 prices, and Windsor’s 2026 tax rate.

When does buying catch up in Windsor?

If you’re hoping buying pays off in the long run, our calculator says a typical Windsor house doesn’t catch up with renting within 25 years. Over five years, owning has a net cost of $235,676 against $115,530 in rent. Over 10 years, it’s $414,371 against $243,084 in the same October 2026 comparison.

Add up the mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, and maintenance, then the closing costs, land transfer tax, and selling costs, plus the return the upfront cash could have earned elsewhere. Credit back the price gain and you have the net cost of owning. The gap widens to about $199,900 around year 17 and then narrows to about $149,500 by year 25, as the mortgage balance falls and the home gains 2.0% a year in value. Those are October 2026 figures too.

What would change the result?

Break-even would come sooner with a lower mortgage rate, a lower property tax bill, or home prices rising faster than 2.0% a year. Each $1,000 a year of property tax removed lowers Windsor’s monthly gap by about $83 in October 2026 terms. Falling prices, as WECAR showed for September 2026, push the other way.

What do renters and buyers need to know in Ontario?

Rent increases in Ontario fall under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and ontario.ca (page updated June 23, 2026) lists the guideline as 2.1% for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027. If you rent, an increase can’t take effect until your landlord has given written notice in the proper form at least 90 days earlier.

Who does the guideline cover?

The Ontario government says most private rentals fall under the guideline, and exemptions include units first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018. For Ontario’s wider tenancy rules, see liv.rent’s Rental Laws section.

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

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) said Bill 60 and Bill 97 amended the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, with changes taking effect September 21, 2026. In its operational update, the board says the notice period for an N4 notice for non-payment of rent drops from 14 to seven days for any notice given on or after that date. A landlord who gives an N12 for the landlord’s own use with at least 120 days’ notice no longer owes compensation. Shorter notice leaves the compensation rules as they were, and an N12 for a purchaser’s own use isn’t covered.

What should buyers know?

If you’re buying in Windsor, closing day brings Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax. On a $618,900 home, that comes to $8,853 using ontario.ca’s rates as of April 22, 2026. Our calculator applies Windsor’s 2026 total rate of 2.096514% to the price. For more on renting, see the Rental Resources section.

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

Renting suits most Windsor households that want to keep their cash invested, may move for work, or are cautious about the tariff-related challenges CMHC says have kept Windsor’s market soft. Buying suits households that expect to stay a very long time and value control over their home more than the lowest monthly cost. They also need the roughly $141,916 in upfront cash we calculated for October 2026, without draining savings. If you’re somewhere in between, the figures above show what each choice costs. General information, not financial advice.

If you rent

If you rent, the numbers are on your side in October 2026. Vacancy was 3.7% in 2025, asking rents have eased for two quarters, and the monthly gap before principal is about $1,945.

If you are a landlord

If you’re a landlord, owning in Windsor costs about $1,945 a month more than renting before principal as of October 2026, which leaves few tenants with a financial reason to buy. CMHC put Windsor’s 2025 purpose-built apartment vacancy rate at 3.7%. The 2.1% guideline for 2026 and 1.9% for 2027 binds a landlord only when the tenant is already in a covered unit; a new Windsor tenancy’s rent is agreed at turnover. The landlord resources on liv.rent cover pricing and screening in more detail.

If you are deciding between Windsor and another Ontario city

The method is the same for every city in this set of comparisons, so you can line them up side by side. Guelph is the exception: it uses a median detached sale price rather than the HPI. Our buy vs rent comparison for Kingston and our comparison for Guelph apply the same assumptions to those cities’ own prices, taxes, and rents.

How we calculated this

If you’d like to check our work, here’s the method. 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.

The Windsor numbers we used are these. The home price is the single-family MLS Home Price Index price of $618,900 (WECAR via CREA, September 2026). Property tax is $12,975 a year (City of Windsor 2026 total residential rate of 2.096514%, applied to the price). Rent is $1,850 a month (Statistics Canada average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment, second quarter of 2026). Ontario land transfer tax is $8,853 (ontario.ca, April 22, 2026). On October 19, 2026, we recorded the rates from the RBC mortgage rates page and the Bank of Canada.

The post Buy or rent in Windsor in 2026? Renting costs $1,945 less a month appeared first on liv.rent blog.

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

Renting is the cheaper option. A typical Kingston two-bedroom costs less than owning a typical single-family home in October 2026, both month to month and over five and 10 years. In liv.rent’s calculator, owning doesn’t break even with renting until year 23, using a 20% down payment and the 5.14% five-year fixed rate RBC listed on October 19, 2026.

The September 2026 MLS Home Price Index single-family price for the Kingston and Area Real Estate Association (KAREB), published by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), is $566,800. Kingston’s average two-bedroom asking rent for the second quarter of 2026, as Statistics Canada reported it, is $1,940 a month. On those figures, owning costs about $3,252 a month before principal and $4,004 once principal is included, while renting costs $1,940. If you’re buying, you’d also need about $129,673 in cash on closing day.

The one number that matters

The key number is Kingston’s monthly gap before principal: about $1,312 in the first month, using October 2026 prices and rates. It’s the extra a Kingston owner pays for interest, property tax, insurance, and maintenance compared with renting. General information, not financial or legal advice.

What does it cost to buy in Kingston?

If you buy the typical single-family home in Kingston, expect to pay about $566,800 and to bring about $129,673 in cash on closing day. That’s based on September 2026 CREA data and October 2026 mortgage rates. The mortgage on the remaining $453,440 comes to about $2,673 a month at RBC’s 5.14% five-year fixed rate (viewed October 19, 2026), before property tax, insurance, or maintenance.

KAREB’s September 2026 figures are published on CREA’s board statistics page. There were 222 sales (down 4.7% from September 2025) and an average sale price of $589,070 (down 5.8%). The MLS Home Price Index composite price was $542,800 (up 0.5%), and the single-family price was $566,800 (up 0.2%). We use the single-family price because our calculator prices a house, not a condo.

How is Kingston property tax calculated here?

The City of Kingston’s 2026 tax levy by-law (by-law 2026-54, passed May 5, 2026) sets total residential rates of 1.605435% in the Central area, 1.533257% in the West area, and 1.491279% in the East area. We applied the Central rate to the $566,800 price. That gives about $9,100 a year, or $758 a month, for 2026.

The City’s 2026 final tax bill guide says 2026 assessments remain based on January 1, 2016 values. Applying the Central rate to a September 2026 market price therefore overstates the bill for a home assessed below its market price. The guide reports an average 2026 residential bill of $5,113, including education. It also points owners to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and the City’s online assessment tool for the value behind their own bill. We re-ran the calculator with $5,113 a year in property tax. The first-month gap before principal drops from $1,312 to $980. Break-even moves from year 23 to year 17. Renting still costs less over five years ($180,788 against $121,150) and 10 years ($306,069 against $254,910).

What does Ontario land transfer tax add?

Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax charges 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1% up to $250,000, 1.5% up to $400,000, and 2% above that, says ontario.ca (page updated April 22, 2026). On a $566,800 purchase, that comes to $7,811. If you’re a first-time buyer, you can claim a refund of up to $4,000, but we’ve left it out of our numbers because not every buyer qualifies.

What does it cost to rent in Kingston?

A two-bedroom apartment in Kingston had an average asking rent of $1,940 a month in the second quarter of 2026, from Statistics Canada table 46-10-0092-01 (released September 9, 2026). We used that $1,940 as Kingston’s rent. The first quarter of 2026 figure in the same table was $1,920. Statistics Canada’s June 9, 2026 chart showed the average two-bedroom asking rent in Kingston down 5.9% from a year earlier in the first quarter of 2026. That was the largest decline of any census metropolitan area it listed.

The City of Kingston reports that Kingston’s 2025 vacancy rate was 2.4% in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) 2025 Rental Market Report, down 0.5 percentage points from 2024, with 2.6% for two-bedrooms. CMHC’s survey also put average rent at $1,713 as of October 2025, as reported by the Queen’s Journal on July 27, 2026. That report doesn’t say which unit sizes the figure covers. CMHC’s survey and asking-rent listings measure different things, so the two numbers aren’t directly comparable.

What about the student market?

Student-sized demand is concentrated in larger units. The Queen’s Journal reported on January 23, 2026 that the vacancy rate for units with three or more bedrooms, which students often rent, was 1.2% in 2025, against 2.4% citywide. If you’re a student household sharing a larger unit, you face a different market than the two-bedroom rent used here. This comparison covers a household renting a two-bedroom, not a shared student house.

How do the monthly costs compare?

In the first month of our October 2026 comparison, renting a Kingston two-bedroom costs about $1,940, while owning costs about $3,252 before principal and about $4,004 once principal is included. That’s a gap of about $1,312 a month before principal and $2,064 after it.

Property tax adds about $758 a month to the running cost, insurance $100, and maintenance about $472, with mortgage interest making up the rest. The $752 gap between the two owner lines in month one is principal repaid on the $453,440 mortgage. The principal builds equity rather than costing anything, but it’s still cash that leaves your account every month. Those figures use October 2026 rates, September 2026 prices, and Kingston’s 2026 Central-area tax rate.

When does buying catch up in Kingston?

If you buy a typical Kingston house, you don’t catch up with renting until year 23. In our October 2026 comparison, owning has a net cost of $201,536 over five years against $121,150 in rent, and $349,726 over 10 years against $254,910.

Net cost of owning counts mortgage interest, property tax, insurance, maintenance, closing costs, land transfer tax, selling costs, and the return the upfront cash could have earned elsewhere, then credits back the price gain. Using the same October 2026 figures, the gap widens from about $80,000 at five years to about $95,000 at 10 years. Then it narrows to about $83,000 at 15 years and $39,000 at 20 years, as the mortgage balance falls and the home gains 2.0% a year in value.

What would change the result?

A mortgage rate below 5.14% would bring break-even earlier than year 23. So would home prices rising faster than 2.0% a year, or a lower property tax bill. Rents rising faster than 2.0% would also help buyers, although our price and rent assumptions are neutral by design. Falling asking rents, which Statistics Canada recorded in Kingston in the first quarter of 2026, push the other way.

What do renters and buyers need to know in Ontario?

In Ontario, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 governs rent increases. The 2026 guideline is 2.1%, with 1.9% set for 2027, says ontario.ca (page updated June 23, 2026). If you rent, your landlord must give written notice in the proper form at least 90 days before an increase. In most cases, at least 12 months must also have passed since the last increase or the start of the tenancy.

Who does the guideline cover?

The Ontario government says the guideline covers most private rentals, including houses, apartments, basement apartments, and condos. It doesn’t apply to certain buildings first occupied after November 15, 2018, or to a new tenant who agrees to a rent at turnover. The Rental Laws section on liv.rent covers other Ontario rules in more detail.

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

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) said changes took effect September 21, 2026, following amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 under Bill 60 (the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act) and Bill 97. Its operational update says the notice period for an N4 notice for non-payment of rent is shortened from 14 to seven days for notices given on or after that date. A landlord who gives at least 120 days’ notice of an N12 for the landlord’s own use no longer has to pay compensation or offer another unit. Shorter notice keeps the existing compensation rules, and the change doesn’t cover an N12 for a purchaser’s own use.

What should buyers know?

Buying in Kingston means paying Ontario’s provincial land transfer tax at closing. On a $566,800 home, that’s $7,811 under the rates ontario.ca lists as of April 22, 2026. First-time buyers can claim a refund of up to $4,000 if they meet the conditions, says ontario.ca (page updated February 10, 2026). One condition is living in the home as a principal residence within nine months of the transfer. The Rental Resources section has more renter guidance.

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

Renting suits most Kingston households that plan to stay fewer than 23 years, want to keep their cash invested, or may move for work or study. Buying suits you if you expect to stay a very long time and value control over your home more than the lowest monthly cost. You’d also need the roughly $129,673 in upfront cash (as of October 2026) without draining your savings. General information, not financial advice.

If you rent

The October 2026 numbers favour renting in Kingston. The 2025 vacancy rate was 2.4%, and asking rents for two-bedrooms were down 5.9% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. The roughly $1,312 monthly difference before principal is the saving the numbers credit to renting.

If you are a landlord

If you’re a landlord, the figures set Kingston’s asking rents against the cost of owning. As of October 2026, owning costs about $1,312 a month more than renting before principal, and asking rents for two-bedrooms were down 5.9% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. The guideline (2.1% for 2026, 1.9% for 2027) applies only to increases for sitting tenants in covered units; the rent for a new tenancy is agreed at turnover. The landlord resources on liv.rent have more on setting rent and screening applicants.

If you are deciding between Kingston and another Ontario city

The same calculator produced Kingston’s figures and those for every other city we compare, so the results can be read against each other. Our buy vs rent comparison for Windsor runs the same assumptions on Windsor’s own price, tax, and rent.

How we calculated this

Every city in this comparison goes through the same calculator with the same assumptions, so the only things that change from place to place are four local numbers: 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 the full list of assumptions, so you can see exactly what we used.

These are Kingston’s four local numbers. The home price is the single-family MLS Home Price Index price of $566,800 (KAREB via CREA, September 2026). Property tax is $9,100 a year (City of Kingston 2026 Central-area residential rate, by-law 2026-54, applied to the price). Rent is $1,940 a month (Statistics Canada average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment, second quarter of 2026). Ontario land transfer tax is $7,811 (ontario.ca, April 22, 2026). The rates come from the RBC mortgage rates page and the Bank of Canada, both checked on October 19, 2026.

The post Buy vs. rent in Kingston, Ontario: what renters need to know right now appeared first on liv.rent blog.

October 2026 Ontario rent report

At a glance

• Unfurnished one-bedroom rents are lower than a year ago in 14 of 20 Ontario areas
  • The City of Toronto average for an unfurnished one-bedroom was $1,969 in October 2026, down 3.7% from $2,044 in October 2025. North York recorded the steepest year-over-year decline at 9.5%, falling from $2,176 to $1,969, while Markham posted the largest increase at 5.7%, rising from $1,968 to $2,081.
• Downtown Toronto furnished rents rose in every unit size while unfurnished rents fell in every one
  • Furnished rents in Downtown increased from September in all three unit sizes: one-bedrooms by 6.56% to $2,425, two-bedrooms by 8.35% to $3,235, and three-bedrooms by 1.91% to $4,587. Unfurnished rents decreased in all three: one-bedrooms by 1.48% to $2,083, two-bedrooms by 6.15% to $2,825, and three-bedrooms by 3.78% to $3,853.
• The gap between furnished and unfurnished one-bedrooms across the City of Toronto narrowed to $32
  • The furnished one-bedroom average increased 2.05% from September to $1,937, while the unfurnished average eased 0.22% to $1,969. An unfurnished one-bedroom now costs $32 more per month than a furnished one on average, down from a $75 difference in September.

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.

As of September 2, 2026, the Bank of Canada held its policy interest rate at 2.25%, the seventh consecutive hold. The next scheduled announcement is October 28, 2026.

Let’s look now at the current rental costs and overarching trends across Toronto and Ontario for October 2026.

Ontario rent trends

Planning on raising rent? For most rent-controlled units in Ontario, the rent increase guideline is 2.1% for increases taking effect in 2026 and 1.9% for increases taking effect in 2027. Find out when and how to increase rent, and how to stay compliant with provincial rules, by reading our updated guide to Ontario rent increases.

Viewed across the year so far, unfurnished one-bedroom asking rents in the City of Toronto have held in a narrow band, staying below $2,000 every month with a low of $1,942 in May, while remaining below the same months in 2025. The October average of $1,969 compares with $2,044 a year earlier.

Month-to-month rent change

Here is how one-bedroom asking rents moved between September and October across the nine areas we track most closely, starting with the City of Toronto average.

Unfurnished Toronto rent trends

The City of Toronto average for an unfurnished one-bedroom eased 0.22% from September to $1,969. Markham recorded the largest increase among the nine areas at 3.88%, followed by Scarborough at 1.67% and Mississauga at 0.88%. Etobicoke posted the largest decrease at 2.72%, followed by Downtown at 1.48%.

Furnished Toronto rent trends

The City of Toronto average for a furnished one-bedroom increased 2.05% from September to $1,937. Downtown recorded the largest increase at 6.56%, followed by Etobicoke at 6.19% and Scarborough at 2.04%. Markham posted the largest decrease at 5.02%, followed by Vaughan-Richmond Hill at 3.89% and Ottawa at 1.96%.

Toronto furnished vs. unfurnished averages

Furnished and unfurnished one-bedrooms moved in opposite directions this month. The furnished average increased 2.05% to $1,937 per month, while the unfurnished average decreased 0.22% to $1,969. An unfurnished one-bedroom in the City of Toronto now costs $32 more per month than a furnished one on average, compared with $75 more in September.

Rent per square foot

Where do you get the most space for your money across the Ontario areas we track? As of October 2026, the average asking rent per square foot increased 3.9% from September to $2.51. The least expensive areas for square footage are Brampton at $1.52, Vaughan-Richmond Hill at $1.98, and Ottawa at $2.10. The most expensive are Downtown at $3.76, Markham at $3.14, and North York at $3.06.

Active listing data

We also examine detailed statistics for currently active listings on the market to see which property types and bedroom counts are most represented. For renters, these numbers show the types of units you are most likely to encounter in this month’s sample of active listings. For landlords, they indicate how much competition you face based on current supply.

Active listings by property type

As of October 2026, apartments were the most common rental property type on the market at 94.54% of active listings. Partial houses were the second most represented unit type this month at 2.49%, followed by houses at 1.67% and townhouses at 1.30%.

Active listings by number of bedrooms

Looking at bedroom counts, one-bedroom units were the most common listing this month at 47.80%, with two-bedroom units close behind at 41.80%. Three-bedroom units made up the remaining 10.39%.

City breakdown

Rental averages vary widely across the GTA and beyond, so we break the data out by area to compare one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom rates for furnished and unfurnished units. This month, Oakville recorded the highest unfurnished one-bedroom rent at $2,133 per month, while Oshawa was the most affordable at $1,605.

Taking a closer look by listing type across the nine areas we track most closely, here are the highlights from this month’s findings:

• Unfurnished one-bedroom rents increased in five of the nine areas, with decreases in Downtown, Etobicoke, North York, and Ottawa.
• Furnished one-bedroom rents decreased in six of the nine areas, with increases only in Downtown, Etobicoke, and Scarborough.
• Mississauga was the only area where all three unfurnished unit types increased in price.

The table below includes a year-over-year column comparing each area’s unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent with October 2025. Compared with a year ago, 14 of the 20 areas sit lower, with declines ranging from less than 0.1% in Brampton to 9.5% in North York, while six are higher, led by Markham at 5.7%. The table is interactive: sort any column, or download it as an image.

Rental averages for other Ontario cities

Outside the GTA, rents vary just as widely. London was the most affordable of the cities we track, with an unfurnished one-bedroom at $1,518 per month and a year-over-year decrease of 5.7%, followed by St. Catharines at $1,592 and Hamilton at $1,619. Ottawa was the most expensive at $1,809, ahead of Niagara Falls at $1,756 and Kitchener at $1,694. St. Catharines posted the largest monthly increase in this group at 3.91%, while Niagara Falls saw the largest decrease at 2.29%.

Looking for our full October 2026 Ontario rent report? Download our full report here for all the latest insights, including a detailed breakdown by area.

Most expensive cities in Canada

This October, three of the country’s five most expensive cities are in Metro Vancouver. West Vancouver claims the top spot as the most expensive city in Canada to rent in at $2,532 for an unfurnished one-bedroom, followed by North Vancouver at $2,452 and Vancouver at $2,329. Two Ontario cities round out the top five: Burlington at $2,106 and Markham at $2,081.

Downloadable resources

Renting in Ontario

These comprehensive guides cover renting in Ontario and using liv.rent to streamline your rental process.

• What’s a standard rental application?
• What do you need when applying for a rental?
• What can a landlord ask for on a rental application in Ontario?
• How do I fill out a rental application?
• Ontario standard lease explained
• Frequently asked questions: eviction in Ontario

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 Ontario rent report appeared first on liv.rent blog.

What Ontario rental rules changed today, September 21, 2026?

Four parts of Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act changed today, introduced through Bills 60 and 97. The notice tenants get for unpaid rent got shorter, a new no-compensation option opened up for owner-use evictions, a formal definition of persistently late rent arrived, and tenants raising complaints at an arrears hearing now face a new payment threshold. One more widely expected change, ending the automatic conversion of fixed-term leases into month-to-month tenancies, did not happen: it was quietly dropped almost a year ago.

The table below lays out each rule in plain terms: what it used to require, what it requires now, and exactly when each version took effect.

How much shorter is the N4 notice for unpaid rent?

The N4, Ontario’s official notice to end a tenancy for unpaid rent, now gives tenants seven days to pay what they owe before a landlord can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board, down from 14 days. The shorter window applies to monthly and annual tenancies; daily and weekly tenancies already ran on a seven-day cycle, so nothing changes for them. Paying everything owed within that window still voids the notice and stops the eviction process entirely, exactly as it did before today.

Landlords aren’t necessarily getting a faster resolution out of the change, though. Kayla Andrade of Ontario Landlords Watch told CBC News that a shorter notice period “doesn’t mean that you’re going to get your hearing any faster,” since the Landlord and Tenant Board’s own scheduling backlog is unaffected by how quickly a landlord can file.

Can a landlord skip compensation when evicting for personal use?

Yes, but only for a landlord’s own use, and only on a longer timeline. A landlord using an N12 notice to reclaim a unit for themselves or a close family member can still give 60 days’ notice and pay one month’s compensation, exactly as before, or, as of today, give at least 120 days’ notice and pay no compensation at all. That 120-day no-compensation option does not apply to an N12 served for a purchaser’s own use, which still requires 60 days’ notice and one month’s compensation. For a landlord’s-own-use N12, a new rule also presumes the eviction was made in bad faith if the landlord or the specified intended occupant doesn’t actually move in within 60 days of the termination date and the former tenant files a T5 application; that presumption can be rebutted only by the landlord, and it doesn’t apply to an N12 served for a purchaser’s own use.

For tenants, that bad-faith presumption is the part worth remembering: it shifts the burden onto the landlord to show the move was genuine, rather than leaving a tenant to prove it wasn’t.

What does “persistently late” rent mean under Ontario law now?

As of today, Ontario law sets a defined basis for persistently late rent: paying more than seven days late on three or more occasions within any six-month period. That threshold feeds into the N8 notice, the ground landlords use to end a tenancy over a pattern of late payment, but it isn’t the only way the Landlord and Tenant Board can reach that finding; the board may still find a tenant persistently late in other circumstances. A payment also isn’t treated as late if the landlord applied it to another amount the tenant owed, such as arrears. Meeting the definition does not end a tenancy automatically: a landlord still has to serve an N8 and apply to the board, which keeps its discretion over whether eviction is the right outcome.

What payment must a tenant make to raise a section 82 issue at a hearing?

For applications filed on or after today, yes: a tenant who wants to raise a maintenance, repair or other issue under section 82 of the Residential Tenancies Act at a non-payment hearing must first pay 50% of the arrears the landlord is claiming, paid directly to the landlord rather than to the Landlord and Tenant Board, at least seven days before the hearing. The tenant must also give the landlord and the LTB a written description of the issues they intend to raise, also at least seven days before the hearing. The rule doesn’t affect a tenant who isn’t raising a section 82 issue; it applies specifically to using that hearing to counter with a complaint of their own.

Tenant advocates argue the threshold discourages legitimate repair complaints from tenants who are already behind on rent and can’t front more money. Dania Majid of the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario told CBC News the change could end up creating more contested hearings rather than fewer, since tenants facing the payment requirement have less reason to settle before a hearing date.

Are fixed-term leases still converting automatically to month-to-month tenancies?

Yes, and that hasn’t changed today despite months of speculation that it would. Ontario floated ending the automatic conversion of an expired fixed-term lease into a month-to-month tenancy as part of Bill 60’s original consultation package, but Rob Flack, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, announced on October 26, 2025, that the government was not proceeding with those consultations after public pushback that included criticism from Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. Flack said at the time that “residents expect stability and predictability in Ontario’s rental market.”

Practically, that means a fixed-term lease in Ontario still rolls over into a month-to-month tenancy at the end of its term unless the landlord has valid grounds to end it, the same rule that applied before Bill 60 existed. If your lease renewal notice or a landlord tells you otherwise, that’s worth double-checking against this.

What Bill 60 changes already took effect on July 1, 2026?

Three changes at the Landlord and Tenant Board took effect on July 1, 2026, months before today’s updates, according to Tribunals Ontario’s own operational update. The deadline to request a review of an LTB order was cut from 30 days to 15 days, landlords issuing an above-guideline rent increase (AGI) got a shorter window to serve their Direction to Serve, and maximum fines for offences under the Residential Tenancies Act doubled.

Faster deadlines at the board

A tenant or landlord who disagrees with an LTB order now has 15 days to file a request for review, instead of 30. When the LTB directs a landlord to serve tenants with an AGI order, the landlord has seven days from the order’s issuance to do so, down from 14, and must file the Certificate of Service within five days after service. Tribunals Ontario also made the LTB’s official payment agreement form mandatory for repayment plans between landlords and tenants, so an informal, undocumented arrangement no longer holds the same weight it once did.

Bigger fines for offences

The Ontario Rental Housing Enforcement Unit, which investigates offences under the Residential Tenancies Act and prosecutes them at the Ontario Court of Justice, can now seek fines up to $100,000 against an individual and $500,000 against a corporation, both double the previous maximums of $50,000 and $250,000.

What is Ontario’s rent increase guideline for 2026?

Ontario’s rent increase guideline for 2026 is 2.1%, the maximum a landlord can raise rent without Landlord and Tenant Board approval, according to ontario.ca. The guideline applies to most private rental units first occupied before November 15, 2018; units first occupied on or after that date, along with most new basement apartments, are exempt from it entirely. The guideline is set annually under a separate, existing formula and isn’t part of Bill 60.

What should tenants and landlords do differently starting today?

Both sides benefit from tighter documentation now that timelines are shorter and more of a tenancy’s outcome turns on dates and paper trails. A missed week, a notice date, or a move-in date can matter more than it used to.

For tenants

Keep dated proof of every rent payment and every message to a landlord, since a seven-day window leaves far less room to sort out a dispute over whether rent was actually late. Renters who sign and store their lease through liv.rent’s renter tools keep a verified, time-stamped copy of the agreement and any amendments, which is useful evidence if a payment or notice date is ever disputed at the board.

For landlords

Use the current LTB-issued forms for any notice filed on or after today; several, including the N4, were updated to reflect the new timelines, and an outdated form can be rejected outright. Screening tenants properly before signing still matters more than reacting after a payment problem starts. liv.rent’s Trust Score gives landlords a verified, documented read on a prospective tenant’s payment history before move-in, and the platform’s tenant screening guide and landlord dashboard walk through building that documentation from the start of a tenancy rather than scrambling for it once a notice period is already running.

None of this is legal or financial advice. A tenant or landlord dealing with a specific notice, hearing or dispute should confirm current requirements with the Landlord and Tenant Board or a paralegal or lawyer licensed in Ontario. For the broader rules tenants and landlords are navigating this year, liv.rent’s Rental Laws section tracks changes province by province.

The post Ontario’s rental rules just changed: what every tenant needs to know right now appeared first on liv.rent blog.

September 2026 Ontario rent report

At a glance

• Unfurnished one-bedroom rents declined year-over-year across most of the GTA and Ontario region
  • Sixteen of the 19 areas with comparable data recorded lower unfurnished one-bedroom rents than September 2025, with declines ranging from 0.72% in York to 10.57% in East York. Among the 16 declining areas, rents decreased by an average of approximately 4.7%.
• Vaughan-Richmond Hill posted the largest single month-over-month move in the region
  • Vaughan-Richmond Hill’s unfurnished one-bedroom rents increased 9.87% month-over-month to $2,012, the largest single move among all 20 areas tracked this month, and are up 2.96% year-over-year.
• Furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom rents diverged in the City of Toronto
  • The City of Toronto’s average furnished one-bedroom rent decreased 1.64% to $1,898, while the unfurnished average increased 1.33% to $1,973. That left unfurnished units renting for $75 more per month than furnished ones on average, a reversal of the usual furnished premium.

Download the latest Toronto rent report

For the complete Ontario rent report including area breakdowns, download here.

Download report

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.

As of September 2, 2026, the Bank of Canada held its policy interest rate at 2.25%, the seventh consecutive hold. The next scheduled announcement is October 28, 2026. Ontario’s annual rent increase guideline for 2026 remains set at 2.1%.

Let’s look now at the current rental costs and overarching trends in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area for September 2026.

Ontario rent trends

Viewed across the year so far, the City of Toronto’s average unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent has held in a relatively narrow band while remaining below the same months in 2025. This month’s average of $1,973 sits 3.73% below September 2025’s $2,050.

Planning on raising rent this year? Ontario’s annual rent increase guideline for 2026 is set at 2.1%. Find out when and how to increase rent, and how to comply with provincial guidelines, by reading our updated guide to Ontario rent increases.

Recommended reading: Guide to Ontario rent increases

Is your rental priced competitively?

Find out with a free rent estimate. Our team of rental experts will calculate your unit’s true value based on your listing details and current market trends.

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Month-to-month rent change

To better understand how rent prices have shifted across the Greater Toronto Area and the rest of Ontario, here are the most significant month-over-month movements for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units.

Unfurnished Toronto rent trends

Among unfurnished one-bedroom units, Vaughan-Richmond Hill recorded the largest increase at 9.87%, followed by Niagara Falls at 7.16% and Etobicoke at 4.78%. East York posted the largest decrease at 3.13%, followed by London at 2.07% and Markham at 1.70%.

Furnished Toronto rent trends

Among furnished one-bedroom units, Mississauga recorded the largest increase at 8.35%, followed by Brampton at 7.28%, and Oakville and Kitchener, both up 4.35%. Etobicoke posted the largest decrease at 7.94%, followed by Hamilton at 7.35%.

Read more: The ultimate renter’s guide to using liv.rent

Toronto furnished vs. unfurnished averages

Average prices for furnished and unfurnished one-bedroom units in the City of Toronto moved in opposite directions this month. Furnished one-bedrooms decreased 1.64% to $1,898, while unfurnished units increased 1.33% to $1,973. An unfurnished one-bedroom currently rents for $75 more per month than a furnished one on average, a reversal of the usual furnished premium.

Read more: 56 questions every landlord should ask applicants before they sign a lease

Rent per square foot

Where is the most affordable place to rent across the selected Ontario areas based on the space you get? As of September 2026, the average asking rent per square foot rose 6.35% from August to $2.42. The least expensive areas for square footage are Scarborough, Vaughan-Richmond Hill, and Markham. The most expensive are Downtown, North York, and Brampton.

Active listing data

We also examine detailed statistics for currently active listings on the market to see which property types and bedroom counts are most represented. For renters, these numbers show the types of units you are most likely to encounter across the GTA. For landlords, they indicate how much competition you face based on current supply.

Active listings by property type

As of September 2026, apartments were the most common rental property type on the market at 94.32% of active listings. Partial houses were the second most represented unit type this month at 2.25%, followed by houses at 2.04% and townhouses at 1.39%.

Active listings by number of bedrooms

Looking at bedroom counts, one-bedroom units were the most common listing this month at 46.05%, with two-bedroom units close behind at 43.40%. Three-bedroom units made up the remaining 10.55%.

City breakdown

Rental averages vary widely across the Greater Toronto Area and the rest of Ontario, so we break the data out by area to compare one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom rates for furnished and unfurnished units.

Etobicoke is the most expensive GTA area included this month for an unfurnished one-bedroom at $2,172, while Oshawa is the most affordable at $1,698.

Let’s take a closer look by listing type:

• Furnished one-bedroom rents increased in just over half of the region’s areas this month. Mississauga posted the largest increase at 8.35%, followed by Brampton at 7.28%, while Etobicoke recorded the steepest decrease at 7.94%, followed by Hamilton at 7.35%.
• Unfurnished one-bedroom rents were about evenly split. Vaughan-Richmond Hill recorded the largest increase at 9.87%, followed by Niagara Falls at 7.16%, while East York posted the largest decrease at 3.13%.
• Unfurnished two-bedroom rents increased in 14 of the 20 areas tracked this month, with decreases concentrated in Brampton, Milton, Oakville, St. Catharines, London, and North York.

New this year, the table below includes a year-over-year column comparing each area’s unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent with September 2025. Sixteen of the 19 areas with comparable data sit below where they were a year ago, with declines ranging from 0.72% in York to 10.57% in East York. The table is interactive: sort any column, or download it as an image.

Read more: Rental vacancy rates in the City of Toronto

Read more: FAQ: everything you need to know about rent deposits in Ontario

Rental averages for other Ontario cities

Beyond the Greater Toronto Area, rents across the rest of Ontario were generally lower this month. London remained the most affordable market in our coverage area at $1,515 for an unfurnished one-bedroom, down 6.17% year-over-year. Ottawa’s unfurnished one-bedroom average was $1,817, Kitchener’s was $1,666, and Hamilton’s was $1,612. Niagara Falls stood out as the only area outside the GTA with a year-over-year increase, up 5.80% to $1,797, while St. Catharines recorded the steepest decline at 9.42%. For neighbourhood detail and the full area breakdown, download your copy of the full report in the downloadable resources section.

Is your rental priced competitively?

Find out with a free rent estimate. Our team of rental experts will calculate your unit’s true value based on your listing details and current market trends.

Get your free estimate

Most expensive cities in Canada

This September, four of the country’s five most expensive cities are in Metro Vancouver. West Vancouver claims the top spot as the most expensive city in Canada to rent in, followed by North Vancouver and Vancouver. Burlington, Ontario ranks fourth at $2,102, with Burnaby rounding out the top five at $2,101.

Downloadable resources

Download the latest Toronto rent report

For the complete Ontario rent report including area breakdowns, download here.

Download report

Renting in Ontario

• What’s a standard rental application?
• What do you need when applying for a rental?
• What can a landlord ask for on a rental application in Ontario?
• How do I fill out a rental application?
• Ontario standard lease explained
• Frequently asked questions: eviction in Ontario

Data collection methodology

Our monthly rent reports use data from our own liv.rent listings, as well as data our team manually collects from other popular listing sites, covering available basement suites, apartments, condos, townhouses, semi-detached houses, and single-detached houses for each area.

When collecting this data, we exclude luxury properties listed at over $5,000, as well as rooms for rent and shared accommodation. Investing in manual data collection means we consider only the current month’s listings, since we can filter out duplicate listings and older ads that have not been removed.

Another key difference between our data collection methods and those of agencies such as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is that we include only current asking rent prices. Many official reports include data for entire buildings, which tends to skew numbers lower since many units are already occupied and may be rent-controlled or rented well below current rates.

As a Canadian rental platform founded and based in Vancouver, we want to provide a completely accurate depiction of the rental market in the cities we cover.

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.

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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
Ontario rent report
Montreal rent report
Calgary and Edmonton rent report

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

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.

The post Buy vs rent in London, Ontario: what renters need to know right now appeared first on liv.rent blog.

What does the Kitchener-Waterloo housing market look like in 2026?

Waterloo Region’s average sale price across all property types was $706,240 in July 2026, down 3.9% year-over-year and 3.2% from June, according to WOWA.ca, which compiles its figures from the Waterloo Region Association of REALTORS® and the Canadian Real Estate Association. The region’s own real estate board described July as a sluggish month, with sales down 12.2% from June and 3.9 months of supply, which WOWA classifies as balanced market conditions (3 to 5 months of supply). That’s more choice for buyers than is typical for a July.

Home prices by property type

Averages varied widely by property type in July 2026: detached homes sold for $821,195 (down 4.2% year-over-year), semi-detached homes for $602,421 (down 6.6%), townhouses for $567,582 (down 5.9%), and condo apartments for $353,071, the steepest decline of any category at 15%. Looking instead at the MLS® Home Price Index, which tracks the value of a typical home rather than a simple average of sales, the Kitchener-Waterloo index stood at $633,300 in July 2026, down 5.5% year-over-year, while the Cambridge index was $662,100, down 6.3%.

A cooler, more balanced market than the past few years

That doesn’t mean prices have collapsed. It means buyers may have more time to compare listings than during the region’s fastest-moving years, with inventory sitting well above the region’s typical July level even as new listings pulled back. Renters weighing whether to keep renting or start saving toward a purchase can use liv.rent’s rent reports to track asking-rent trends in Ontario and other Canadian markets.

Why Kitchener-Waterloo still draws buyers priced out of Toronto

Kitchener-Waterloo remains less expensive than the Greater Toronto Area based on the regional price figures above, and the region’s tech sector, its two universities, and improving transit access are among the reasons commuters and remote workers continue to look at KW as an alternative to Toronto or Mississauga.

What does it actually cost to rent in Kitchener-Waterloo right now?

As of August 24, 2026, the average asking rent across Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge combined was $2,276 per month across 546 active rental listings, according to My Next KW Home’s regional market report, a real estate listings source best read as a current snapshot rather than an official market average. One-bedroom units averaged $1,707, two-bedroom units averaged $2,149, and three-bedroom units averaged $2,683.

Rent by city: Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge

Rent levels vary noticeably between the region’s three main cities:

Figures reflect My Next KW Home’s listing snapshot for August 2026, not a CMHC or liv.rent average.

Comparing liv.rent’s own numbers and CMHC’s survey data

liv.rent’s own August 2026 Ontario rent report put Kitchener’s unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent at $1,635 a month, roughly in the middle of the pack among the 20 Ontario areas tracked, well above London’s $1,547 and well below Oakville’s $2,172. The same report shows Toronto’s unfurnished one-bedroom rent falling almost 6% year over year to $1,947 in August 2026, meaning even a cooling Toronto still costs more than Kitchener. The gap between this figure and My Next KW Home’s $1,707 one-bedroom average comes down to scope, not unit type: liv.rent’s number covers unfurnished one-bedroom listings in Kitchener specifically, while My Next KW Home’s one-bedroom figure covers one-bedroom listings across Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge combined. A third way to look at rent is what tenants who already live somewhere are actually paying: CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report put the average two-bedroom rent in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo’s purpose-built rental stock at $1,832, versus $2,197 for a two-bedroom condo rental, figures pulled from an annual survey of existing tenancies rather than what’s currently listed for a new tenant.

What Ontario rent rules protect Kitchener-Waterloo renters, and when do they not apply?

Ontario’s rent increase guideline is 2.1% for 2026 and already scheduled to fall to 1.9% for 2027, the maximum most landlords can raise rent on an eligible unit without approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board, according to the Government of Ontario. The guideline doesn’t apply everywhere, though. Units first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018 are generally exempt, including many new buildings, additions, and new basement apartments, a distinction that matters in a region with as much recent purpose-built construction as Kitchener-Waterloo. The guideline also doesn’t set the starting rent for a new tenancy: when a unit turns over, the landlord and incoming tenant simply agree on a new rent, while future increases during that tenancy still depend on whether the unit is guideline-covered or exempt.

The post-2018 exemption, and who has to prove it

If a landlord and tenant disagree about whether a unit qualifies for the exemption, the burden of proof sits with the landlord, who has to show the building or addition was first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018. Records that may help show this include occupancy permits, building records, new home warranty paperwork, and builder or municipal documents.

How to check before you sign

Before signing a lease in a newer Kitchener-Waterloo building, ask the landlord directly whether the rent increase guideline applies, and ask to see the documentation described above rather than judging by a unit’s age from its finishes alone. Landlords must give at least 90 days’ written notice in the proper form, and rent generally can’t be increased until at least 12 months have passed since the tenancy began or since the last increase, regardless of whether the unit is exempt from the percentage cap. If a landlord raises rent without proper notice, or by more than the law allows on a covered unit, a tenant can dispute it at the Landlord and Tenant Board within 12 months of when the higher amount was first charged. For more on tenant protections across the province, liv.rent’s guide to Ontario rental laws covers eviction rules and standard lease requirements in more depth.

How do the monthly costs of renting vs. buying compare right now?

A two-bedroom apartment in Kitchener-Waterloo currently rents for about $2,149 a month on average. Buying instead means taking on a mortgage payment on top of costs renters mostly avoid: mortgage default insurance if your down payment is under 20%, property tax, home insurance, maintenance, and, for a condo, a monthly maintenance fee. Here’s what that looks like using the region’s own numbers.

What renting locks in each month

A renter’s biggest monthly number is usually just the rent itself, plus tenant insurance and whatever utilities aren’t already included in the lease. There’s no property tax bill, no maintenance reserve to plan around, and no exposure to a mortgage renewal at a higher rate down the line. Renters comparing this trade-off can browse Kitchener-Waterloo rentals on liv.rent to see what today’s asking rents actually buy in each neighbourhood.

An illustrative example: renting vs. buying at the region’s average price

Take Waterloo Region’s July 2026 average sale price of $706,240 across all property types. With a 10% down payment ($70,600), a mortgage of $635,400 at 4.09% (the lowest insured five-year fixed rate available as of August 28, 2026, according to Ratehub), amortized over 25 years, works out to about $3,373 a month in principal and interest alone, before mortgage default insurance premiums, property tax, home insurance, or maintenance are added on top. That’s already roughly $1,224 a month more than the region’s average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment, before any of those additional ownership costs are counted. This is one illustrative scenario, not a market average: it uses a single rate and a single down payment, and your own numbers will depend on the specific property, your down payment, and the rate you qualify for.

The mortgage rate used above moves often and was current only as of August 28, 2026. Property tax and utility costs are specific to the municipality and property, so confirm current rates with the city and your utility provider, and get a live quote from a lender, before comparing your own numbers against a rent cheque.

Does the ION LRT make a difference to renting or buying near transit corridors?

Kitchener-Waterloo’s ION light rail has run since June 2019 between Conestoga Station in Waterloo and Fairway Station in Kitchener, across 19 stations, and in November 2025 Waterloo Region Council approved extending it a further 17 kilometres to downtown Cambridge with seven new stations, according to the Region of Waterloo. That approval is a milestone, but the extension remains in planning and funding work rather than construction.

What Stage 2 approval actually means right now

The project has moved into detailed design and pre-construction work, covering heritage assessments, utility relocations, and environmental fieldwork, while regional staff pursue full funding from the provincial and federal governments. There’s no confirmed construction start date, and the extension still depends on that funding coming through.

What it means for renters and buyers along the corridor

Proximity to reliable rapid transit is commonly seen as a plus in almost any housing market, and Kitchener-Waterloo is no exception. For renters, living near an existing ION station may be worth more if it meaningfully cuts commute time or car costs, though the exact rent difference varies by building and block. For anyone considering a purchase near the future Cambridge extension, remember the route is still years from breaking ground and its funding isn’t finalized, which makes it a longer-term consideration rather than a sure thing.

Which city had the lower average asking rent: Kitchener, Waterloo, or Cambridge?

In the August 2026 My Next KW Home listing snapshot, Kitchener had the lowest average asking rent of the three main cities in the region at $2,180, compared with $2,328 in Waterloo and $2,559 in Cambridge. Rent alone doesn’t tell you which city is the better fit: that depends on proximity to work or school, a building’s age and rent control status, and the neighbourhood itself.

Vacancy looks different city to city

CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report put the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo purpose-built rental vacancy rate at 4.1%, with the condominium-apartment rental vacancy rate much tighter at 0.8%. CMHC found higher vacancy specifically in Waterloo, home to the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, and in Kitchener’s west end, where new supply has grown faster than the rest of the region. CMHC attributes the broader softening in demand across major Canadian markets partly to lower migration and policy changes affecting non-permanent residents, among other factors, rather than any single cause.

What each city feels like to rent in

Waterloo’s rental market centres on its two universities and an established Uptown core, which keeps demand steady even as vacancy edges up nearby. Kitchener currently has the lowest average asking rent of the three cities in the cited snapshot, with its downtown having absorbed much of the region’s recent condo and purpose-built construction. Cambridge sits along the planned Stage 2 ION corridor, which makes the project’s funding and construction timeline worth watching for renters and buyers there.

When does renting make more financial sense than buying, and when does buying win?

There’s no single income or savings cutoff that applies to everyone, but a few general planning signals can help. Renting tends to fit better over a shorter time horizon, when a down payment and closing costs aren’t fully saved yet, or when a mortgage payment would eat an uncomfortably large share of monthly income. Buying tends to make more sense over a longer horizon, with stable income and enough saved to absorb a mortgage renewal at a different rate down the line.

Signals that renting fits your situation

A shorter time horizon, savings that haven’t yet reached a comfortable down payment plus closing costs, income that ownership costs would stretch thin, a need for flexibility to relocate for work, or simply a preference to avoid maintenance and property tax are all reasonable reasons to keep renting for now.

Signals that buying may make sense

A longer time horizon, stable income, savings for both a down payment and closing costs, the ability to pass a mortgage stress test at a higher rate, and plans to stay in the same neighbourhood all point toward buying being worth exploring.

What closing costs and savings tools look like

Ontario charges land transfer tax on most home purchases, with a rebate of up to $4,000 available to qualifying first-time buyers, according to the Government of Ontario. On the savings side, the First Home Savings Account lets eligible first-time buyers contribute up to $8,000 a year and $40,000 in total. The federal Home Buyers’ Plan separately allows eligible buyers to withdraw up to $60,000 from an RRSP toward a qualifying home, per the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. None of these figures answer the buy vs. rent question on their own. They’re tools worth understanding before running your own numbers with a mortgage professional.

What should Kitchener-Waterloo renters do right now, regardless of whether they plan to buy?

Whatever you decide about buying, there’s one thing every Kitchener-Waterloo renter should confirm as soon as possible: whether your unit falls under Ontario’s rent increase guideline or is exempt as a newer building.

Confirm your rent control status

Ask your landlord whether the unit was first occupied for residential purposes on or before November 15, 2018, or after that date, and ask to see supporting documentation, such as an occupancy permit or building record, rather than judging by how new a building looks. If a landlord can’t or won’t produce that documentation, remember the burden of proof sits with them, not you, in any dispute at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

If you’re saving toward a purchase

Renters planning to buy eventually can build a down payment inside a First Home Savings Account or through the Home Buyers’ Plan, and can track how KW’s market is shifting month to month using resources like liv.rent’s rent reports and My Next KW Home’s regional data before committing to a purchase.

Use tools built for renters

Whether you’re staying in Kitchener-Waterloo or considering a move within the region, liv.rent’s renter guide walks through building a strong rental profile, applying with verified landlords, and avoiding common rental scams. And if a lease makes more sense than a mortgage this year, liv.rent’s platform helps renters and landlords review key profile and listing details, including available verification signals, before anyone signs.

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