Why finding a pet-friendly rental in Calgary is still hard in 2026

If you’ve spent any time browsing Calgary rentals with a pet, you already know the pattern: half the listings you like disappear the moment you mention it. About 53% of Calgary households have a pet, according to a 2020 Leger survey commissioned for the City of Calgary’s Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw Review and cited by Calgary Humane Society. Yet in a one-day Calgary Humane Society snapshot of lower-cost rental listings priced at $1,600 or less on May 20, 2026, fewer than 10% allowed pets. That gap is why the City of Calgary and Calgary Humane Society launched a citywide Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative on May 27, 2026, and it’s the backdrop for everything in this guide, from the seven buildings below to the negotiating tactics near the end.

The 53% problem: common pets, uncommon pet policies

The 53% figure describes households, not necessarily individual renters, and the affordability figure reflects a one-day snapshot rather than the entire Calgary rental market. Still, it matches what anyone searching with a pet already suspects: owning a pet in Calgary is ordinary, but finding a landlord willing to work with you is not, especially at the lower end of the price range. Calgary Humane Society also reports that 60% of surveyed renters said they had been denied housing because of a pet. Treat that figure as directional rather than exact, since the source doesn’t disclose the survey’s sample size or field dates.

Why the City of Calgary and Calgary Humane Society’s initiative matters

The initiative gives renters pet resume templates and rental guidance, and gives landlords screening templates, risk-mitigation resources, behaviour support, and emergency boarding information. It’s voluntary. It does not change Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act or require private landlords to accept pets. What it does do is give the City of Calgary a reason to factor pet policies into its own non-market housing grant evaluations, a program for publicly funded housing rather than private rental buildings. So if you’re renting privately, the initiative won’t force anyone’s hand, but it adds real tools to your side of the table.

How a loosening rental market is shifting the balance

Calgary’s rental vacancy rate rose from 4.6% in 2024 to 5.1% in 2025, according to the City of Calgary’s housing trends data, which draws on CMHC’s Rental Market Survey. CMHC projects the Calgary census metropolitan area’s vacancy rate will climb further, to about 5.7% in 2026, a forecast rather than a confirmed year-end figure, followed by 6.2% in 2027 and 5.9% in 2028. On the ground, that shows up in real numbers: liv.rent’s September 2026 Calgary and Edmonton Rent Report found Calgary’s average unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent at $1,442, down 5.3% year over year, while furnished one-bedroom rent fell 13.5% year over year to $1,539. That’s a market where a landlord has more reason to work with you, pet and all, than they did two or three years ago.

What Alberta law actually says about pet deposits and breed rules

Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act doesn’t mention pets directly. What it does regulate closely is the security deposit a landlord can collect, usually the number renters care about most. Alberta tenant guidance says a security deposit cannot be more than one month’s rent at the time the tenancy starts, according to the Government of Alberta. If a landlord collects a pet-related deposit, keep the combined total at or below one month’s rent, and confirm with a tenancy professional if anything about the structure looks unusual.

The security deposit cap: how the one-month rule works in practice

In real terms, if monthly rent is $2,000, the maximum security deposit a landlord can require at the start of the tenancy is $2,000, whether it’s called a damage deposit, a pet deposit, or just the deposit on your lease. Alberta’s prescribed annual interest rate on residential tenancy security deposits is 0% from January 1 to December 31, 2026, according to the Government of Alberta, so renters shouldn’t expect interest to meaningfully grow that amount while it’s held.

Breed restrictions, pet fees, and pet rent: what’s actually settled law

Outside the security deposit cap, the rules get murkier. Current Alberta government guidance does not clearly confirm whether breed or size restrictions, non-refundable pet fees, or monthly pet rent surcharges are addressed by provincial law one way or the other. Before agreeing to any pet-related charge outside the security deposit, ask the landlord to put the term in writing, and consider confirming it with a tenancy professional if anything looks unusual. Calgary Humane Society’s own model pet addendum, part of the initiative’s landlord toolkit, encourages a different approach: basing pet decisions on an animal’s observed behaviour rather than its breed, size, or appearance. That’s a recommended practice, though, not a legal requirement, according to the Calgary Humane Society’s pet agreement and lease addendum template.

Service animals: where landlords have the least discretion

The clearest legal line here involves disability accommodation. The Alberta Human Rights Commission says landlords and housing providers have a duty to accommodate tenants with disabilities to the point of undue hardship, including tenants who need a qualified guide dog or service dog. Other assistance-animal requests may need to be assessed case by case, based on the tenant’s circumstances and any supporting information they can provide. This isn’t a blanket exemption for every emotional support animal on request, but it is a genuine legal obligation for qualified service and guide dogs. Renters relying on an assistance animal should keep relevant documentation on hand either way.

liv.rent listings: seven Calgary rental buildings confirmed as pet-friendly

The seven buildings below are confirmed as currently listed on liv.rent and pet-friendly, cross-checked against liv.rent’s own pet-friendly Calgary search and public listing sources as of September 2026. Calgary has far more than seven pet-friendly buildings, but these are ones you can verify for yourself right now. Pricing, availability, and the exact pet policy, including fees, breed rules, and pet limits, can change at any time, so confirm current details directly with the leasing office, or check liv.rent’s live listings, before applying.

Sunalta and Beltline: a Mainstreet-managed pet-friendly cluster

Two of the strongest options sit within walking distance of each other in Sunalta, an inner-city neighbourhood bordering the west edge of downtown. Mainstreet Sunalta Apartments, at 1519 11 Avenue SW, describes itself on its own liv.rent listing as a pet-friendly community welcoming cats and dogs, minutes from the Sunalta LRT station and downtown. A few blocks away, Sunalta 19, at 1929 11 Avenue SW, is also confirmed pet-friendly and managed by the same landlord, Mainstreet Equity, which runs a large share of the pet-friendly inventory in this part of the city. Both sit within the same portfolio as Mainstreet Beltline Apartments at 1231 15 Avenue SW, a pet-friendly building steps from 17th Avenue SW’s restaurants and shops, currently listed on liv.rent’s pet-friendly Calgary search. If one Mainstreet building doesn’t have availability, it’s worth checking the others in the portfolio.

Bankview, Bowness, and Renfrew

In Bankview, just southwest of the Beltline, Yarmouth Apartments, at 2109 17 Street SW, welcomes pets, though breed restrictions, weight limits, and fees may apply, and it’s an eight-minute walk from Bankview Off-Leash Dog Park. In Bowness, along the Bow River, Bow River Townhomes, at 6347 Bowview Road NW, offers pet-friendly, townhome-style units with more space than a typical mid-rise. And in Renfrew, close to Bridgeland, Renfrew Corner Apartments, at 832 4a Street NE, is a low-density, pet-friendly building on a bike path.

Haysboro: London at Heritage Station’s Abbey Tower

South of downtown in Haysboro, London at Heritage Station’s Abbey Tower, at 8880 Horton Road SW, publishes one of the more detailed pet policies among these seven: up to two pets per suite, with dog breed restrictions and pet fees applying, according to the building’s own site. It’s also a 10-minute walk from Kingsland Off-Leash Dog Park.

Which Calgary neighbourhoods work best for renters with pets

Buildings come and go, but neighbourhoods have a longer shelf life. Calgary has 160 public off-leash areas in multi-use parks and does not operate dog-only parks, according to the City of Calgary, so most access comes through shared spaces rather than dedicated dog parks.

Beltline and Mission: walkable, but competitive for pet owners

The Beltline includes a fenced off-leash area at Connaught Park, close walking access to downtown, and a dense mix of purpose-built rental buildings, several of which advertise as pet-friendly, including Mainstreet Beltline Apartments above. Beltline and Mission both offer walkable access to parks and a wide range of rental options, but confirm each building’s weight, breed, and pet-limit rules directly before applying, since these vary widely even within the same neighbourhood.

Sage Hill and the northwest: more space, more of a drive

Northwest communities like Sage Hill tend to offer newer buildings with more indoor and outdoor space per unit, at the cost of a longer commute downtown, a trade-off that suits renters with larger dogs more than daily commuters. As with any neighbourhood, confirm each building’s specific pet policy before applying rather than assuming size or newness means more flexibility.

Southeast communities like Mahogany: room to grow, newer buildings

Southeast communities like Mahogany offer newer rental supply and access to nearby off-leash areas, including a fenced area in Auburn Bay, according to the City of Calgary’s off-leash area list. This part of the city has seen some of Calgary’s fastest residential growth in recent years, which often means newer purpose-built rental stock, though pet amenities still vary by building. Confirm specifics directly with the leasing office before applying.

How to get approved for a Calgary rental when you have a large or restricted breed

Finding a pet-friendly building solves half the problem. The other half is convincing a specific landlord to say yes to your specific animal, which matters most with a large dog or a restricted breed. Calgary Humane Society cites research conducted with the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business showing that landlord hesitation about pets often centres on risk concerns such as property damage, noise, and liability, rather than a blanket dislike of animals, according to Calgary Humane Society. That framing points to concrete ways renters can address a landlord’s actual concern instead of arguing against a breed label they can’t change.

Why breed and size restrictions exist in the first place

There isn’t a reliable, current dataset naming which specific breeds get rejected most often in Calgary, so this guide won’t guess at a list. What’s better documented is the underlying concern: potential damage to a unit, noise complaints from neighbours, and liability if an animal injures someone or damages shared property. Addressing those specific worries tends to be more productive than arguing against a breed policy directly.

Building a pet resume that actually helps your application

The Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative’s tenant toolkit includes a pet resume template. Calgary Humane Society’s model addendum recommends building a pet profile that covers your pet’s name, age, species, temperament, daily routine, training history, and prior rental history, according to the pet agreement and lease addendum template. Pairing that with a reference from a previous landlord or a veterinarian, where available, gives a property manager something concrete to evaluate beyond a breed label on an application form.

Free support through Calgary Humane Society’s Pets and Renters Program

Calgary Humane Society also lists behaviour consultations and training support through its community services, intended to help both the animal and the landlord feel more confident about a tenancy. A guaranteed landlord-facing certificate is not confirmed in the sources reviewed for this guide, so confirm directly with the humane society what documentation, if any, you’ll receive.

What Calgary landlords can charge for pets, and what happens to your deposit

Beyond the one-month security deposit cap, Alberta’s rules also cover deposit handling, interest, and the return process at the end of a tenancy, though they say less about what a landlord can label a separate pet-related charge while you’re renting.

The one-month deposit cap and what it covers

A landlord cannot require a security deposit of more than one month’s rent at the start of the tenancy, whatever it’s labelled, a general deposit, a pet deposit, or a damage deposit, and it cannot be increased once the tenancy starts. Alberta’s prescribed annual interest rate for 2026 security deposits is 0%.

Getting your deposit back after move-out

If there are no deductions, the landlord must return the security deposit, plus any interest owing, within 10 days after the tenant gives up possession, according to the Government of Alberta. If there are deductions, the landlord must provide the balance or an estimate within 10 days, then a final statement and any remaining amount within 30 days. Alberta guidance treats normal wear and tear as separate from damage a landlord can deduct for.

Service animals and the Alberta Human Rights Act

As covered earlier, qualified guide dogs and service dogs are protected under Alberta human rights guidance, and landlords must consider disability-related accommodation requests to the point of undue hardship, according to the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Other assistance-animal requests may need to be assessed case by case. A qualified service dog generally shouldn’t be treated as a pet for fee purposes at all.

How Calgary’s cooling rental market gives pet owners more room to negotiate

Everything above covers what’s fixed: the law, the deposit rules, and the buildings that exist right now. What’s not fixed is how much leverage you have in a given month, and right now that leverage is better than it’s been in years..

What the current vacancy and rent numbers actually mean

Calgary’s rental vacancy rate rose from 4.6% in 2024 to 5.1% in 2025. City of Calgary housing trends data also show 2025 vacancy at 6.7% in the highest rent quartile and 4.4% in the lowest, meaning the loosening has been more pronounced at the pricier end of the market. CMHC projects about 5.7% vacancy for the Calgary CMA in 2026, a forecast rather than a confirmed year-end number.

liv.rent’s September 2026 Calgary and Edmonton Rent Report lists Calgary’s average unfurnished one-bedroom rent at $1,442, down 5.3% year over year, and furnished one-bedroom rent at $1,539, down 13.5% year over year. That’s a market where a landlord is more likely to consider trade-offs to fill a vacant unit, and pet policy is one of the easiest trade-offs to offer without cutting the rent itself.

Using market data to negotiate pet terms, not just price

In a softer market, renters may have more room to ask for a written pet addendum, a reduced pet-related charge, or a documented exception backed by a strong pet resume. Calgary Humane Society frames pet-friendly policies as something that can expand a landlord’s applicant pool and shorten vacancy periods, which is part of why these conversations may go further now than during the tightest years of the last rental crunch.

Timing your search

There’s no reliable data confirming a specific month or season when Calgary landlords are most flexible on pet policy, so treat seasonal advice elsewhere with some skepticism. Compare several current listings side by side, ask about pet policy in writing before you apply, and check liv.rent’s Alberta rent reports to judge whether an asking rent, and any pet fee attached to it, is in line with the current market.

The post Top 7 pet-friendly rental buildings in Calgary: what renters with pets need to know in 2026 appeared first on liv.rent blog.

As of August 2026, third-party rental data puts Lethbridge’s median rent across all bedroom counts and property types at $1,500 a month, roughly 22% below the national median of $1,925. On the buying side, the average detached home in Lethbridge sold for $497,099 in February 2026, up 10.6% year over year, according to Alberta Real Estate Association data reported by Lethbridge News Now. Averaged across every property type, including condos and townhomes, the citywide figure was lower, at $460,589.

Current Lethbridge rent prices by unit type

The bedroom-level breakdown for Lethbridge, current as of August 17, 2026, looks like this:

What a mortgage on a typical Lethbridge home looks like monthly

Because Lethbridge’s $497,099 average detached price falls just under the $500,000 threshold, most buyers qualify for a 5% minimum down payment under federal mortgage rules from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, or roughly $24,855. As of August 20, 2026, insured five-year fixed mortgage rates in Canada were advertised around 4.09%, according to rate comparison site Ratehub. On a mortgage that size, financed with CMHC insurance rolled into the loan, monthly payments over a 25-year amortization work out to roughly $2,600, before property tax, home insurance, or condo fees where applicable. That is an estimate, not a quote. Your own payment depends on your rate, term, amortization, and lender, so this is general information rather than financial advice.

The hidden costs neither side of the comparison usually shows you

Renting looks simpler on paper, but tenant insurance and, in some buildings, paid parking add to the monthly total. Buying carries a longer list: property tax, home insurance, a maintenance reserve, mortgage default insurance if the down payment is under 20%, and one-time closing costs covered further down in this guide. Comparing the sticker price of rent against a bare mortgage estimate misses most of what actually determines affordability on either side. Renters weighing their options can browse current Lethbridge rental listings on liv.rent to see what today’s market actually offers before running the numbers on a purchase.

Does Lethbridge have rent control? What Alberta renters must know

In Alberta, there is no percentage cap on rent increases, though landlords still have to follow timing and notice rules. Under the Government of Alberta’s rules on rent increases, updated August 13, 2026, a landlord may raise rent without a percentage cap, provided the increase does not happen during a fixed term and at least 365 days have passed since the tenancy began or the rent was last increased. Disputes over whether the process was followed correctly go to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service, covered later in this guide.

How Alberta’s rent increase rules work

There is no percentage ceiling and no formula tied to inflation limiting the size of a rent increase in Alberta. The two protections tenants do have are timing based: an increase cannot land during the fixed term of a lease, and a landlord cannot raise the rent more than once every 365 days, whether that period is measured from the start of the tenancy or from the last increase.

How much notice your landlord must give before raising your rent

The required notice depends on the tenancy type. For a month-to-month periodic tenancy, a landlord must give three full tenancy months’ written notice. For a week-to-week tenancy, it is 12 full tenancy weeks. For other periodic tenancies, it is 90 days. A fixed-term lease generally cannot have its rent increased partway through the term at all; the increase applies at renewal.

How Alberta compares to other provinces on rent protections

Rent control is set province by province in Canada, so a normal increase in one province can be unusually large, or entirely illegal, in another. Here is where four provinces stand for 2026:

British Columbia’s 2026 limit of 2.3% is set by the Residential Tenancy Branch. Ontario’s 2026 guideline of 2.1% is published by the province. Manitoba’s 2026 guideline of 1.8% is set by the Residential Tenancies Branch. Quebec uses a different, tribunal-based calculation rather than a single percentage, and rules vary further outside these four provinces, so always confirm the current figure for your own province before relying on it. This is general information, not legal advice. Renters who want the fuller picture of their rights can browse liv.rent’s rental law guides by province.

When does buying in Lethbridge beat renting financially?

There is no single, universally correct number of years after which buying automatically wins. What can be measured is how Lethbridge’s current prices compare to its current rents, and how Alberta’s rent rules change the risk on the renting side of that comparison.

The break-even timeline: how long you need to stay to come out ahead

A few factors tend to push the break-even point later: a short time horizon, high one-time closing costs, and a falling home price environment. A few tend to pull it earlier: a purchase price that is low relative to local rent, steady equity building through regular payments, and, in Alberta’s case, the absence of a percentage cap on how much rent could rise at your next renewal. None of this is financial advice; it is a framework for running your own numbers with your own savings, income, and plans in mind.

Why Lethbridge’s price-to-rent ratio matters for this calculation

One way to see how a city’s home prices sit relative to its rents is a gross rent multiplier: the sale price divided by a full year of rent. Using Lethbridge’s $497,099 average detached price and its $1,500 median monthly rent (annualized to $18,000), that works out to roughly 27.6 times annual rent. This is an illustrative multiplier, not a cap rate, an investment return, or an affordability score. A lower multiplier generally signals that rent is doing relatively more of the “cost of housing” work in a market; a higher one signals the opposite. Lethbridge’s own multiplier is a useful reference point for local buyers, but it should not be read as a return forecast.

The role of Alberta’s rent rules in the buy decision

Because Alberta does not set a percentage cap on rent increases, renters should plan for more renewal-price uncertainty than they would in provinces with annual caps. That uncertainty does not make renting a bad choice, but it is a real variable that a fixed-rate mortgage does not carry. Anyone weighing the two options in Lethbridge should factor in not just today’s rent, but the range of what a future increase could look like without a cap in place.

What are Alberta renters’ rights in 2026?

In Alberta, the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service, or RTDRS, is the quasi-judicial tribunal that resolves eligible landlord and tenant disputes without going to court. A landlord must give at least 24 hours’ written notice before entering a unit, and entry is generally limited to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on a day that is not a holiday or the tenant’s day of worship. Where there are no deductions, a security deposit plus any interest owed must generally be returned within 10 days after the tenant gives up possession.

Security deposits, entry rights, and notice rules under Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act

Alberta caps a security deposit at one month’s rent, and the prescribed security deposit interest rate is 0.0% for 2026. Combined with the entry and deposit-return rules above, these protections apply regardless of whether a tenant has a written lease, and they sit alongside, not instead of, the rent increase and notice rules covered earlier in this guide. This section is general information, not legal advice; if you have a specific dispute, the Government of Alberta’s tenancy pages and the RTDRS itself are the authoritative sources.

How to file a dispute with the RTDRS if your landlord breaks the rules

Filing with the RTDRS, according to the Government of Alberta, costs $75 for claims or counterclaims of $7,500 or less, and $150 for claims above that amount, as of the fee schedule that took effect April 1, 2026. Eligible applicants may apply for a fee waiver. You are not required to have a lawyer to apply, though nothing prevents you from hiring one, and the RTDRS process runs through online applications rather than a traditional courtroom.

What renters can and cannot do if they receive an unexpected rent increase

If a rent increase notice arrives without the required amount of written notice, or before 365 days have passed since your last increase, document the dates, keep a copy of the notice, and write to your landlord noting the discrepancy. An increase that does not follow the correct process is not automatically valid, and the RTDRS is the venue to resolve a disagreement if your landlord insists on it anyway. This is general information, not legal advice, and it does not replace speaking with a tenancy advocate or lawyer about your specific situation.

Who should rent in Lethbridge right now, and who should buy?

Renting tends to make sense for people who plan to stay in Lethbridge for a shorter stretch, are still building savings or credit, or need flexibility for work or school. Buying tends to make sense for people who have a down payment and closing costs saved, plan to stay several years or more, and want a fixed monthly housing cost in a province with no rent-increase percentage cap.

Signs renting is the right move for you in 2026

You are still saving toward a down payment, you expect to relocate for work or school within a few years, you value the flexibility to move without selling a property, or you would rather not take on maintenance and property tax responsibilities right now.

Signs buying in Lethbridge makes sense for your situation

You have a down payment plus closing costs set aside, you plan to stay put for the medium to long term, you want predictable monthly housing costs despite Alberta’s rent rules, and Lethbridge’s relatively accessible entry price fits your budget better than a larger Alberta city would.

How Lethbridge compares to Calgary and Edmonton for buyers

Lethbridge’s home prices sit well below both the provincial and Calgary averages. Using February 2026 figures reported by Lethbridge News Now, citing Alberta Real Estate Association data:

That gap is a meaningful part of why the savings threshold to buy is lower in Lethbridge than in Calgary. Renters comparing their options across cities can also browse verified Lethbridge listings on liv.rent to see current availability alongside these figures.

Lethbridge rental market snapshot: what rents are doing in mid-2026

Lethbridge’s median rent of $1,500 a month, per third-party rental data current as of August 17, 2026, is running about 3% higher than a year earlier, a much calmer pace than the sharper increases the city saw earlier in the 2024 to 2025 stretch. It remains roughly 22% below the national median.

How Lethbridge rents compare to Calgary, Edmonton, and the national average

Comparing bedroom-matched figures gives a clearer picture than comparing an all-bedroom median against a single unit type. Here is Lethbridge’s one-bedroom average against liv.rent’s own August 2026 Calgary and Edmonton figures. The Calgary and Edmonton numbers are liv.rent’s unfurnished one-bedroom averages; Lethbridge’s is a third-party one-bedroom average, so treat the comparison as directional rather than a precise match:

According to liv.rent’s August 2026 Calgary and Edmonton Rent Report, Calgary’s unfurnished one-bedroom average fell 7.46% year over year to $1,465, while Edmonton’s fell 2.91% to $1,264, both cooling off from where they stood a year earlier. Lethbridge’s one-bedroom average of $1,330, per third-party rental data, sits between the two, and all three sit below the $1,925 national median cited in that same third-party dataset.

Why Lethbridge rents surged and what that means for the buy vs. rent decision today

Lethbridge rents rose quickly through 2024 and into 2025, driven in part by student demand and broader local housing pressure, before growth slowed to the more modest pace seen this year. That earlier run-up may have contributed to the faster home price growth the city also saw over the same period. Anyone weighing the two options today can bookmark liv.rent’s rent reports to track how both sides of that relationship move over time.

What first-time buyers in Lethbridge need to know about down payments and closing costs in 2026

The math changes meaningfully depending on which side of the $500,000 line a purchase falls on, and Lethbridge’s average detached price sits just under it.

Federal minimum down payment rules and how they apply to Lethbridge home prices

Under federal rules from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, a home priced at $500,000 or less requires a minimum 5% down payment. Between $500,000 and $1.5 million, the minimum is 5% on the first $500,000 plus 10% on the remainder, and at $1.5 million or more, it rises to 20%. On Lethbridge’s $497,099 average detached price, that puts the minimum down payment at roughly $24,855. Buyers putting down less than 20% also pay for mortgage default insurance: CMHC’s current premium schedule charges 4.00% of the loan amount at 90.01% to 95% loan-to-value, 3.10% at 85.01% to 90%, and 2.80% at 80.01% to 85%.

Closing costs Alberta buyers pay that renters do not

On top of the down payment, ATB Financial estimates Alberta closing costs at roughly 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price, covering legal fees, land title registration, title insurance, home inspection, and property tax adjustments. Alberta does not charge a provincial land transfer tax, which keeps this range lower than in some other provinces, but it is still a real, one-time cost that renting simply does not carry.

Savings tools that can speed up your down payment

Two federal programs can help build a down payment faster. The First Home Savings Account, or FHSA, per the Canada Revenue Agency, allows tax-deductible contributions of up to $8,000 a year, to a lifetime limit of $40,000, with tax-free withdrawals for a qualifying first home. The RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan, also administered by the Canada Revenue Agency, lets a first-time buyer withdraw up to $60,000 from an RRSP tax-free, or $120,000 for a couple who both qualify, repayable over 15 years. This is general information, not tax or financial advice; a financial advisor can help you decide how these tools fit your own situation. Renters who are still saving can browse verified Lethbridge rentals on liv.rent in the meantime, reducing the risk that an unexpected rent increase derails the plan.

Rethink the way you rent

Not on liv.rent yet? Whether you decide to keep renting in Lethbridge or start saving toward a purchase, liv.rent makes the renting side easier with verified landlords, digital applications, and transparent listings. Sign up for free or download the app.

The post Buy vs. rent: Lethbridge, Alberta – the 2026 numbers appeared first on liv.rent blog.

Is it time to move from renting to owning in Burnaby?

For Burnaby renters who plan to stay put, buying can be more reachable than the monthly numbers alone suggest. Renting still costs less each month in the comparison below, but ownership builds home equity, a fixed-rate mortgage payment holds steady for the length of the term, and first-time buyer programs and 30-year amortizations narrow the gap. This is a directional comparison rather than a like-for-like one: it sets Burnaby’s citywide average one-bedroom rent against the price of an apartment in Burnaby North.

What renting costs right now

liv.rent’s October 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report put the average unfurnished one-bedroom across Metro Vancouver at $2,083 a month, down 0.12% from September and 6.3% (or $140) from a year earlier, with all nine cities in the report below their October 2025 levels. Burnaby’s average unfurnished one-bedroom was $2,054 a month, down 2.26% from September and the second-largest monthly decline in the region after Richmond, and every unfurnished unit type in Burnaby decreased in price. Rents are softening, but they can still climb each year, up to the provincial cap explained below.

What owning costs, using one example

Region-wide, home prices are down from a year ago. Greater Vancouver REALTORS® put the MLS® Home Price Index figure for apartments across Metro Vancouver at $682,500 in September 2026, down 6.2% year over year. Burnaby North sat at $662,400, Burnaby East at $708,100, and Burnaby South at $723,000, all down 5.5% to 8.3% from a year earlier.

Using Burnaby North’s $662,400 price as an example, a buyer making the minimum down payment on an insured mortgage would carry roughly $646,000 once the mandatory insurance premium is added (the numbers behind that are in the mortgage section below). At an illustrative five-year fixed insured rate of 4.59% (nesto, October 5, 2026), the payment works out to about $3,620 a month on a 25-year amortization, before property tax, strata fees, insurance, or maintenance.

How the monthly gap narrows for first-time buyers

Since December 15, 2024, first-time buyers and buyers of new builds can get 30-year amortizations on insured mortgages. Stretched over 30 years, the same example drops to about $3,310 a month, which cuts the mortgage-only gap with the $2,054 Burnaby rent average from about $1,600 to about $1,300. The trade-off is real: a longer amortization means more interest over time and can carry an added insurance premium, so it lowers the monthly payment rather than the total cost. Property tax, strata fees, insurance, and maintenance would still be added on the ownership side.

What a mortgage builds that rent does not

Over a typical five-year fixed term, which is 60 payments, the difference shows up in what you own at the end. In the 25-year example, about $78,000 of those payments goes to paying down principal, and in the 30-year example about $56,000. Over the same five years, a renter paying today’s Burnaby average pays about $123,000 in rent before any annual increases and ends with no home equity. Interest is a real cost too, about $140,000 and $142,000 in those two examples, and the figures assume the rate stays fixed and ignore changes in home prices, which could add to or reduce your equity. Principal paid down is still ownership you build in the home with every payment.

What staying a renter looks like in B.C.

Renting comes with real protections in B.C., and they are worth knowing, but they last only as long as you stay in the same unit.

The rent cap and the notice rules

The Residential Tenancy Branch sets B.C.’s allowable rent increase every year. The 2026 limit is 2.3%, and the 2027 limit, which takes effect January 1, 2027, is 2.2%. On a rent of $2,054 a month, the maximum 2026 increase is about $47, and the 2027 maximum is about $45. A landlord generally cannot exceed that just because their own costs have gone up; above the cap, an increase needs the tenant’s written agreement or a separate approval through the Residential Tenancy Branch for capital expenditures or additional occupants. Landlords must also give at least three full months’ written notice on Form RTB-7, and rent can only rise once every 12 months.

Why moving resets your rent

The annual cap protects a sitting tenant. Once a unit turns over, the increase limit is tied to when rent was set at the start of a tenancy, so a new tenant effectively starts at whatever the landlord is asking. This is often described as vacancy decontrol. A fixed-rate mortgage works differently: the payment is set for the length of the term, although property tax, strata fees, and the rate at renewal can change. liv.rent’s own guide to B.C. rent increase rules walks through the rules in more detail.

Programs and rules that help renters become owners

Several federal and provincial tools are aimed squarely at first-time buyers, and a few of them change the math above.

Save faster with the FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan

The First Home Savings Account lets eligible first-time buyers contribute up to $8,000 a year, to a lifetime maximum of $40,000. Contributions are generally tax deductible, and qualifying withdrawals to buy a first home are tax-free. The Home Buyers’ Plan lets you withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSP for a first home (the withdrawal is repaid to your RRSP over time), and the Canada Revenue Agency allows an FHSA withdrawal and an HBP withdrawal for the same qualifying home when all conditions are met. At the maximums, that is up to $100,000 per person toward a down payment, which is more than twice the $41,240 minimum in the example below.

Down payment, stress test, and 30-year amortizations

For CMHC-insured mortgages, homes priced under $1.5 million can qualify for mortgage default insurance with a minimum down payment of 5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the remaining portion, subject to CMHC’s other borrower, property, and credit requirements. On Burnaby North’s $662,400 example, that is a $41,240 minimum down payment and a $621,160 mortgage before insurance. Based on CMHC’s premium schedule for that loan-to-value tier, the premium is about 4%, or roughly $24,846, for an insured total of about $646,006.

Federally regulated lenders have to qualify buyers at the higher of 5.25% or their contract rate plus two percentage points, a rule from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, though it’s worth confirming how it applies to you with a lender. At an illustrative 4.59%, the qualifying rate is 6.59%. Lenders also generally look for total housing costs (mortgage, property tax, heat, and half of any strata fee) to stay near 39% of gross household income, and total debt near 44%, though thresholds vary by lender and borrower. At the 6.59% qualifying rate, the mortgage payment alone on this example works out to about $4,400 a month on a 25-year amortization or about $4,100 on a 30-year, which would take at least roughly $135,000 or $127,000 of gross household income to stay near the 39% guideline, before property tax, heat, strata fees, or other debts. That is household income, so a co-borrower’s income counts toward it.

Closing costs: property transfer tax and GST on new homes

On top of the down payment, B.C.’s property transfer tax is due at closing: 1% on the first $200,000, 2% on the portion from $200,001 to $2 million, and 3% above that. On a $662,400 purchase, that’s $11,248 before any exemption. First-time buyers may qualify for real relief: B.C.’s First Time Home Buyers’ Program exempts the first $500,000 of a qualifying home’s value from the tax for an eligible home registered on or after April 1, 2024. A home priced at $500,000 or less is fully exempt; above that, up to a fair market value of $835,000, the exemption is capped at $8,000 (the tax that would otherwise apply on the first $500,000), with a partial exemption between $835,000 and $860,000. On this example, a qualifying first-time buyer would pay $3,248 rather than $11,248.

New homes follow different rules. A qualifying newly built home, including a condo unit in a new building that hasn’t been lived in, may instead be eligible for B.C.’s newly built home exemption, a full exemption at $1,100,000 or less and a partial one up to $1,150,000, for Canadian citizens and permanent residents who move in within 92 days of registration. New homes also carry GST, and the federal first-time home buyers’ GST/HST rebate refunds 100% of the GST on a new home valued up to $1 million (5% of $1 million, or up to $50,000), with a reduced rebate for homes valued between $1 million and $1.5 million. According to the Canada Revenue Agency, the home must be bought from a builder under an agreement signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031, and buyers must be first-time home buyers: at least 18, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and not having lived in a home they or their spouse owned in the current or previous four calendar years. Each program has conditions, so confirm which ones apply to your purchase.

Which Burnaby areas are worth a look for buyers?

Burnaby isn’t one market, it’s several, and price and commute vary across the city. The apartment prices above show the spread across Burnaby North, East, and South, and all three sub-areas are down from a year ago.

Transit-connected areas: Metrotown, Brentwood, and Lougheed

The areas built up around SkyTrain stations, Metrotown, Brentwood, and Lougheed among them, are some of Burnaby’s most sought-after places to live because they pair density with a short commute into Vancouver. Metro Vancouver’s 2025 Housing and Transportation Cost Burden Study found that households well served by fast, frequent transit spend $10,000 to $20,000 less overall on combined housing and transportation costs than households in less connected areas, a saving worth factoring into your budget.

Where to check current prices and rents

For current rents by municipality, liv.rent’s monthly Rent Report breaks Metro Vancouver down by city, and current Burnaby listings show what’s available while you save. For purchase prices, Greater Vancouver REALTORS® publishes monthly stats by sub-area.

Should you rent or buy in Burnaby? A decision framework

There’s no universal answer, but there is a sensible order of questions.

Signs you’re ready to start the buying process

You plan to stay in the home long enough to build equity and cover the closing costs, which is years rather than months. Your household income clears the stress test and the debt-service guidelines with room to spare. You’ve saved, or can combine an FHSA and Home Buyers’ Plan to reach, a down payment plus property transfer tax, legal fees, and a home inspection. And you’re prepared to cover strata fees, property tax, and maintenance on top of the mortgage every month.

What to do while you’re still renting

Opening an FHSA starts your participation room, so earlier is better. Talk to a mortgage professional about pre-approval and what you could qualify for at the stress-test rate. Set a target price using the numbers in this guide, then compare resale and new-build options, since the tax rules differ. And keep renting well in the meantime: verified listings, ID-verified landlords, and digital lease agreements on liv.rent make it easier to search Burnaby with confidence while you save, and the annual rent cap protects your rent while you stay put. Read the ultimate renter’s guide to using liv.rent to get started.

When renting still makes the most sense

If you expect to move within a few years, your income wouldn’t comfortably clear the stress test, you’re still building your down payment and emergency fund, or you simply value flexibility, renting can be the better fit for now. This is general information, not legal or financial advice, and anyone making a specific decision should speak with a licensed mortgage professional, accountant, or lawyer first.

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

Why are Calgary’s furnished rentals cooling faster than Edmonton’s?

Calgary’s average furnished one-bedroom rent fell 16.96% year-over-year in August 2026, nearly double Edmonton’s 8.80% decline, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Calgary and Edmonton Rent Report. The gap traces largely to supply. Calgary’s purpose-built rental stock grew 11% in 2025, its fastest pace in decades, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), pushing vacancy higher and squeezing the extra amount landlords can charge for a furnished unit.

How the two cities compare right now

Per liv.rent’s August 2026 report, Calgary’s average furnished one-bedroom rent was $1,576, down from $1,898 a year earlier. Edmonton’s average furnished one-bedroom rent was $1,413 in August 2026, down from $1,549 the previous August. Both markets are cooling, but Calgary’s furnished segment is doing so at close to twice Edmonton’s pace, even though Calgary’s furnished rent remains the higher of the two in dollar terms.

The construction boom behind Calgary’s steeper drop

CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report found Calgary’s purpose-built rental supply expanded 11% that year, the fastest growth the city has recorded in decades, and that Calgary’s vacancy rate reached 5.0%, compared with 3.8% in Edmonton. CMHC noted the new supply was concentrated in higher-end units, the segment most likely to compete with furnished, move-in-ready listings. That overlap helps explain why the furnished premium, not just overall rent, is compressing faster in Calgary than in Edmonton.

What CMHC’s mid-year update says about where things are headed

In its 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update, CMHC reported that asking rents declined in Calgary through the first half of 2026, while Edmonton and Montreal showed little change over the same stretch. CMHC also found that Calgary and Edmonton generally need higher vacancy rates than other major Canadian markets before rents stabilize, reflecting both cities’ history of wider rent swings.

How much have Calgary furnished rents actually dropped, and where in the city?

As of August 2026, Calgary’s average furnished one-bedroom rent was $1,576 a month, $111 more than an unfurnished one-bedroom in the city. That furnished premium has narrowed sharply, and the decline is not even across Calgary’s quadrants. Southeast Calgary was the only quadrant where furnished one-bedroom rents rose this month, up 3.24%, while Northeast Calgary posted the steepest monthly drop, down 7.76%, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Calgary and Edmonton Rent Report.

Calgary’s furnished rent picture by quadrant

Southwest Calgary shows the split within a single quadrant. Furnished one-bedroom rents there fell 5.96% this month to $1,590, while unfurnished one-bedrooms in the same quadrant rose 1.86% to $1,556. Two-bedroom units followed a similar pattern: furnished units were down 3.49% to $1,980, while unfurnished units were up 4.29% to $1,959. Across Calgary, Southwest remains the priciest quadrant for an unfurnished one-bedroom at $1,556, while Northeast is the most affordable at $1,320.

Edmonton’s steadier, more mixed sector trend

Edmonton’s furnished market moved in a mostly opposite direction this month, with gains in four of five reported sectors. Southeast Edmonton posted the largest furnished increase, up 5.38%, while West Edmonton was essentially flat, down just 0.04%, the only sector to register a decrease. Unfurnished one-bedroom rents rose in five of Edmonton’s six sectors, led by Northeast at 6.68%, with Southeast the lone exception, down 0.82%. Southwest remains Edmonton’s priciest sector for an unfurnished one-bedroom at $1,344, while West is the most affordable at $1,197.

Is Calgary’s furnished rental cooldown temporary, or a structural shift?

The evidence suggests Calgary’s furnished rental cooldown is more than a seasonal dip. Calgary’s purpose-built rental stock grew 11% in 2025, the fastest expansion CMHC has recorded for the city in decades, and CMHC’s 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update shows Calgary rents were still declining as of mid-2026, while Edmonton’s held comparatively steady.

Why new supply hits the furnished premium hardest

New purpose-built towers often arrive with modern finishes and amenity packages that can make an unfurnished unit feel nearly as move-in ready as a furnished one. CMHC found that Calgary’s 2025 supply growth was concentrated in exactly this kind of higher-end stock, the inventory most likely to compete with furnished, move-in-ready listings, which helps explain why the furnished premium, and not just the headline rent, is the metric moving fastest in Calgary.

Why Calgary and Edmonton do not move like Toronto or Vancouver

CMHC has found that Calgary and Edmonton generally need higher vacancy rates than other major Canadian markets before rents stabilize, reflecting both cities’ history of wider rent swings. That history is playing out unevenly this cycle: CMHC’s 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update names Edmonton, alongside Toronto, as one of only two major markets where tenant affordability improved in the first quarter of 2026, a result of slower rent growth paired with strong wage growth. Calgary has not shared that outcome so far.

What Alberta’s rental rules mean for furnished renters right now

Alberta has no legislated cap on how much a landlord can raise the rent, but the Residential Tenancies Act still limits when and how. A landlord cannot increase rent during a fixed term, and cannot raise it again until at least 365 days have passed since the start of the tenancy or the last increase, whichever is later. For a monthly periodic tenancy, the landlord must give at least three full tenancy months’ written notice, according to the Government of Alberta. These are Alberta rental laws specifically; renters and landlords elsewhere in Canada should check their own province’s rules.

Deposits, notice, and what happens if a landlord will not cooperate

A security deposit in Alberta cannot exceed one month’s rent, and landlords must place it in an interest-bearing trust account within two banking days. The prescribed interest rate is 0.0% for all of 2026, according to the Government of Alberta. After a tenant gives up possession of the unit, a landlord has 10 days to return the deposit balance with an itemized statement, or to provide an estimate of deductions and refund the unused portion; the tenant must then receive a final statement and any money owing within 30 days after the tenancy ends. If deductions still seem unfair, tenants can apply to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS). As of April 1, 2026, filing fees run $75 for claims of $7,500 or less and $150 for claims above that amount, with fee waivers available for eligible applicants.

Why a soft furnished market gives renters more room to negotiate

With Calgary’s furnished premium down to $111 a month, renters may have more room to negotiate, especially in quadrants like Northeast Calgary, where furnished rents fell hardest this month. Before signing, ask for a full furnishings list in the lease and document the unit’s move-in condition with photos. This is general information, not legal advice; anyone with a specific dispute should contact the RTDRS or a legal clinic directly.

What should Calgary landlords renting furnished units do differently in this market?

With Calgary’s furnished premium down to $111 a month, landlords who price a furnished unit at last year’s rate risk longer vacancies. CMHC’s 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update found that landlords in major markets are increasingly leaning on incentives, including free or discounted parking, gift cards, move-in credits, and in some cases cash bonuses, with these incentives intensifying over the six months leading into June 2026 and, in some cases, reaching several months of free rent.

Price against this month’s numbers, not last year’s

Northeast Calgary’s furnished one-bedroom rent fell 7.76% this month alone, the steepest of any quadrant, a sign that oversupplied submarkets need to be priced accordingly rather than held at a prior rate. In Southwest Calgary, the furnished premium has narrowed to $34 ($1,590 furnished versus $1,556 unfurnished), so landlords there should weigh whether the added revenue from furnishing a unit still covers the cost.

Use concessions that earn their cost

Rather than a broad rent cut, targeted incentives, such as a move-in credit, discounted parking, or a small utility allowance, may help attract a qualified tenant without permanently lowering the asking rent. Pair any concession with a complete, itemized furnishings list so both sides have a clear record.

Listing quality and screening matter more in a competitive market

In a market where renters have more choices, professional photos and a complete furnishings inventory help a listing convert faster. It is also worth reviewing how to write an attractive rental ad and how to screen tenants effectively, including using Trust Score, which gives landlords a credit summary and risk assessment, to evaluate an applicant before signing a lease.

Calgary versus Edmonton furnished rentals: a comparison for renters choosing between the two cities

Calgary’s furnished one-bedroom rent averaged $1,576 in August 2026, still higher than Edmonton’s $1,413, even though Calgary’s year-over-year decline of 16.96% is nearly double Edmonton’s 8.80%. The table below breaks down the key differences for renters weighing the two cities right now.

Renters focused on newer stock, deeper concessions, and the most negotiating room will find more of that in Calgary right now, particularly in Northeast and Southwest, where furnished rents have fallen the most this month. Renters focused on the lower absolute cost and a steadier market will find that in Edmonton, which CMHC named alongside Toronto as one of only two major Canadian markets where tenant affordability actually improved in the first quarter of 2026. Either way, both cities are covered every month in liv.rent’s rent reports, so renters can track the gap as it evolves.

The post Why Calgary’s furnished rentals are cooling twice as fast as Edmonton’s in 2026 appeared first on liv.rent blog.

What did CMHC’s 2026 mid-year update actually say about Vancouver?

Vancouver’s asking rents have fallen year over year for 30 consecutive months, and B.C.’s housing ministry says the average rent is now about one-fifth below its September 2023 peak, citing Rentals.ca data in a June 8, 2026 statement. Days later, CMHC’s 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update confirmed the broader affordability shift: Vancouver’s asking-rent-to-income ratio is back to pre-pandemic levels, and CMHC found some of the most pronounced drops in that ratio in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton.

Asking rent versus what existing tenants actually pay

CMHC tracks two different figures here. Asking rent is the price advertised on a vacant unit right now, the number that’s been falling. Average, or in-place, rent is what tenants already living somewhere pay, and CMHC’s update found that number kept climbing through the first quarter of 2026 across most major markets, largely because rent resets higher when a unit turns over to a new tenant. That gap is why the 30-month streak feels different depending on whether you’re apartment hunting or renewing.

liv.rent’s own numbers echo the asking-rent side of the story. Metro Vancouver’s average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom sat at $2,098 in August 2026, down 4.86% from a year earlier, a decline of $107, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report.

Does Vancouver’s rent decline affect you if you already have a lease?

If you already have a lease in British Columbia, the CMHC milestone doesn’t automatically change what you pay. Your rent can only rise as much as the province’s annual limit allows, currently 2.3% for 2026, no matter what’s happening to asking rents around you.

How the BC rent increase cap works

British Columbia’s Residential Tenancy Branch sets a maximum allowable rent increase every year under the Residential Tenancy Act. For 2026, that limit is 2.3%, down from 3.0% in 2025 and 3.5% in 2024, the second straight year it’s declined, according to the Residential Tenancy Branch’s rent increase rules. A landlord must give at least three full months’ written notice using the official Notice of Rent Increase form, RTB-7, and can only raise rent once every 12 months for tenancies covered under the Act. You can read more about how the B.C. rent increase cap works before your next renewal notice lands.

When the cap protects you, and when it doesn’t

The cap is a ceiling, not a guarantee. It stops a landlord from raising rent more than 2.3% without special approval, but it doesn’t require them to raise it at all, so it’s still worth raising current market conditions at renewal time. On the other side, a landlord can seek a bigger increase in specific circumstances, such as major capital repairs, through the Residential Tenancy Branch, though that approval isn’t automatic. If you’re unsure whether your tenancy is covered under the Residential Tenancy Act, the province’s rent increase page is the place to check.

Which Vancouver neighbourhoods and BC cities saw the biggest rent drops?

Zoom out to a national comparison and B.C. stands out. The province’s housing ministry said six B.C. cities were among Canada’s 15 largest year-over-year asking-rent decreases, in a June 8, 2026 statement citing Rentals.ca data.

Source: B.C. Ministry of Housing, June 8, 2026, citing Rentals.ca data.

liv.rent’s own tracking, published separately, shows the trend held through August: every one of the nine Metro Vancouver cities liv.rent tracks posted a lower unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent than a year earlier, with Richmond down the most at 8.46% and Langley down the least at 1.6%, an average decline of roughly 4.7% across the nine, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report. Not every category moved the same way within that: Burnaby was the only city where every rental category, furnished and unfurnished alike, rose from July to August, while Coquitlam’s furnished and unfurnished rents moved in opposite directions over the same month. Despite the broader decline, four of Canada’s five most expensive cities to rent in were still in Metro Vancouver this August, alongside Burlington, Ontario.

Inside Vancouver, the neighbourhood spread is wide

City-wide averages hide a lot. Among Vancouver neighbourhoods with available data, West Point Grey and UBC was the most expensive for an unfurnished one-bedroom in August 2026 at $2,741 a month, while Sunset and Victoria Fraserview was the most affordable at $1,802, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report. That’s a gap of nearly $1,000 within the same city, which is why neighbourhood-level data matters more than a single citywide number when you’re actually deciding where to look.

Beyond Vancouver, where else in BC rents are easing

Greater Victoria’s vacancy rate climbed to 3.3% in CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report, the highest level recorded there since 1999, and vacancy across B.C. communities with 10,000 or more residents rose on average from 1.9% to 3.5% over the same period. Renters comparing options across the region can browse current Vancouver rental listings on liv.rent, and check liv.rent’s renter’s guide for tips on messaging landlords and applying safely.

Why are Vancouver rents falling? Three forces behind the streak

CMHC points to two of the three forces behind the streak directly: a wave of new supply hitting the market at once, and softer demand tied to weaker population growth and higher unemployment. B.C.’s government credits a third factor, its short-term rental rules, with adding to the shift.

A supply wave from two directions

Rental apartment completions in early 2026 were tracking above the same period in 2025, and CMHC’s mid-year update notes that newly built condos that couldn’t find buyers in the ownership market are increasingly landing in the rental pool instead, adding competition on top of purpose-built supply. B.C.’s own numbers back this up: the province says 2025 rental housing starts were roughly triple the 2015 level, and that more than 26,000 purpose-built rental units were registered that year, compared with an average of about 2,500 registrations a year between 2007 and 2016.

Softer demand, and short-term rentals coming back online

B.C. says active short-term rental listings fell from roughly 28,000 to just over 23,000 after provincial restrictions took effect, which the province says returned thousands of homes to the long-term market. Landlords adjusting to shifting applicant pools can lean on liv.rent’s guide to how to screen tenants to vet renters efficiently as the market moves.

Who actually benefits from Vancouver’s renter’s market, and who doesn’t?

New-lease hunters have more leverage than they’ve had in years. Existing tenants are shielded by the cap but not by falling asking rents. Renters at the most affordable end of the market are seeing the least relief.

If you’re signing a new lease

CMHC reports some landlords are using stronger incentives to fill vacant units, including free or discounted parking, move-in credits, gift cards, cash bonuses, and in some cases several months of free rent. If you’re apartment hunting now, compare current asking rents and ask about any available incentives in writing before applying.

If you’re renewing an existing lease

Existing tenants don’t see that side of the market directly. CMHC’s update found that affordability worsened for many existing tenants across major cities in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, even as new-tenant affordability improved elsewhere, an effect CMHC ties largely to rents resetting higher at turnover rather than to the modest annual increases sitting tenants see under caps like B.C.’s. Bringing current asking-rent data to a renewal conversation is still worth doing, even without a guarantee your landlord will match it.

If you’re searching at the lower end of the market

CMHC also found that vacancy and turnover increased across most price tiers in Vancouver and Toronto, but the lowest-priced tier stayed persistently tight, evidence that new supply, concentrated in pricier units, isn’t filtering down to the most affordable end of the market fast enough to ease pressure there.

What does this mean for Vancouver landlords in the current market?

For landlords, the calculation has shifted in places. New, higher-priced units are taking longer to lease, and a prolonged vacancy at a below-market rate can offset the value of a rent increase from a reliable existing tenant.

Weigh vacancy cost against retention

CMHC’s update notes that newer, higher-priced rentals are taking longer to fill, with landlords responding through lower asking rents and stronger incentives. In a softer market like this one, it’s worth comparing the real cost of an extended vacancy against the value of keeping a tenant who already pays reliably, rather than assuming a higher asking rent will always win out.

The cap still applies if you want to raise rent further

For tenancies covered by the Residential Tenancy Act, the 2.3% limit applies to standard annual increases in 2026. A landlord who wants to raise rent above that limit needs either the tenant’s written agreement or approval from the Residential Tenancy Branch for an Additional Rent Increase for Expenses or an Additional Rent Increase for Capital Expenditures. For a fuller monthly read on how these numbers are moving city by city, liv.rent’s rent reports are updated regularly and worth checking before setting a renewal rate.

Will Vancouver rents keep falling, or is the bottom near?

CMHC expects rental demand to hold up through 2026, led by younger renters forming new households, even as population growth stays weak. But the same forces pushing rents down now could ease over the next couple of years, which is why the stabilization signs already showing up in monthly data are worth watching.

The supply pipeline could thin out

CMHC’s mid-year commentary notes that much of what’s under construction now is expected to reach the market over the next 12 to 18 months, primarily within the first 12, but also warns that a slowdown in condo starts and the difficulty developers face making new projects pencil out could eventually shrink the flow of new rental competition, particularly the condo units that have been landing in the rental pool by default.

Watch the month-over-month numbers, not just the year-over-year ones

That’s already showing up in liv.rent’s data. Metro Vancouver’s average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom rose 0.45% from July to August 2026, even as the year-over-year decline narrowed from 6.43% in July to 4.86% in August, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report. CMHC also notes that Vancouver and Toronto typically stabilize at lower vacancy rates than cities like Calgary or Edmonton, so even modest swings in vacancy tend to move rents by more in these two markets. Whether the decline continues will come down to how asking rents, vacancy, and new supply move over the next few months, the factors CMHC flags as the real ones to watch.

The post Vancouver’s rent decline just passed a rare milestone: what CMHC’s mid-year update means for renters appeared first on liv.rent blog.

How far have Mississauga furnished one-bedroom rents actually fallen?

Furnished one-bedroom asking rents in Mississauga fell 14.40% in a single month, from $1,931 to $1,653, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Ontario Rent Report. It was the sharpest single move recorded anywhere in the report’s dataset this month. Here is what the data shows, why the furnished segment swings so hard, and what it means whether you’re renting or leasing out an apartment in Mississauga right now.

The one-month swing was steep enough to stand out in a report that tracks 20 Ontario areas. Furnished two-bedroom rents in Mississauga also slipped 4.91% over the same period, while the city’s unfurnished one-bedroom rents actually rose 1.12%, per the same report. That contrast matters: this isn’t a story about Mississauga rents falling across the board. It’s specifically a furnished, one-bedroom story.

Mississauga’s furnished one-bedroom segment recorded the sharpest decline of any tracked area this month, followed by Markham and North York, while furnished one-bedroom rents increased in Ottawa, Scarborough, and Brampton over the same period, according to the report. liv.rent’s Ontario Rent Reports track shifts like this across 20 GTA and Ontario areas every month.

A segment that swings both ways

This isn’t the furnished segment’s first sharp move. Just ten months earlier, in October 2025, Mississauga posted the largest furnished one-bedroom increase anywhere in the GTA that month, up 14.15%, according to liv.rent’s October 2025 Ontario Rent Report. A segment that can climb by roughly 14% in one month and fall by a similar amount ten months later may point to a comparatively small pool of active furnished listings, where a handful of new or withdrawn units can move the average significantly.

How Mississauga fits into the wider GTA picture

Zoom out to unfurnished one-bedroom rents, the more heavily listed category, and the picture is calmer but still soft. The City of Toronto’s unfurnished one-bedroom average was $1,947 in August 2026, down 5.99% year over year from $2,071, and asking rents have sat below the same month a year earlier every month so far in 2026, according to the same report. Among the 20 Ontario areas tracked, Oakville was the most expensive this month for an unfurnished one-bedroom at $2,172, while London was the most affordable at $1,547, a difference of $625. Mississauga also ranked among the most expensive tracked areas on a per square foot basis, alongside Etobicoke and Downtown Toronto, per liv.rent’s data. In other words, a sharp monthly drop in one rent category doesn’t mean Mississauga has become a bargain overall.

Source: liv.rent, August 2026 Ontario Rent Report.

What could be driving the drop in Mississauga furnished one-bedroom rents?

liv.rent’s own data shows the size of the move, but not the full cause. Recent GTA rental softness may help explain some of the broader context. In a CBC report from May 2025, real estate experts pointed to a wave of new purpose-built rental supply, reduced demand from international students following federal study permit limits, and an uncertain job market as factors cooling rents across the region. liv.rent’s own marketing manager, Matisse Yiu, told CBC at the time that the rental market had lost its usual sense of urgency. The same report noted landlords responding with incentives such as a free month of rent. It’s GTA-wide context rather than a Mississauga-specific explanation, but it lines up with a furnished one-bedroom segment where a smaller pool of active listings makes each pricing decision carry more weight in the monthly average.

A policy push for more rental supply

Mississauga has also been trying to attract more purpose-built rental construction. Development charges for new residential units in the city are down 50% across the board, with a full 100% reduction for eligible three-bedroom purpose-built rental units in place since January 2025, and that 100% reduction was extended to one-bedroom-plus-den and two-bedroom rental units as of February 11, 2026, according to the City of Mississauga. Developers must pull a building permit before December 31, 2027 to qualify. There isn’t yet a confirmed count showing how many additional units these incentives have brought to market by August 2026, so it’s a factor worth watching rather than a confirmed cause of this month’s drop.

Landlords competing for a smaller pool of renters

With softer demand and a growing supply pipeline, landlords across the GTA have been competing harder to fill units, including through incentives rather than headline price cuts, per the CBC report above. A furnished unit, which typically commands a premium for the added convenience, is often where that competition shows up first: a landlord filling a vacant, furnished listing can adjust the asking rent to attract a tenant more quickly than a landlord negotiating with a tenant who already lives there.

Does the Ontario rent increase guideline protect tenants in furnished units?

The rent swings described above apply to asking rents on vacant, currently listed units, not to what an existing tenant can be charged at renewal. In Ontario, the annual rent increase guideline for 2026 is 2.1%, down from 2.5% in 2025, according to the Government of Ontario. The guideline applies to most private residential units covered by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, including rented houses, apartments, basement apartments, and condos, and covers furnished and unfurnished units alike. That means that in most guideline-covered units, a tenant already living in a furnished Mississauga apartment cannot be asked for more than a 2.1% rent increase in 2026 based only on nearby asking rents for newly listed furnished units.

The post-November 15, 2018 exemption

There’s a significant exception. The guideline doesn’t apply to new buildings, additions, and most new basement apartments first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018. Some newer Mississauga condo units may fall on the newer side of that line. For exempt units, landlords can raise rent above the guideline with proper notice. If exemption status is ever disputed, the landlord is generally expected to be able to show the building’s first occupancy or completion date.

What a landlord has to do before raising rent

For units the guideline does cover, a landlord generally can’t raise rent until 12 months have passed since the tenancy began or the last increase, and must give the tenant written notice, on the Landlord and Tenant Board’s official notice of rent increase form, at least 90 days before the increase takes effect. For more on how the process works province-wide, see liv.rent’s guide to Ontario rent increases. This is general information rather than legal advice; tenants and landlords with questions about a specific unit should confirm the details with the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Is this drop an opportunity for renters, or a warning sign?

For renters currently searching in Mississauga, particularly for a furnished unit, the data points to real leverage. In the City of Toronto, the average furnished one-bedroom cost $17 less per month than an unfurnished one in August 2026, a reversal of the usual furnished premium, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Ontario Rent Report. Renters comparing furnished and unfurnished options in the same building or neighbourhood may find that gap has narrowed or disappeared entirely.

There’s also plenty of supply to compare against. Apartments made up 95.65% of active GTA rental listings in August 2026, and one-bedroom units were the single most common listing type at 49.29% of active inventory, according to the report. That volume gives renters room to shop multiple listings before committing, and gives tenants nearing a lease renewal a realistic set of comparable asking rents to bring into a conversation with their landlord or property manager.

The caution is not to read too much into one month of furnished, one-bedroom data on its own. Mississauga’s unfurnished one-bedroom rents actually rose 1.12% over the same period, and the city remained among the most expensive tracked areas on a per square foot basis. A single-month move this large, in a segment with fewer active listings than the unfurnished market, can also reflect one or two aggressively priced new listings rather than a wholesale shift in what the market will bear. The steadier signal is the direction the City of Toronto has been moving in for most of 2026: rents below the same month a year earlier every month so far, which points to a softer market overall rather than a one-time blip.

What should Mississauga landlords do about it?

For landlords with a furnished unit sitting vacant or coming up for a new tenant, the data is a signal to check current asking rents before relisting rather than defaulting to last year’s price, or even last month’s. liv.rent’s free rent estimate tool calculates a unit’s estimated value based on listing details and current market activity, a faster gut check than manually scrolling comparable listings. Writing a clear, competitive listing matters too; liv.rent’s guide on how to write an attractive rental listing covers what tends to draw applicants fastest in a slower market.

It’s also worth reconsidering whether furnishing a unit still pays for itself in this specific submarket. The City of Toronto’s furnished one-bedroom average has already dipped below the unfurnished average, and furnished one-bedroom rents across the GTA were already averaging $15 less than unfurnished one-bedroom rents back in March 2026, per liv.rent’s March 2026 Ontario Rent Report. If the premium a landlord can charge for furniture and setup no longer covers the added cost and depreciation, listing unfurnished and reaching a broader pool of applicants may be the more competitive choice, at least until furnished demand recovers.

None of this changes the rules for tenants already in place. Existing tenants in units covered by the guideline are still protected by the 2.1% cap for 2026, and landlords must still provide 90 days’ written notice and wait 12 months between increases, regardless of how competitive the asking rent market looks. Landlords of newer, guideline-exempt buildings have more room to price to market, but even there, a unit that sits vacant for an extra month typically costs more than a modest reduction in asking rent would. Mississauga’s development charge incentives, which now eliminate charges entirely for one-bedroom-plus-den, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom purpose-built rental units, are designed to bring more competing supply online over time, one more reason to price a listing to today’s market rather than last year’s.

Will Mississauga furnished one-bedroom rents keep falling through the rest of 2026?

The honest answer is that the data available right now supports caution rather than a firm prediction either way. The City of Toronto’s unfurnished one-bedroom rent has sat below the same month a year earlier in every month of 2026 so far, a streak that hadn’t shown signs of breaking as of August. At the same time, the Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on July 15, 2026, the sixth consecutive hold, with the next scheduled announcement set for September 2, 2026. Stable borrowing costs generally mean landlords aren’t under fresh financing pressure to raise rents quickly, which tends to support continued competition on price rather than a sudden reversal.

There’s also a nuance worth watching. The average asking rent per square foot across the GTA actually rose 3.28% from July to $2.28 in August 2026, even as several headline rent figures fell, with Etobicoke, Downtown Toronto, and Mississauga posting the highest per square foot rates. That combination, a falling average rent alongside a rising rent per square foot, can happen when the mix of available units shifts toward smaller apartments, so it’s worth watching whether Mississauga’s furnished one-bedroom drop reflects genuine softening or a shift in what kind of units are being listed.

Three scenarios seem plausible for the rest of 2026. Furnished rents could keep falling if landlord competition continues and more purpose-built supply reaches the market, encouraged by Mississauga’s development charge incentives. They could level off if the furnished segment’s small listing pool simply returns closer to its previous average, as it did after October 2025’s spike. Or the furnished and unfurnished markets could keep converging, following the pattern already visible in the City of Toronto, until the traditional furnished premium disappears across more of the GTA. Renters and landlords who want to browse furnished rentals on liv.rent can check current listings directly, and checking back with each new monthly Ontario Rent Report is the most reliable way to see which path Mississauga is actually on.

The post Mississauga rent watch: why furnished one-bedroom rents just dropped 14% in a month appeared first on liv.rent blog.

What exactly is Toronto’s $2.7 billion rental housing announcement?

On August 5, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow announced that the federal government, in partnership with the City of Toronto, is putting up to $2.7 billion toward unlocking 18 rental housing projects that had already cleared planning and permitting but stalled for lack of financing. Together, the projects are expected to deliver more than 5,600 rental homes, including a mix of affordable, supportive, rent-geared-to-income, and rent-controlled units alongside market-rate rentals. Not all of those homes will be protected by Ontario’s rent-increase guideline, and knowing which is which matters for anyone searching for a home in Toronto over the next few years.

The federal government is investing up to $2.7 billion in Toronto rental housing over the next three years, according to the Prime Minister’s official announcement. The City of Toronto is contributing separately: its own news release puts that contribution at $703.7 million in funding and financial incentives, while the federal backgrounder breaks a portion of that down as public land contributed at nominal value plus more than $530 million in direct capital funding, including property tax exemptions of up to 99 years. Between the two, 18 projects are expected to deliver more than 5,600 rental homes, with construction underway on more than 4,500 of them before the end of 2026.

Who announced it, when, and why

Carney and Chow made the announcement together, alongside federal Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson. All 18 projects had already been planned, permitted, and approved but lacked the financing to break ground, which is the specific gap this funding is meant to close.

How the money is split: Build Canada Homes vs. the Apartment Construction Loan Program

The funding runs through two federal channels. Build Canada Homes, a non-market housing agency, is providing more than $310 million to nine projects on city-owned land, delivering 1,885 rental homes through partnerships with public agencies, non-profits, and Indigenous housing providers. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Apartment Construction Loan Program is providing more than $1.8 billion in low-cost financing to nine private-sector, purpose-built rental projects, delivering 3,720 rental homes, with an additional up to $600 million in financing capacity reserved for future Toronto projects that meet program requirements.

Which projects and neighbourhoods are included

Unlike most housing funding announcements, this one comes with a full, address-level project list published in the federal government’s own backgrounder. Here are the nine Build Canada Homes projects on city-owned land:

On the market-rate side, the nine Apartment Construction Loan Program projects range from two large downtown towers at 49 Ontario Street (more than 1,200 homes combined) to the redevelopment of the former Toronto Coach Terminal at 130 Elizabeth Street and 610 Bay Street, which will also include a non-patient organ-preparation facility developed with the University Health Network and a paramedics hub. At the smaller end, all 50 units at 1552 Weston Road carry a 40-year affordability requirement, with 20 units receiving deeper affordability through a city rent supplement.

Will the new Toronto rental units actually be rent-controlled?

It depends entirely on which project, and even which unit within a project, you’re looking at. This announcement isn’t one homogeneous pool of housing: it explicitly includes affordable, supportive, rent-geared-to-income, and rent-controlled homes alongside plain market-rate rentals, according to both the federal backgrounder and the city’s release.

How Ontario’s rent control exemption applies to new builds

Separately from this announcement’s own affordability terms, Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act generally exempts any building first occupied for residential purposes after November 15, 2018, from the province’s annual rent-increase guideline. Since nearly everything in this portfolio is newly built, that exemption is likely to apply to many of the units once they’re occupied, on top of whatever affordability terms a specific project agreement sets. A landlord in an exempt building must still give written notice using the proper form at least 90 days before an increase and can raise rent no more than once every 12 months.

What “affordable,” “rent-controlled,” and “market” mean in this specific announcement

Of the 1,885 Build Canada Homes units, 739 are counted as affordable or supportive in the project-by-project table, delivered by non-profit, public, and Indigenous operators. The remaining roughly 1,146 units in that same non-market portfolio are described as mixed-income and long-term rent-controlled homes, meaning they’re still operated outside the private market even though they aren’t tagged specifically as affordable. Of the 3,720 Apartment Construction Loan Program units, which are privately developed and rented at market rates, 1,079 are affordable homes with their own program terms; the remaining roughly 2,641 are conventional market-rate rentals.

What renters should actually check before assuming their rent is protected

Because this portfolio mixes program types, the safest approach for a renter is to ask directly rather than assume. Confirm a building’s first occupancy date, ask whether the specific unit is affordable, rent-controlled, or market-rate under its operating agreement, and keep any notice of increase you receive. If you believe a rent increase is improper, whether because a building doesn’t qualify for the new-build exemption it claims or the notice requirements weren’t followed, you can raise a dispute with Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board.

What does “affordable housing” actually mean in Toronto, in real dollars?

Toronto works with two different rent figures under the umbrella of affordable, and mixing them up is where most confusion starts.

Two different numbers: Average Market Rent vs. Official Plan affordable rent

The city’s 2026 Average Market Rent figures, published annually by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and used by the City of Toronto, describe typical market rent by unit type. The city’s Official Plan affordable rent levels, adopted by City Council in November 2023 as an income-based definition, are set lower: whichever is less, the Average Market Rent for that unit type, or 30% of before-tax monthly income for a defined range of renter households by unit size.

The 2026 figures side by side

How this compares to what renters are paying today

liv.rent’s August 2026 Ontario Rent Report put the average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom in the City of Toronto at $1,947 that month, down 5.99% from $2,071 in August 2025. That figure sits above both the city’s Average Market Rent and its Official Plan affordable rent for a one-bedroom, which is the exact gap this announcement is aimed at closing over time.

How can Toronto renters access one of the new affordable units?

Because the affordable and supportive homes in this announcement are delivered by a mix of public agencies, non-profits, Indigenous housing providers, and private developers under separate program agreements, there is no single application portal that covers all 18 projects. Access runs through whichever organization operates a given building.

Who operates the affordable units, project by project

On the Build Canada Homes side, Toronto Community Housing Corporation leads 150 Queen’s Wharf Road and 405 Sherbourne Street, Homes First operates the supportive units at 805 Wellington Building A, and the Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust leads the Parkdale Hub redevelopment. On the Apartment Construction Loan Program side, 72 Perth Avenue’s 51 required affordable units will be managed by Woodgreen Community Housing, while 1552 Weston Road’s affordability terms run for 40 years under its housing agreement. As each provider finalizes its own application process, the city’s general channels, including random draws for affordable rental homes, are the best place to watch for openings.

Income eligibility, in dollars

For the city’s general affordable rental housing program, household income at initial occupancy is generally capped at four times the unit’s annualized rent. Applied to a unit renting at $1,500 a month, that works out to a household income limit of $72,000 a year. Specific projects and providers may apply their own eligibility rules on top of this general formula, so it’s worth confirming the exact terms with whichever organization operates the building you’re applying to.

Affordable units vs. Toronto’s separate RGI subsidized housing stream

It’s worth separating the affordable units in this announcement from Toronto’s rent-geared-to-income, or RGI, subsidized housing stream, which renters apply for through MyAccessToHousingTO and where rent is generally set at 30% of a household’s income before taxes. RGI housing typically involves a considerably longer wait than the affordable units in this announcement, so it helps to know which stream you’re actually applying to.

When will the 5,600 new Toronto rental homes actually be ready to move into?

Construction is targeted to begin on more than 4,500 of the 5,600 homes before the end of 2026, but a construction start is not a move-in date.

What a 2026 construction start actually means

The federal backgrounder gives one concrete marker: the Build Canada Homes portfolio is expected to reach substantial completion by March 2031. The Apartment Construction Loan Program portfolio doesn’t have a single published completion date, since it covers nine separately developed private projects, each moving through its own construction timeline.

Why these particular projects may move faster than a typical new proposal

All 18 projects had already cleared planning and permitting before this funding was announced, and were stalled specifically for lack of financing rather than approvals. Unlocking financing for already-approved projects, instead of starting the planning process from zero, is part of why the government expects faster delivery here than a brand-new proposal would see. Two projects are also using faster, lower-emission construction methods: volumetric modular at 805 Wellington Building A and mass timber at 1113-1125 Dundas Street West, methods the federal government says can cut construction waste and reduce emissions by up to 22%.

What renters can realistically plan around

With one confirmed target of March 2031 for the non-market portfolio and no single completion date for the market-rate portfolio, renters searching for a home today shouldn’t expect this announcement to meaningfully change what’s available in the next year or two. It’s a multi-year pipeline, not an immediate supply increase.

Is there legitimate criticism of the announcement that renters should understand?

Tenant advocates and opposition politicians have raised two distinct concerns since the announcement, and both are worth understanding on their own terms.

Tenant advocates: public money for private developers

Toronto Tenants Union co-chair Bruno Dobrusin criticized directing low-cost federal loans to private developers, calling it, in comments reported by CP24, “a bailout for the private developers who led us into this housing crisis.” His concern centres on the roughly 2,641 Apartment Construction Loan Program units that carry no specific affordability requirement.

The political critique: repackaged announcements

Conservative housing critic Scott Aitchison dismissed the announcement, as reported by Canadian Mortgage Professional, as “just another repackaging of projects already announced or already under construction.” The federal government’s position is that these projects had cleared approvals but were stalled by financing gaps, and that unblocking financing is itself the point of the intervention rather than a sign the projects aren’t genuinely new commitments.

What the province’s role, or absence, means

Frank Clayton, a senior research fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University, told NOW Toronto that the announcement is a positive step but that it remains unclear how many units will be within reach of lower-income renters, and noted it’s unusual for a housing initiative this size not to directly involve the province. Ontario remains responsible for the Residential Tenancies Act regardless of whether it took part in this specific announcement, so today’s tenant protections are unaffected by that absence.

What should Toronto renters do right now while the new supply is being built?

Because this supply is years away, it makes sense to focus on today’s market in the meantime. liv.rent’s August 2026 Ontario Rent Report found the average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom in the City of Toronto was $1,947 that month, down 5.99% from $2,071 a year earlier, a shift worth keeping in mind while comparing current listings and asking rents.

If you already have a rent-controlled unit

Know your building’s first occupancy date and keep your lease and any rent-increase notices on file. Ontario’s 2026 guideline caps annual increases at 2.1% for covered units, and a landlord must give proper notice and wait a full 12 months between increases.

If you’re viewing a new-build listing

Ask for the building’s first occupancy date and whether the specific unit falls under an affordable, rent-controlled, or market program before signing. If the building is exempt from Ontario’s annual guideline, factor that into your budget for future years rather than assuming your first year’s rent is a reliable guide to your third year’s rent.

How liv.rent can help while you search

liv.rent’s listing alerts let renters set criteria such as location, price, housing type, bedroom count, and pet policy, then get notified as matching listings go live. Listings can also show whether a landlord has completed liv.rent’s ID verification, and the renter’s guide to using liv.rent walks through the rest of the process, from messaging a landlord to signing a lease.

This is general information, not legal advice. Renters and landlords with a specific dispute should contact Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board or a licensed paralegal for guidance on their situation.

The post Toronto’s $2.7 billion rental housing announcement: what it actually means for renters in 2026 appeared first on liv.rent blog.

What is the average rent in Winnipeg in August 2026?

Winnipeg’s rents pulled back in August 2026, snapping a three-month climb. According to liv.rent’s August 2026 Winnipeg Rent Report, the average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom fell to $1,338, down 1.16% from July, and five of the six neighbourhoods tracked in the report posted lower rents. Here’s where the drop hit hardest, and what Manitoba’s 1.8% rent increase guideline means for tenants and landlords watching the shift.

The average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom apartment in Winnipeg dropped to $1,338 in August 2026, a decrease of $15, or 1.16%, from July, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Winnipeg Rent Report. It’s the first month-over-month decline the city has seen since April, breaking a run that carried the citywide average from $1,304 in April up to $1,353 in July.

Even with the pullback, Winnipeg’s one-bedroom average remains above where it started the spring, so August reads more as a cooling than a reversal. The shift lines up with a broader national trend: CMHC’s June 2026 mid-year rental market update found that increased supply and slower demand had eased asking rents, moving Canada’s major rental markets toward more balanced conditions overall, though conditions still vary by building age and price segment.

Which Winnipeg neighbourhoods saw rents fall the most in August 2026?

Of the six neighbourhoods tracked in this month’s liv.rent Winnipeg Rent Report, five recorded lower unfurnished one-bedroom rents in August. St. Boniface was the only exception, edging up 1.37% from July even as prices eased elsewhere.

South Winnipeg led the decline

South Winnipeg saw the steepest monthly drop, down 2.45% to an average of $1,369, which also makes it the most expensive tracked neighbourhood for a one-bedroom this month. North End followed with a 1.72% decline to $1,316, and Winnipeg Downtown eased 1.63% to $1,334. St. Boniface, despite its increase, remained the most affordable of the four at $1,301, a gap of just $68 between Winnipeg’s priciest and cheapest tracked neighbourhoods for a one-bedroom in August.

Winnipeg Downtown’s decline spans every unit size

Winnipeg Downtown stood out for a different reason: it was the only tracked neighbourhood where rents fell across all three unit sizes, not just one-bedrooms. Its two-bedroom average dropped 5.52% to $1,836, and its three-bedroom average fell 5.99% to $1,981, the largest three-bedroom decline in the city. Two-bedroom rents softened in every tracked neighbourhood this month, led by a 6.23% drop in North End. Three-bedroom rents were more mixed: St. Boniface posted the largest increase, up 7.60%, even as its own one-bedroom rents also climbed. Renters comparing markets can find the same month-over-month breakdowns for other cities in liv.rent’s rent-report archive.

What else is shaping Winnipeg’s rental market this month?

West Broadway’s rent increase fight

While the citywide numbers moved in renters’ favour, one address became the centre of a very different story in August. CBC News reported that tenants at 303 Furby St. in West Broadway are fighting a proposed 78% rent increase from landlord Wingspan Properties that would take a bachelor suite from $533 to $948 a month. As of CBC’s report, no Residential Tenancies Branch application had been filed and no hearing had been scheduled, meaning the increase could not take effect until approved. The dispute is a useful illustration of how Manitoba’s above-guideline increase process actually works, covered in more detail below.

Furnished units aren’t always pricier

One of the more counterintuitive findings in this month’s report is that furnished units aren’t always the costlier option. According to liv.rent’s August 2026 Winnipeg Rent Report, a furnished one-bedroom in North End averaged $906, well below the $1,316 unfurnished average in the same neighbourhood. South Winnipeg showed the same pattern: $863 furnished versus $1,369 unfurnished. Winnipeg Downtown followed the more typical script, with furnished one-bedrooms asking $1,606, about 20% above its $1,334 unfurnished average. Renters open to a furnished unit may want to compare both categories in a neighbourhood before assuming furnished automatically costs more.

What is Manitoba’s rent increase guideline for 2026?

The 1.8% guideline, and who’s exempt

Manitoba’s Residential Tenancies Branch sets an annual rent increase guideline based on the percentage change in the province’s average annual Consumer Price Index. For 2026, that guideline is 1.8%, effective January 1, 2026, according to the province’s official guideline page. In most circumstances, a landlord can raise rent only once every 12 months and must give tenants at least three months’ written notice before an increase takes effect.

Some units are exempt from the guideline: those already renting for $1,670 or more a month, various types of social housing, units owned and operated by or for provincial, municipal, or federal governments, units in buildings first occupied after March 2005, not-for-profit life lease units, cooperative units, and approved rehabilitated rental units. A landlord who wants to raise rent beyond the guideline has to apply to the Residential Tenancies Branch for an above-guideline increase and show that the standard guideline won’t cover cost increases they’ve actually incurred, the same process now playing out in West Broadway. Renters can find a broader look at how these rules compare province to province on liv.rent’s rental-laws hub.

What tenants can do if they disagree

Tenants who believe an increase is unfair, whether it falls within the guideline or comes through an above-guideline application, have a formal path to push back. A written objection has to reach the Residential Tenancies Branch at least 60 days before the increase is scheduled to take effect, and either party can appeal a Branch decision to the Residential Tenancies Commission within 14 days of receiving it, according to liv.rent’s guide to Manitoba rent increase rules.

Is Winnipeg a renter’s market right now?

Winnipeg’s own numbers this month point toward renters gaining some leverage. August’s decline was the first monthly drop since April, and it followed three straight months of rising rents, meaning the market had been tightening before it eased. Whether that continues into fall is the real question for anyone weighing a move or a lease renewal.

Vacancy near a balanced market

Vacancy is one of the clearest signals of how much room renters have to negotiate. Winnipeg’s purpose-built rental vacancy rate was an estimated 2.8% as of October 2025, according to CMHC’s most recent annual Rental Market Report, just below the 3% level sometimes used as a rough guide for a balanced market. That fits with the agency’s June 2026 description of Canada’s major rental markets easing overall.

Put together, the picture for Winnipeg renters in August 2026 is one of gradually improving conditions rather than a dramatic swing. For renters, the takeaway is to compare a listing’s asking rent against this month’s neighbourhood averages, check how long the unit has been listed, and ask whether there’s room to negotiate on rent or move-in incentives. liv.rent’s renter resources hub covers more on negotiating and avoiding rental scams while searching.

What August’s numbers mean for Winnipeg landlords

Pricing a listing in a cooling market

For landlords, a softening market changes the pricing conversation. Listing above the neighbourhood average can increase the risk of a longer vacancy, especially in a month where five of six tracked neighbourhoods saw rents fall, so it’s worth checking a unit’s asking rent against this month’s neighbourhood figures before renewing a listing. A clear, well-presented listing also matters more when renters have more options to compare, and liv.rent’s guide to writing an attractive rental ad covers what tends to draw stronger applicants.

The above-guideline increase process, from the landlord’s side

If a landlord’s costs genuinely outpace the 1.8% guideline, whether from taxes, insurance, or major repairs, the Residential Tenancies Branch is the only path to a larger increase. Landlords seeking an above-guideline increase must apply to the Branch and show the operating or capital costs that justify the request; simply notifying a tenant of a larger increase isn’t enough to make it take effect. If the guideline applies to the rental unit and a landlord applies for an above-guideline increase, a tenant may still end the tenancy with two rental payment periods’ notice, from the date they learn of the application until 14 days after the Branch or Residential Tenancies Commission issues a decision, according to liv.rent’s guide to Manitoba rent increase rules.

The West Broadway case also shows why tenants and landlords should confirm above-guideline increase steps directly with the Residential Tenancies Branch before assuming a proposed increase will stand. This article is general information only and is not legal advice. On the pricing side, liv.rent’s free rent estimate tool weighs a listing against current market data, and Trust Score gives landlords a credit summary, risk assessment, and income verification for prospective tenants, useful context in a market where renters have more choices.

The post Winnipeg neighbourhood rent guide: where rents fell the most in August 2026 appeared first on liv.rent blog.

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

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

The summer window: June 10 to September 10

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

Principal residence only, and what it means for tenants

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

Registration steps and what they cost in 2026

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

Which Montreal boroughs restrict short-term rentals?

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

What the restriction covers, and what it doesn’t

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

How to check the rules for your address

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

Did the rules actually increase long-term housing supply?

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

What the city estimated when the rule passed

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

What an independent McGill study found

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

What an Airbnb-commissioned analysis found

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

What CMHC and liv.rent’s own numbers show

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

What the summer window means for renters searching right now

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

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

What happens after September 10

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

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

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

What the rules mean for Montreal landlords and property owners

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

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

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

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

Weighing a summer rental income against a long-term tenant

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

How Montreal compares with other Canadian cities

Toronto: principal residence plus an annual night cap

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

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

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

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

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

What could change next

The city’s own plan to replace the summer window

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

Where things stand as of August 2026

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

What it could mean for long-term supply

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

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

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

Rent by the numbers

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

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

What the gap means over a year

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

What does everyday cost of living look like beyond rent?

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

A tighter market than the headline suggests

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

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

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

A simpler formula

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

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

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

Are security deposits legal in Quebec?

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

If a landlord asks anyway

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

Is moving from Montreal to Trois-Rivières worth it?

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

Who benefits most

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

How to vet a rental in Montreal or Trois-Rivières

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

Search both markets on liv.rent

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

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