Renters in Vancouver face Canada's tightest, most expensive market: CMHC
CTV
Renters in Vancouver pay the highest prices and face the lowest vacancy rates in the country, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Renters in Vancouver pay the highest prices and face the lowest vacancy rates in the country, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The federal agency released its annual Rental Market Report Wednesday. The average rent for a two-bedroom purpose-built rental in the city increased 8.6 per cent in 2023 to $2,181. The vacancy rate remained unchanged from 2022 at 0.9 per cent.
The data includes what long-term renters are paying for their units as well as what new renters are being charged – which is why the figure may seem relatively low when compared with advertised prices. For one example, a report from rentals.ca said the average price for a two-bedroom in December of 2023 was $3,660.
While the province caps annual increases for renters who stay in their homes, there is no such limit for a unit when it turns over to a new tenant.
"Renters face large rent premiums if they move," the report says.
In fact, the overall increase in the average rent "was driven by large increases in rents of units at turnover" and "the average rent for units that turned over were 26.6 per cent higher than units that didn’t turn over," according to CMHC.
Advocates for renters and affordable housing have tried to push the province to bring in vacancy control, which would cap the amount rent can rise between tenants in order to address these spikes.
