Rising Saskatoon rents pushing some tenants out

Rielly Castle likes his Saskatoon apartment, but he's not sure he'll be able to afford living there much longer.

The University of Saskatchewan grad student lives in a one-bedroom apartment owned by Mainstreet Equity, a publicly traded real estate company that owned 18,351 units across Canada as of its most recent quarterly report.

When Castle moved in three years ago, his rent was $750. That rate included a $100/month student discount. That student deal is no more and rent has steadily increased since then.

He now pays about $1,200 per month.

"Right now with my regular work salary, it's now kind of on the edge of being just enough to get by," he said.

"If it were to increase any large amount from like next year when I go to try to renew my lease, I probably will have to leave."

According to the latest rental report from Rentals.ca, Saskatoon is the cheapest option among the major Canadian cities listed, but the year-over-year increase for the month of August is greater than almost anywhere else in the country.

The asking price for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,218, a 15.5 per cent from the same time last year, and a two bedroom is $1,469, an 18.4 per cent.

Mainstreet said in an email that increases are necessary to sustain its buildings and because of increasing operating costs like property tax, utilities and maintenance.

"While we understand that any increases can be difficult, our rent remains below the market rent for Saskatoon at $1,060 in comparison to the average of $1,350 because our model is affordable for all," Mainstreet said in an email.

Castle isn't alone in his concerns about increasing rent.

Kevin Casey lives in an apartment owned by Weidner Apartment Homes, a U.S.-based company that owned 68,462 units, including 6,444 units in Canada, as of April 2024, according to Yahoo Finance. Casey is saying goodbye to his one bedroom after about two and a half years.

He likes his place overall. It's quiet and close to work for him.

He said his rent was about $1,055 when he moved in 2022, which he thought was fair. Fast forward to 2024, after several rent hikes, and it's set to go up to $1,450 soon, he said.