Humber media communications student and mom Jhade Laidley said she thinks she might be homeless with the current state of the rental market.
She said she rents a one-bedroom for $1,484 near Caledonia and Rogers Roads, but is looking for a two-bedroom for her and her child in the area.
She said paying rent has affected her ability to stay in school “detrimentally, murderously. Some days I don’t even know how I get here, but I get here, so we thank the Lord,” she said.
A press release reported that Toronto asking rent is at a 40-month low.
Urbanation and Rentals.ca reported on Nov. 6 that the national rent report indicated Toronto shows rent is down 13 per cent compared to three years ago.
Laidley said the continuing decrease is more of a headline than a reality.
“A fair rental market would be a studio going for $1,000, a one-bedroom for $1,300, and a two-bedroom, probably for $1,400. Nowhere do I want to see $2,000 unless I'm renting a three-bedroom,” Laidley said.
She said this is, unfortunately, not the reality. She has seen most studios around going for $2,000.
“I've been on a housing list since I was 12,” she said. “And till this day, I'm 30 and I still can't get an apartment.”
Giacomo Ladas, an associate director of communications at Rentals.ca, said the declining asking rent may be due to demand decreasing and supply increasing. Ladas said more supply typically means higher vacancy rates.
He said the more units available for renters means that property managers have a little more competition, and price drops reflect that to interest renters.
“Prices come down in order to get demand up. So, it's a little bit of both," he said.
Ladas said he thinks there needs to be more supply.
“The Canadian rental market has been undersupplied for decades. So we still need more coming into the market,” he said.
He said rent may continue to decrease in the winter months due to a lack of demand.
“Canada right now is on pace to experience one of the slower winters of rental demand in recent years," Ladas said.
He said the national average asking price for rent in Canada cooled down in October.
The press release said October had the smallest national average decline in rent in the past 11 months.
Laidley said even if she saves $10,000 or $20,000 and puts her three months down, it wouldn’t be enough.
“You're scavenging, you're struggling all over again. Like, it's never a breeze or not a worry,” she said.
Ladas said demand is affected by the economic uncertainty in Canada, where people are having less spending money.
“Usually, their wallets dictate where they move,” Ladas said.
Communications director Craig Pickthorne at the Ontario Living Wage Network said the issue is that, despite rent going down, prices for everything are still going up.
“It still makes it so that the living wage is nowhere near a minimum wage, really anywhere in Toronto,” he said.
A press release from Rentals.ca on Nov. 18 said Toronto renters are paying an additional average rent of 1.38 months.
It said if the average rent is $2,559 and extras such as parking, storage, internet and insurance add up to an average of $294, then renters are paying an extra $3,528 annually.
Ladas suggested that students look at the apartments around secondary schools.
“Those prices have come down even more, and demand is even slower for them. So, you might have even more choices,” he said.
Laidley said she is a city girl, but if rent is cheaper closer to school, then she recommends it.
“Lord knows we need the savings somewhere,” she said.
Jamin Etwaroo, a physiotherapy assistant student at Humber, said he lives 20 minutes from Humber’s North campus.
He said he found his place through places4students.com after finding no results in his price range on places like Facebook Marketplace.
Etwaroo said he found a shared home that worked within his budget of less than $800. He said many places he was looking at weren’t within his price range.
“Especially given what minimum wage is, that could barely cover the month’s rent. That’s not including daily necessities,” he said.
The press release from Urbanation and Rentals.ca said that despite the drops in rent prices, rates are still higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There's still about $260 a month more than they were just six years ago,” Ladas said. He said rentals.ca saw the rent increases become rapid during COVID-19.
Laidley said she doesn’t see a future where the rental market becomes more accessible and affordable. She said people would need to be paid more or food to cost less.
“I think we're all going to be living with our parents for a long time,” she said.
