What to know
- Brendan Nickels and other Toronto renters face significant challenges finding affordable housing, often sorting through dozens of listings and apartment showings.
- Many available units are in poor condition, overcrowded, or overpriced, with some landlords showing “complete garbage units” or rooms shared among multiple tenants.
- Renters are increasingly seeking rent-controlled units, but most new inventory includes non-rent-controlled buildings, leading to uncertainty and competition.
- Real estate agents say while the search is tougher, the current market still offers opportunities for patient tenants willing to shop around.
When Brendan Nickels learned his rent-controlled apartment near Queen and Bathurst was going to be sold, he immediately began searching for a new affordable place to live, but the hunt quickly became overwhelming.
“I probably looked somewhere between 50 to 60 listings, and went to somewhere in the area of 10 apartment interviews before I finally found [one],” Nickels tells Now Toronto.
The constant digging through listings came with the looming reality that he might never find another unit for $1,100 a month, a price he calls “rare” in a rental market that has become increasingly unaffordable and, at times, insufferable.
Nickels, who is 6’7”, says the cheapest options are often basement units, but even those came with added challenges.
“I have to make sure that the basement ceilings are tall enough. There’s also a lot of landlords who will show me complete garbage units as if they are wonderful,” he said. “The ceiling [was] collapsing on one of them, [and] paneling and decor that you could tell had mold behind it.”
Nickels says these situations aren’t one-off encounters. Instead, he’s noticed some landlords have grown comfortable showing units that are in poor condition, cluttered with old tenants’ belongings or visibly deteriorating, while still asking steep prices.
“I had landlords offering me $1,400–$1,700 for just a room with like three or four other roommates, so they’re clearing like $5,000 a month, while you only get a room,” he said.
It’s a scenario Toronto Metropolitan University graduate Seun Lagoke knows all too well. With his current lease ending in April and the clock ticking, he says finding a place has been far from straightforward.
Lagoke says not having a full-time job and carrying a less-than-ideal credit score has made applying and getting approved, especially difficult. As a result, he’s turned to Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji in hopes of finding landlords or roommates who may be more flexible. But affordability remains an issue.
The units he’s encountered on those platforms are often still expensive, “disgraceful,” and frequently involve flex spaces converted into multiple bedrooms.
“It’s really the living room which they split into like four rooms,” Lagoke said. “The walls are paper thin, because it’s not an actual room, they’re just ugly.”
In more extreme cases, Lagoke says he’s arrived at tours advertised as private one-bedroom units, only to discover he’d be sharing the space with several others.
“They never say that in the listing, they always say it’s private,” he said.
Nickels says he was able to find a basement unit for $1,500 a month in August, but still calls the space the best of a bad situation due to the unit being overwhelmingly small and condensed.
REALTORS WEIGH IN
Stories like Nickels’ and Lagoke’s reflect a growing pressure in Toronto’s rental market, where demand for affordable, rent-controlled units continues to outpace supply.
Shay Asnani, a real estate agent with Right at Home Realty Brokerage, says he’s seeing more renters prioritize rent-controlled units, while finding them has become increasingly difficult.
“A lot of the inventory that’s on the market right now are in newer buildings that were finished either this year or last,” Asnani said. “There’s a little bit of hesitation to rent in a newer building that’s not rent controlled, because there’s uncertainty of what their rent could be raised to in a year.”
That hesitation helps explain why renters like Nickels and Lagoke are spending months searching, and why many feel pushed toward units that compromise on space, privacy, or basic living conditions.
Real estate agent Marco Pedri of Pedri Real Estate says he’s also noticed an increase in renters searching for affordable and rent-controlled options, but says the reality remains challenging as landlords continue to raise rents.
“Some of these tenants that moved in in 2022 or 2023 were sold on the ‘new building’ idea. Everything was brand new, it looked great, but now a lot of landlords are trying to recoup some of the costs and increase the rent,” he said.
While tenants may need to search longer to find something rent-controlled and affordable, both agents say the current market still offers opportunity, particularly for renters who can afford to be patient.
“Usually, the winter is a little bit slower. I’ve had clients who I rented properties to two years ago, three years ago, when the market was a lot higher, and they’ve come back saying, ‘Now that the market’s down, maybe it’s time to upgrade the space,’” Asnani said. “I definitely think that if you’re thinking about a move right now, it is a good time to be looking.”
Pedri echoed that sentiment.
“Right now, the ball is in the court of the tenant,” he said. “A lot of them are taking advantage of that, either upsizing or trying to find better living accommodations. Don’t be discouraged. You can be patient in today’s rental market. You can shop around.”
