What to know
- Older buildings offer rent control and larger layouts, but may come with more frequent maintenance issues and aging systems that can affect comfort and energy costs.
- Newer buildings deliver modern amenities, energy efficiency, and brighter spaces, though they’re not rent-controlled and often feature smaller, more uniform layouts.
- The better choice depends on lifestyle and priorities, with experts saying renters must weigh stability and space against convenience, tech, and amenities.
With a diversified inventory of residential units in Toronto, many renters are torn between the perks and modern vibes of new homes versus the comfort and costs of older ones. To help them decide, we spoke to two Toronto realtors about the pros and cons of each choice.
There are a lot of things to consider when looking for a new home, and each unit can offer a different perk, including everything from different neighbourhood features to amenities, and even contemporary or vintage finishes.
To help renters better understand and consider their options when choosing a new place to live, Now Toronto spoke with real-estate experts Keanna Samuels and Miranda Heckbert (Caldwell), who revealed the pros and cons of older versus newly-built homes.
COSTS AND MAINTENANCE
A well-known pro for choosing an older unit to live in is the long-term cost.
Ontario has a guideline for the maximum a landlord can increase residential rent every year, which is by 2.1 per cent in 2026. However, the guidelines don’t apply to buildings occupied for the first time after Nov. 15, 2018. That means that in newer buildings, landlords are able to raise the rent by any amount they see fit.
According to both Sammuels and Heckbert, rent control is a common reason many renters consider moving into older units. However, there are costs other than rent that could come into account.
“Older buildings do usually have an exuberant amount of…maintenance fees. In newer buildings, you’re just seeing maintenance fees over like $450, $500, whereas in older buildings, you’re seeing maintenance fees sometimes as high as $1,700, $1,900 a month,” Samuels said.
Although the added costs associated with fixing things around the unit, like broken cupboards or aging, damaged floors, don’t usually fall onto tenants, Heckbert says they might cause an emotional toll or other kinds of costs to renters.
“The maintenance should be falling on the responsibility of the landlord, but there is an emotional cost to having to just deal with maintenance being required more often on an older unit,” she explained.
“There could be an emotional toll with having to arrange to allow a contractor in, or just put up with the fact that there might be damage to personal property if there’s a leak or something that’s out of their control.”
Additionally, Samuels points out that a lot of newer buildings often prioritize energy efficiency, which could cut costs for things like hydro or heating.
“Older buildings will have very old HVAC systems and old piping and plumbing and old wiring, even so, a lot of them aren’t really built to be energy efficient. In newer buildings, you’ll see a lot more effort in trying to cut costs,” she added.
AMENITIES
Both realtors pointed out that many apartment hunters will often trade a larger rent or mortgage for better amenities. With many people in Toronto on the lookout for third spaces, having easy access to a gym, an indoor pool, a craft room, or a gathering area might come as an important perk.
“Newer buildings are built for innovation, so they’re building for the younger generation, which means that they’re building a lot more things like pools and newer gym equipment, lounges and cafes and stuff like that, which is what you don’t see in older homes,” Samuels said. “Older buildings sometimes don’t even have a gym; they don’t have stuff like a pet spa or valet parking.”
As amenities like shared laundry rooms used to be common in the past, Heckbert says older buildings might also sometimes come without washers and dryers in the unit, which also might impact renters’ decisions.
At the same time, the agent says she has often been surprised to find great amenities in older buildings.
“More often there’s like a library or a little playroom for kids, or they’ll have a craft area, or some sort of a larger sense of community sometimes,” she said.
ARE OLDER BUILDINGS BETTER-BUILT?
Another factor that comes into play when choosing an older versus newer unit has to do with the build, design, and even character of the building. Both realtors say that while many newer units might follow a similar pattern, with modern clean lines and neutral colours, older buildings might come with their own unique design, which they have seen many renters look for recently.
Besides a more characteristic design, many of these buildings also come with larger layouts, thicker walls, and even more functional spaces, like a kitchen built in U-shape or with an island.
“A lot of these older homes were built in the 1940s, 1920s, sometimes in the 1800s, and you just can’t build history today,” Samuels said.
“The population wasn’t as big as it is today, so the rush to build buildings wasn’t as urgent as it is today. So, they took the time to make thicker walls. They took the time to have bigger layouts. In older units, the layouts are usually a lot bigger too, and they often make a lot more sense than the newer buildings, and they’re a lot more functional,” she said.
In contrast, Samuels explains that with a denser population and lack of housing options, modern developers might be pressured into building quicker and more efficiently, which might lead to smaller layouts that are often hard to manage or even worse finishes.
On the other hand, newer units might provide some modern details and technology, including bigger windows. Additionally, being the first person to live in the unit might also be considered a pro by many renters.
“I think newer properties have had a lot of advancements in technology as well as manufacturing, which allow us to have larger windows and, in a lot of contexts, just spaces that can be a little bit brighter from a natural light perspective,” Heckbert added.
“There’s certainly a certain type of personality who would prefer to be one of the first few to live in a space and not necessarily have even all that energy of whoever’s been there before.”
SO, WHICH ONE IS BETTER?
With several pros and cons to consider for both older and newer properties, both agents say the answer might vary from renter to renter. While some renters might prioritize rent control and functional design, others might prefer the perks of having modern finishes and amenities.
“I would say that it really all depends on what your long-term goals are, truthfully,” Samuels said, explaining that, for example, new families and people with young kids may prioritize a new build for having features like extra security and reliable utilities.
“It really all depends on what your lifestyle is.”
