A soaring inflation rate is forcing Canadians to contend with a climbing cost of living, as the prices of groceries and gas are on a steady incline. But for those who rent their homes, a rise in inflation is also likely to send rent prices shooting up over the months to come, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moshe Lander, an economics professor at Concordia University in Montreal, said Canadians can expect to see the rate of inflation increase in the near future, as well as a rise in rent prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRent is one of those things that, because it’s essential, it’s usually going to go up,\u201d Lander told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview on Wednesday. \u201cIt’s perfectly reasonable that if you are a renter, you should be expecting that there’s a big rent increase coming your way in the next six to 12 months if your lease is resetting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have a feeling that we haven’t seen the worst of it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Renters are not the only ones feeling the pinch of rising inflation rates \u2013 so are landlords, Lander said. As a result, they are likely to turn to their tenants in search of a way to recover those extra costs, and other expenses such as renovations, by raising the price of rent, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of us are experiencing inflation \u2013 landlords are not immune to that,\u201d said Lander. \u201cWhere I might go to [my] employer and say, \u2018You need to give me a bigger raise to keep up with [inflation], landlords are \u2026 going to the tenants and saying, \u2018I’m increasing your rent.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In June of last year, the annual rate of inflation came to 3.1 per cent<\/a>, a decrease from the rate recorded just one month prior. However, since then, Canada\u2019s inflation rate has consistently increased from month to month before hitting a 31-year high of 6.8 per cent<\/a> in April of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Average rent prices in Canada have also been climbing for several months before hitting a three-year peak last month, according to data compiled by Rentals.ca. In its latest rent report<\/a>, the average price of rent for Canadian properties was $1,888 per month in May 2022. Month-over-month, this is an increase of 3.7 per cent, the largest bump since May 2019. Properties include single-detached and semi-detached houses, townhouses, and apartments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRents were already rising in a lot of the major markets in Canada,\u201d Paul Danison, content director of Rentals.ca, told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday in a telephone interview. \u201cBut now you add rising interest rates [and] the out-of-control inflation going on, and rents right now are just going through the roof.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Danison, there\u2019s \u201cno question\u201d the rising rate of inflation is playing a key role in the increase in average rent prices across the country. Major markets in particular are seeing a drastic growth in prices year-over-year. In Vancouver, as of this month, the average price to rent a one-bedroom unit is $2,377 per month, a 19.9 per cent increase year-over-year. Toronto also saw rent prices skyrocket between 2021 and 2022 \u2013 the average rent price of a one-bedroom unit in the city is $2,133 per month, a 15.7 per cent increase compared to the year before. Halifax residents saw a considerable amount of growth in the average price of rent as well, with a one-bedroom unit costing $1,669 per month, a 13.4 per cent rise compared to the same time last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n