How Canadian rental prices spiralled out of control
Posted April 17, 2023 7:08 am.
In today’s Big Story podcast, this isn’t just a big city issue. Even in smaller municipalities, the average cost of rent has skyrocketed. More and more Canadians, priced out of the housing market, are looking to rent. And, at least right now, there simply aren’t enough rental properties to go around.
Brad Badelt wrote about the state of renting in Canada for The Walrus. He’s on The Big Story to explain how improving the lot of Canadian renters may require a cultural shift away from prioritizing home ownership.
“Renting is still seen as a stepping stone to ownership, it’s not a destination unto itself,” he said, “trying to find a rental suite for a family, a 3 bedroom… is really difficult, rental suites tend to be studio apartments or one-bedrooms, and I think that’s a relic of what renting was maybe at one point in time, but certainly isn’t today.”
What would it take to make Canada once again a place where renting a family home is seen as a viable alternative and not just a failure to buy?
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