{"id":879,"date":"2019-04-02T17:05:39","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T17:05:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rentals.ca\/blog\/?p=879"},"modified":"2019-04-02T20:09:08","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T20:09:08","slug":"30-per-cent-income-to-rent-ratio-not-achievable-for-many-millennials-according-to-rentals-ca-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rentals.ca\/blog\/30-per-cent-income-to-rent-ratio-not-achievable-for-many-millennials-according-to-rentals-ca-survey","title":{"rendered":"30 per cent income-to-rent ratio not achievable for many Millennials, according to Rentals.ca survey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paying rent each month is becoming a tougher task for many Canadians, and renters are in for even harsher times, with higher rents and lower vacancy rates. <\/span><\/p>\n

But some resourceful renters find a roommate or two as a way to ease the monthly burden. <\/span><\/p>\n

These are two major findings from respondents in two <\/span>Rentals.ca<\/span><\/a> Facebook contests <\/span>asking what percentage of their income goes toward rent and also if they pay it alone or shared the payment with roommates. <\/span><\/p>\n

The two winners of the contests chosen randomly, Robert Rasciauskas, 23 of Toronto and <\/span>Bree Barber, 24 of Calgary, each received a month of free rent. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The results from the comments of all the contestants, while by no means scientific, are in line with studies by the <\/span>Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>Canadian Rental Housing Index<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The one notable difference in the Rentals.ca survey vs. the other studies shows more than 40 per cent of the Facebook commenters in the first survey said they paid more than 50 per cent of their income for rent. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is more than double the percentage reported in May 2018 by the Canadian Rental Housing Index British Columbia <\/span>Non-Profit Housing Association<\/span>, which says 18 per cent of Canadian renters spend more than 50 per cent of their income on housing. The Rental Housing Index says 40 per cent of Canadian renters pay more on housing than the threshold 30 per cent income-to-rent ratio. <\/span><\/p>\n

The findings from the Rentals.ca Facebook contests most likely skew higher because most of the respondents are millennials, and typically younger renters pay a higher percentage of their income for rent while having lower salaries. <\/span><\/p>\n

Only 17 per cent of the Facebook contestants said they paid 30 per cent or less of their income for rent. Most financial and housing advisers recommend the 30 per cent threshold of rent-to-income ratio. For many renters in Canada, that axiom might not be achievable or reasonable. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the Facebook contestants, <\/span>Stephanie Clarke<\/span><\/a> of Guelph, Ontario, pays 30 per cent of her income for rent, but she added: \u00a0\u201cIt’s only this ‘reasonable’ because I earn a living wage and share an apartment with a roommate. To live alone here on a full-time minimum wage job, 60 per cent \u00a0or more would go toward rent. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in an affordable housing crisis,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd nothing is being done about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The second survey showed about 48 per cent of the commenters shared rent with a roommate(s) or partner to make ends meet. But in some cases, even roommates are not enough to bring down the rent-to-income ratio to 30 per cent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook contestant <\/span>Ashley McIntyre<\/span><\/a> of Ottawa pays 42 per cent of her income for rent. \u201cBut only because I share with someone,\u201d she said., \u201cOtherwise, it would be 83 per cent.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Will things get better for renters for the rest of \u00a02019? <\/span><\/p>\n

From most indications, 2019 will be more of the same. More renters are entering the market, not enough units will be built\/available to accommodate the increased demand, and rents will edge up in most Canadian cities. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The rental vacancy rate in Canada dropped from 3 per cent in 2017 to 2.4 per cent in 2018, a 10-year low, according to the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. Some government measures could change that in 2019, but we\u2019ll wait and see. <\/span><\/p>\n

The low vacancy rates combined with increased immigration could tighten the market even more driving up monthly rents, according to <\/span>Rentals.ca predictions for 2019<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rentals.ca along with <\/span>Bullpen Marketing & Consulting <\/span><\/a>have forecast a 6 per cent year over year average rent increase for 2019 in Canada. In Toronto, Mississauga, Vancouver and Ottawa average rent increases will outpace the rest of Canada. <\/span>The Rentals.ca numbers reflect asking rents on vacated units, which may be higher than actual market value. However, these figures better represent the actual rents a potential tenant would be facing when seeking to rent an apartment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another Facebook contestant, <\/span>Jennifer Lynn<\/span><\/a> of Halifax, of Nova Scotia, said her rent is \u201c31 per cent of our income. But keep in mind that my husband works 60-plus hours a week to make it that percentage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a recent story in \u201cRental Housing Business,\u201d rents rose in January at a faster rate month over month than any time in the past 30 years. \u201cThe cost of renting an apartment in Canada shot up 0.9 per cent in a single month in January, according to Statistics Canada, the fastest one-month leap since August, 1989\u201d, the RHB reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the <\/span>March national rent report<\/span><\/a> from Rentals.ca, the <\/span>average and median rents in Canada rose in each of the last three months, as demand has increased before the prime spring leasing season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook contestant <\/span>Heather Soucie<\/span><\/a> of Edmonton, Alberta, said \u201ctwo incomes keeps their rent-to-income ratio at 23 per cent.\u201d But she added, \u201cOn my own, I would have to pay 62 per cent of my income toward rent.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Other details from the two contests include: <\/span><\/p>\n