Budgets and market realities remain deeply misaligned, new Rentals.ca survey finds
Two years of declining asking rents have done little to ease the financial strain on Canadians searching for a place to live, with a new survey showing affordability concerns still far outweighing all other rental market challenges.
The Rentals.ca Spring 2026 Renter Preference Survey, conducted between May 5 and June 14 via email, polled 1,194 renters in major markets across Canada.
The Greater Toronto Area had the strongest representation in the sample, along with the rest of Ontario, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Calgary.
Around 70% of respondents identified high rent prices as their single biggest obstacle in their housing search, leaving concerns about unsuitable listings (11%) and low rental supply (6%) a distant second.
The results land against a backdrop of retreating asking prices. According to the latest joint analysis from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, the national average asking rent in May 2026 fell 4.7% year-over-year to $2,029, marking the 20th consecutive month of annual decline.
Since reaching a peak of $2,202 in May 2024, average asking rents have fallen 7.8%. Despite that, renter budgets remain sharply misaligned with what the market is actually offering.
The survey found 42% of respondents are searching with a monthly budget under $1,500, well short of the current national average asking rent.
Broken down further, 12% are targeting less than $1,000 per month and 30% are in the $1,000 to $1,499 range.
Fewer than one in five have the capacity to stretch to $2,000 or above.
Renters are not expecting relief anytime soon. Only 25% of survey respondents expect rents to fall over the next six months, while nearly half anticipate costs will either hold steady or increase further.
A budget gap that brokers can't ignore
The income profile of active renters adds further dimension. Nearly half of respondents reported annual household incomes under $50,000, the segment most directly exposed to rent increases and least able to absorb them.
For mortgage professionals tracking the rental-to-ownership pipeline, this matters. As Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)'s affordability index showed strain spreading well beyond Toronto and Vancouver, the pool of renters with a realistic path to first-time homeownership remains constrained by the same income pressures squeezing their monthly budgets.
Kevin Hughes, deputy chief economist at CMHC in Ottawa, said that supply improvements have offered modest breathing room in some centres. However, structural relief remains elusive.
"We've seen a big increase in supply last year, and that has kind of resulted in some markets being a little bit less tight," he said. "However, rental affordability will take more time to improve."
Mathieu Laberge, chief economist and senior vice-president, housing insights at CMHC, similarly cautioned that loosening Canada's rental market does not erase the accumulated affordability damage.
"Even with these improvements, we cannot overlook how much housing affordability has eroded in recent years, especially in Ottawa, Montréal and Halifax," Laberge said.
Renters are moving, but rarely by choice
The motivational data in the survey carries clear implications for brokers. The top reason respondents cited for their planned move was to find a more affordable unit, at 40%, while 30% wanted more space and 22% were relocating for work or school.
Regional disparities are notable: in Alberta, 48% of renters cited cost as the primary driver of their move, the highest of any region surveyed, even though the province has among the lowest absolute rent levels in the country.
Technology is also reshaping the search experience. Twenty-nine per cent of respondents said they are using AI tools such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini to assist with their rental search, a signal of how renters are adapting to a complex and competitive market.
Among in-demand amenities, two-thirds of respondents said they would pay more for a unit with in-suite laundry, making it the most sought-after feature by a wide margin.
Around 45% would pay a premium for central air conditioning, and 40% for private outdoor space such as a balcony or yard.
Separately, 36% of apartment hunters said they are only considering rent-controlled units for their next move, a sign that renters are increasingly trying to lock in cost certainty where the market allows.
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