As GTA condo vacancies reach record highs, many landlords with small portfolios have been left scrambling — or leaving the industry altogether.

Toronto

After a period of record-high increases, condominium rents in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have experienced a significant decrease. According to recent reports, this has been accompanied by a rise in rental inventory, giving prospective tenants greater negotiating power. The increase in available rental properties has coincided with a near-record high in active rental listings.

Many small-scale landlords are reportedly facing monthly deficits, as rental income fails to cover their expenses. Some property owners have indicated they are considering leaving the rental market altogether, especially as average condo prices have declined by nearly 2% from the previous year, diverging from the decade-long trend of price growth. The situation has raised concerns among landlords who purchased properties in the last five to six years, with some facing potential financial hardship.

The GTA has the highest proportion of rented condominium apartments in Canada, with 41% of such units being rented. This large share of rental units is partly attributed to landlords being unable to sell properties, choosing instead to rent them out, which has increased inventory and reduced rents for tenants. However, analysts warn that if a substantial number of landlords decide to sell their rental units, rental prices could rise again due to a contraction in supply.

Factors such as the introduction of a cap on international students and changes in migration patterns have contributed to the reduced demand for rental units. Experts from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board suggest that the rental market could regain balance if global uncertainties subside and consumer confidence improves. This could lead to renewed activity among both buyers and renters, with the absorption of current inventory potentially tightening market conditions once more.



Landlords leaving Toronto market as rents plunge

Not at all. It's only been going up. I would love to see it. Show me where. Even if you aren't feeling it, GTA condo rents are going down. It's kind of crazy because compared to last year to where it is now, it's a huge drop. After record high increases, this past year, condo rents dropped. Then you're seeing inventory levels rise. Renters now had more negotiating power. That negotiating power is because the number of active rental listings has reached near record highs. We're seeing landlords run a deficit every single month. Being a landlord isn't something that I'm planning on doing for too much longer. It's something everyone is getting out of. High immigration is what fueled the high rent prices in the first place. In July 2024, international migration peaked at over a million people in a year. But now, especially with a new cap on international students, fewer people need rentals and it impacted the GTA most, the lowest rent growth in the country. Did you ever think that you were gonna be renting a property for less than you had just months before? I didn't think that, because at the time when I had bought it, we had so many competing offers. We're thinking about doing a further reduction and I'll be putting in money out of my pocket. How long can you handle that? I guess we'll see how long it goes for, possibly selling the property. But for many landlords, selling right now isn't a great option either. The average condo price at the end of last year was 690K. That's down nearly 2% from the year before and quite a departure from the 10-year historical trend. Well, it is literally the perfect storm. If you bought it more recently, in the last five or six years, you could have a financial hardship, but it's very much a crisis. You have to take action. You just can't keep losing money. It can really only get worse. How much worse can it get? It's possible that so few people will be able to close that they won't be able to start a condominium corporation and they've got to tell their bank that they don't know how they can pay them back. It could be that bad. It's not clear how many small-time landlords are potentially going to need to sell at a loss, but it is clear they make up a big part of the overall market. The share of condo apartments in Toronto that are rented is 41%. That's the highest share in the country. Partly the reason why you have cheap rents is because a landlord can't sell in this market, but we rent it out and you have added inventory that's great for tenants. But if landlords all get out of the market and you all start selling your rental units, you will see that rental rate go right back up. And that's not what we want. It's not a healthy rental market to be in. What a healthy market needs is stability, where supply and demand are better matched. But analysts with the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board think that could even out within months if the global uncertainty does. As people get more confident, you start to see more home buyers, you start to see more renters becoming active in the marketplace again. You know, ultimately this inventory will be absorbed and market conditions will tighten up. And when we're not seeing new supply in the pipeline, then ultimately, you know, we're going to reach a state again where, you know, conditions do tighten up. You do start to see unsustainable pace of growth.

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