Burlington mayor says new market-rate units driving up cost of renting in city

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Published June 1, 2022 at 3:40 pm

Brampton average rent apartment for rent

Rent in Burlington is third highest of any city in Canada and Mayor Marianne Meed Ward thinks she knows at least part of the reason.

Speaking exclusively with Insauga.com publisher Khaled Iwamura on Instagram Live yesterday (Tuesday), Meed Ward said the new builds in Brampton is a contributing reason.

“We’ve had a lot of new buildings built and I think that’s what is contributing to it,” said Meed Ward.

“We’ve lost, through redevelopment, some of our older rental stock, which would be protected under rent control. We’re seeing a lot of new units, which is good news, but those are priced at market rate.”

The report from Rentals.ca showed, the cost of an average one-bedroom apartment in Burlington in April was $2,017, up nearly 16 per cent over last year. The cost did, however, remain unchanged from March.

Two-bedroom units also saw a jump, up 11.76 per cent over the same month last year, to $2,261.

According to the report, rents in Burlington are the third highest in the country, trailing only Vancouver and Toronto, but ahead of places like Oakville, Ottawa and other major Canadian cities.

“Our vacancy rate is something we’re starting to chip away at. We used to have a really low vacancy rate and that’s a challenge for people who need that kind of housing.

“Almost all of our development in Burlington has been in apartment form.”

More affordable housing remains a major topic of discussion at every level of government.

 

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