Two-bedroom average rent costs $5,900 a year more since Doug Ford's election
After seven years, if Doug Ford was going to do anything about the soaring cost of rent, he would have done it by now.
The average cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Ontario increased $492 a month or $5,904 a year between October 2018 and October 2024, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation annual rent report, released December 17.
CHMC data shows the average rent for a two bedroom apartment increased 39 per cent in Ontario from 2018 to 2024. Rent rose fastest in Windsor and Guelph, with increases of 52 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively, over six years.
Rent increased at about double the rate of general inflation. The Consumer Price Index increased 20.1 per cent from 2018 to 2024, according to Bank of Canada data.
“I have listened to the people”
During his 2018 campaign, Doug Ford’s PCs promised "When it comes to rent control, we're going to maintain the status quo."
"I have listened to the people, and I won't take rent control away from anyone. Period," Ford said in a statement.
However, in November 2018 the newly-elected PC government lifted rent control on new units, arguing it would spur housing construction.
And month after month, the Ford PCs have failed to meet their housing construction goals. In December, the Ford PCs’ policies spurred just 44 per cent of their December housing goal of 12,500 units, according to CMHC data. In the absence of new housing supply, and with rent control eviscerated, demand pressures have pushed up prices.
While Ontario has an annual rent increase guideline for units created before 2018, it doesn’t apply to an apartment once it becomes unoccupied. Under current law, tenants can be evicted when their unit is renovated or to make way for the landlord’s own own use, allowing rent to be raised to market conditions.
“Vacancy control” was established by the 1990s NDP government but eliminated in 1996 by the PC government that followed and was never reintroduced by the Liberal government during its tenure from 2003 to 2018.