It's not just Edmonton and Calgary. Smaller places are facing an intense rental squeeze

It took 25-year-old Kimberly Doyle eight months to find a rental in her budget in Red Deer County, Alta.

With two kids and two dogs, finding a place to live on a bus driver's salary is a challenge.

Because of her pets and low income, Doyle said it felt like things were stacked against her — and she was close to making a very difficult decision in order to secure a place.

"I was honestly super-close to rehoming my dogs just so I could have a place to live. And I've had my dogs for six years."

Doyle eventually found a place that she'll move into in December, but more than half of her income will be going toward rent.

Her situation reflects a housing squeeze happening outside of Alberta's urban centres, particularly when it comes to rentals. While Edmonton has a low vacancy rate, in some of the surrounding areas it is far worse.

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the vacancy rate in Edmonton for purpose-built rentals in October 2023 was 2.5 per cent. In Calgary, the rental vacancy rate stood at 1.4 per cent that month.

Comparatively, south of Edmonton in Leduc, the vacancy rate is 0.8 per cent, according to Taylor Pardy, CMHC lead economist, Prairies and Territories. To the southeast, in Camrose, it sits at 0.2 per cent.

Pardy said the shortage of available units is impacting rental prices.

"Anything below one per cent is very, very tight," Pardy told CBC. "And so that's likely beginning to contribute to some stronger rent increases at the current time."

In Camrose, the average rent for a two-bedroom unit increased 7.7 per cent this past year, he said.

"We haven't seen that kind of an increase in Camrose since the mid-2000s, really since the last oil boom really kicked off, and that caused an influx of people to move to Alberta."

Jamie Doyle (no relation to Kimberly), general manager of sustainable growth and development services with the City of Spruce Grove, said he's seen the local vacancy rate drop quickly — from three per cent in 2020 to one per cent in 2023.

That means when you see something available, you have to act fast.

"I've seen the market work really quickly in Spruce Grove. Inventory doesn't sit very long before it's gobbled up," Doyle said. "You need to be ready to move pretty quickly."

Pardy said the pressure is driven by population growth and a lack of supply.

"We might see tight rental markets for the next few years before we actually see supply begin to catch up a little bit."

Doyle's new place, in the hamlet of Springbrook, 14 kilometres south of Red Deer, is a five-bedroom house.

She will share it with another renter and another family with a baby on the way. With the addition, the house will be home to eight people.

"It's really frustrating that I have to live with other people to be able to live comfortably," Doyle said.

Her share of the rent, before utilities, will be $1,200.

Doyle, who is originally from Innisfail, looked for an apartment in her price range in Rocky Mountain House, Sylvan Lake, Lacombe, Blackfalds, Springbrook, Penhold and Delburn.

Five years ago she could find a three-bedroom place for $1,000 in these communities. She's since been priced out.

"Everything's going up," she said. "Your gas prices, your grocery prices … even your memberships on Netflix and whatnot — they all just keep going up and up."