Provincial survey finds apartments have become pricier, scarcer in rural Alberta

John Wilde thought finding an apartment in Westlock would be easy. 

The population of the small town about 90 kilometres north of Edmonton has been decreasing for years, so Wilde, who was looking to move there from Leduc, south of Edmonton, in September for a job, figured there would be lots of affordable options.

But he struggled to find somewhere to live, even after visiting all the apartment buildings in town.

"I needed something small, but there was a big gap between big, expensive places and finding a reasonable, small place," he said.

After living on a ranch for a few months, Wilde eventually found a basement suite to rent through a friend of a friend last month.

His struggles represent a changing rental landscape across the province.

Apartment rentals in rural Alberta have become more expensive and less plentiful, according to a provincial government survey that included hundreds of rental buildings in dozens of small communities.

The survey, which is conducted annually, found the overall vacancy rate decreased from 11.5 per cent in 2022 to 5.4 per cent last year. 

Westlock's vacancy rate decreased the most, moving from 23.6 per cent in 2022 to 4 per cent in 2023.

The survey doesn't capture all rural rental units but the government describes it as the only official and unbiased rental housing cost and vacancy information source for rural Alberta.

Only non-subsidized rental buildings with four or more units are included in the survey, meaning basement suites and other types of rentals are not captured.

Surveyed buildings are in communities with populations between 1,000 and 10,000 and at least 30 rental units. The communities must also not already be included in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's annual rental market survey. 

The survey looked at rentals in the towns of Banff and Jasper, but didn't include them in average rental costs and vacancy rate calculations because they are atypical tourist towns.

No vacancy in 22 towns

According to the survey, which was conducted in the summer, the average price of a bachelor apartment in 2023 was $746 — an increase of nearly 15 per cent since the previous year. 

Average rental rates for one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units also increased.

Vacancy rates decreased in 46 communities, increased in seven and remained the same in 10.

The number of communities with no vacancy at all doubled from 11 to 22. 

The report shows that average rural rentals are more affordable than in cities, where rents have also soared. 

Province-wide, rent cost nearly 10 per cent more in October 2023, compared to October 2022, according to data from Statistics Canada. 

Westlock eyes development incentives

Chief administrative officer Simone Wiley said Westlock's shortage of rental units has been frustrating local businesses, whose employees need accommodation.

She attributed Westlock's declining vacancy rate to the surge of people moving to Alberta. 

Last year, the town signed on to a provincial immigration program that tries to help small towns recruit newcomers.

"That has been very successful in our community in the last six months and obviously is contributing to the lower amount of rental units available," she said.

Wiley said the town has applied to the federal government's Housing Accelerator Fund, which is intended to support the development of affordable housing.

The town is also considering per-unit cash incentives for new developments. 

"We can't attract people to our community if there's nowhere for them to live," Wiley said.

Calls for rent control

Kabir Shahani, capital funding manager at the non-profit Rural Development Network, said the Alberta government's survey results are consistent with what he has been hearing from residents in rural Alberta.

He said more housing supply is needed, but it's not enough. 

"There should be some kind of provincial oversight on rent increases," he said. 

The NDP Opposition has proposed a four-year cap on rent increases, but UCP cabinet ministers have criticized rent control, saying it could increase demand and stifle the creation of new housing.