Low-income Edmontonians being squeezed out of highly pressurized rental market: report

Despite increased supply, low-income residents in Edmonton had a hard time finding affordable rentals, according to the latest annual report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. 

The report says that vacancy rates for lower-cost rentals stayed steady or declined, underscoring affordability concerns. 

Households earning less than $38,000 annually have access to about six per cent of Edmonton's rental units — about half of what was available to them last year. 

The affordability concerns largely stem from really high demand, bolstered by population growth, according to Taylor Pardy, lead economist for the Prairies and Territories at CMHC. 

"That [pressure on the market] has been a source of driving increases in rents," Pardy said in an interview Tuesday. 

"For the average two-bedroom rent for example we saw that go up by another seven per cent this year. So over time what this does, even amongst older units that might have more affordable rents — those rents also appreciate over time."

The report said that this problem is most obvious in Edmonton's core neighbourhoods where affordable units are less available.

"So we're seeing sort of the impact of this strength in demand and this market tightening and rent increases ultimately, even all the way down to sort of the lowest rent ranges and that's having an impact on what people can afford," Pardy said.

Most of the units that are accessible to low-income households are small apartments, which raises concerns about overcrowding, the report indicated.

Monica Kumar is an Edmonton real estate agent and a rental property manger, who said in her experience, people have more confidence if they rent from a company rather than individual owners.

Individual condo owners might need to move into the space, or sell, which displaces the people living there, and forces them into an often difficult rental market. 

She said Edmonton could focus on having more of these apartment complexes run by rental companies. 

"They're a little bit more affordable too. They're usually situated in good neighbourhoods and they have good amenities around, more security. Maybe even a manager that stays in the building too," she said. 

"I think there's a lot of plus points with that."

In her work, Kumar said she also sees that people are caring less about location than cost.

"I think at this point, people just because they can't afford most of what's out there, they're trying to make any neighbourhood work," she said. "As long as it's not too far from where they need to be."