10 things renters told us about their rent

10 things renters told us about their rent

A rent submission on FairRent holds the rent, the area, the number of bedrooms and the year the renter moved in. It also says whether parking or utilities are included. One at a time, these reports say nothing. Grouped, they say things no survey and no listing site measures. Here are 10, from 1,602 accepted submissions as of 16 October 2026.

• The most common rent reported is $2,200 a month: 5% of reports say exactly that.
• Rents like round numbers. 59% of reported rents end in 00 and 76% end in 00 or 50. The likeliest reason a rent is not round: a yearly increase by a percentage rarely lands on a round number.
• Utilities are rarely included. 22% of reports in Ottawa, 17% of reports in Toronto, 8% of reports in Vancouver say heat, electricity or water is included in the rent.
• A 1 bedroom with utilities included costs less, not more: in Ottawa, $1,800 with utilities against $1,850 without; in Toronto, $2,050 with utilities against $2,150 without; in Vancouver, $1,900 with utilities against $2,200 without. The likeliest reason: older buildings often include heat, and they rent for less.
• Parking does cost. The gap between a 1 bedroom with parking and one without is $150 in Ottawa, $200 in Toronto, $250 in Vancouver. FairRent adds up to $250 to the comparison figure when parking is included. That is a gap between two groups of homes, not the price of a space.
• The second bedroom costs more the further west you go. Ottawa: $350 more, or 19%; Toronto: $550 more, or 26%; Vancouver: $700 more, or 32%.
• Renters report in the evening. 35% of reports sent through this site arrive between 5 p.m. and midnight, local time, and 10% between midnight and 6 a.m. The busiest day is Tuesday, the quietest Sunday.
• The areas with the most reports are Centretown in Ottawa (50 or more reports), Downtown Core in Toronto (50 or more reports), Burnaby in the Vancouver area (20 to 49 reports).
• Among areas with enough 1 bedroom reports to publish a figure, the lowest and highest medians are: Ottawa, Sandy Hill at $1,450 and New Edinburgh at $2,150; Toronto, Bloorcourt at $1,700 and Harbourfront at $2,500; Vancouver, Burnaby at $1,700 and Downtown at $2,750. Several of these areas rest on only 5 to 9 reports, so read them as hints.
• Here is the share of reports that describe a tenancy that began before 2020: 11% in Ottawa, 13% in Toronto, 13% in Vancouver. These renters pay the lowest rents in our data, and they are the ones with the most to lose by moving.

The medians, by city and bedrooms

To put the facts above in context, here is the median of all reported rents for each type of home. A median is not an estimate. The rent check starts from survey data. It blends reported rents in only where enough exist for one area and one type of home.

• Ottawa neighbourhoods
• Toronto neighbourhoods
• Vancouver neighbourhoods
• How FairRent works

How we counted

• Every figure rests on at least 5 reports. A group with fewer, or one where too many reports give the same rent, is not published, and the article says so.
• Medians are rounded to the nearest $50, like every range published on the site.
• Rents are self-reported. An accepted submission is not a verified lease, and two reports can describe the same home.
• The groups compare different homes, not the same home at two points in time. A gap between two groups is not an increase.
• Areas are the ones renters choose on the rent check, not official boundaries.

• FairRent figures: 1,602 accepted whole-unit rent submissions as of 16 October 2026, grouped under the publication rules