Study shows that rent in Halifax is up 11%—higher than the provincial cap
A new study from real estate listings site Zumper shows that Halifax is the fifth-priciest rental market in all of Canada with rent prices having gone up around 11% over last year.
With data aggregated from its website, Zumper shows that Halifax’s average price for a one-bedroom apartment is around $2,100—a 10.5% increase from last year. Its two-bedroom apartments are now priced at around $2,640—an 11.4% increase.
These increases are far above the annual growth rate for one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, which are 1.3% and 0.7% respectively. They are also higher than the other entries in the top five, with the closest being Victoria, B.C. with a 4.9% increase for one-bedroom rent over last year, and a 1.8% increase for two-bedroom units.
Zumper
The top five most expensive cities to rent in Canada. Halifax has the highest rate of rent increase amongst the top five.
Month-over-month rent increases are slightly more positive for Halifax. The rent change there is 0% for one-bedroom units, and it has decreased by 0.8% for two bedrooms. Zumper claims this change towards stagnation is likely to be prolonged as national supply is on the rise and demand is stabilizing, but Halifax is still short over 17,500 housing units for its growing population, meaning that this analysis of national supply contributing to stagnation may not apply to the city.
As for the higher rent from last year, there are a few factors for how this could have happened. While the province does have a 5% annual rent cap in place, the fixed-term lease loophole has made it possible for landlords to evict tenants and raise the rent of their unit, or force an illegal rent increase on their tenants by threatening eviction.
A study from ACORN Canada on fixed-term leases in Nova Scotia reports that 18.7% of their respondents testified that they had been threatened with eviction if they didn’t take a rent increase. Their survey also shows that 35.7% of respondents on a fixed-term lease had been evicted on a fixed-term lease before.
So, if you’re wondering why a year-over-year rental increase is over double the annual rent cap, look towards fixed-term lease legislation—a policy the province has said is for students and those who need short-term living arrangements, but has also been used for those looking for long-term housing.
