"Desperately grasping at straws": Edmontonians brace for rent hikes in 2024
Renters in Edmonton are bracing themselves as lease renewals come due in 2024, and as the cost of rent soars, tenants are expressing anxiety over their housing and financial situation.
Rent in Alberta is expected to continue to increase province-wide in 2024, and its capital city isn’t an exception. According to Rentals.ca, the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Edmonton is $1,285 per month, a 15.4% increase compared to January 2023.
For a two-bedroom, prices have seen a 12.6% increase year-over-year, now hovering around an average of $1,602 monthly.
And if those increases aren’t already enough, Edmonton’s rental market will continue to see annual growth this year, following the pattern of price increases in 2023.
This can be partially attributed to an influx of people moving into the province from other regions of Canada, driving demand for housing. According to Alberta’s government, the provincial population expanded by over 61,118 residents over the third quarter of 2023, or 1.3%, representing the highest growth in any single quarter since 1980.
A rise in interest rates and higher costs for utilities such as gas and electricity have also contributed to rising costs.
The looming possibility of rent increases has caused concern for renters in Edmonton. Daily Hive spoke to tenants in the area who expressed their anxiety about what’s to come, with some highlighting their fears for those living on fixed incomes.
“I feel uneasy about it”
Shauna Kelsch, a builder specialist for a plumbing agency in Edmonton, said that units in her building are seeing a $250 monthly increase for one-bedroom apartments this year, while two-bedrooms are rising by a staggering $500 per month.
Kelsch, who owns a rental property in addition to being a renter, says that the often precarious renting situation is “nerve-wracking” and causes a lot of uncertainty.
“I feel uneasy about it because you never know what’s going to come down the pipeline,” she said.
Kelsch explained she also had to increase rent on her tenant just to cover the cost of utilities and higher interest rates. She told Daily Hive that she kept her increase as small as possible for her past tenant, at $50 monthly.
“Having that as our rental property, it’s my risk, right? So, people who are in the rental market, it’s not their fault that I took this mortgage on. The risk should be on myself. And I think that the more that rents go up, the more we’re going to see people that are unhoused.”
“We just couldn’t afford it anymore”
Bridgette Keller expressed similar anxieties about the rental market. A part-time employee at the Maker’s Keep, Keller rents a home with her husband and children. Her in-laws, on a fixed income, occupy the basement suite of the house.
She explained that the family’s multi-generational living arrangement was a decision made after rising costs pushed the family out of their former home.
“We were renting an older townhome. And between the price of renting there and paying utilities, we just couldn’t afford it anymore. And I know my in-laws, being on fixed incomes and being seniors, were really struggling as well to find something that was affordable in their budget.”
While Keller said she is “cautiously optimistic” that the family will not face an increase come lease renewal time, she fears for her in-law’s financial situation should one come down the pipeline.
Last month, Albertans on Reddit who have recently faced rental increases shared similar experiences, including one Edmontonian who wrote, “Went to resign my lease — they wanted a $300 increase. $1,800 for an 850-[square-foot] two-bedroom apartment with no A/C in the northeast of Edmonton. I moved.”
Alberta is one of a handful of Canadian provinces that does not have a rent control policy in place, and there are no limits to how much a landlord may increase the rent. However, there are some rules in the Residential Tenancies Act on how and when rent can be increased.
In neighbouring BC, which has the highest rental prices in the country, rent control policies limit annual rent increases for tenants, currently capped at 3.5%. However, when a renter leaves a unit, there are no legal limits for how much a landlord can increase prices for a new renter.
Both Kelsch and Keller said rent control is “absolutely necessary” to protect Albertans from high rental increases.
“There are people, like, desperately grasping at straws for something that they can afford, or else they’re basically homeless. That’s what scares me,” Keller said.
“I worry about even my in-laws being able to afford downstairs, and then what happens if there was a rent increase? I’m not sure if they would be able to sustain living here without someone paying that other part of the rent,” Keller added, explaining her family could not afford the total monthly cost of the home.
Province says rent control “does not work”
In a statement to Daily Hive, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon said that the provincial government does not believe rent control is the answer.
“Rent control does not work and will ultimately make Albertans homeless. Alberta is focused on increasing the supply of housing across the province. Construction of purpose-built rentals is at an all-time in our province, shutting people out of the rental market and discouraging new construction is not the path forward,” Nixon stated.
“That is why, in her mandate letter to Minister Nixon, the premier tasked the minister with developing an affordable and attainable home ownership and rental strategy that focuses on incentivizing the construction of new rental units and homes.”
The minister pointed to rent supplements aimed at making markets “more affordable” for families, including $233 million over three years allocated in Budget 2023 for rent assistance, which the province claimed is currently helping 12,000 households.
Are you worried about your rent going up in Edmonton this year? Let us know in the comments.
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