The cost of rent in Edmonton is rising faster than anywhere else in Canada

A new rent report from Zumper has revealed that Edmonton has the fastest year-over-year rent growth in the country.

The Canadian Rent Report from Zumper saw Vancouver remain at the top of the list, with a one-bedroom going for a staggering $2,700 per month, while a two-bedroom costs an average of $3,800.

Edmonton can be found way down on the list at #21, with a one-bedroom coming to $1,270 per month, a 1.6% increase month-over-month, and a staggering 27% increase from February 2023 to February 2024.

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When you do the math, the average rent for an entire year in Edmonton at that price point would equate to $15,240. That number is frightening when you consider that this time last year, the annual total would have amounted to $12,000.

According to Zumper’s data, Winnipeg has seen the second-fastest annual growth, at 22.7%. The average cost of a one-bedroom in Manitoba’s capital is slightly higher than Edmonton’s, at $1,350 monthly.

Our friends to the south in Calgary have also seen prices rise significantly, with a 12% year-over-year increase. However, the cost of a one-bedroom fell in the last month by -1.1% for an average of $1,820 per month.

Zumper

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.

The Zumper Canadian Rent Report analyzes rental data from hundreds of thousands of active listings across the country.

Listings are then aggregated monthly to calculate median asking rents for the top 23 most populous metro areas.