Toronto landlords vying for tenants with rent-free months, $500 gift cards

Sharif Hassan · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 30, 2025 6:36 AM EDT | Last Updated: 15 minutes ago

Toronto landlords are trying to lure successful tenants with rent-free months, complimentary Wi-Fi and $500 acquisition cards amid an unprecedented proviso of condos and little rents.

Real-estate marketplace experts accidental the fierce contention — which extends beyond the Greater Toronto Area — is giving renters much negotiating power, echoing trends past seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two months of escaped rent, escaped parking and acquisition cards for nutrient transportation oregon nationalist transit are among thousands of dollars' worthy of perks and discounts advertised connected Toronto rental listing websites and apps.

While specified incentives are ubiquitous successful Toronto, landlords successful different GTA cities and the Greater Hamilton Area are besides locked successful a choky contention that benefits renters.

Michael Niezgoda, elder manager of marketplace probe and improvement astatine Urbanation, a Toronto-based existent property probe firm, said a grounds 29,000 condominium units were completed successful the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area successful 2024 and 40 per cent of that caller proviso has since entered the rental market.

"This has created a batch of contention betwixt condo owners, they're precise motivated to get tenants successful to assistance wage their owe aft closing connected their caller condos," helium said.

There were 6,549 condo units disposable for lease successful the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area astatine the extremity of this year's archetypal 4th — a 29 per cent summation from a twelvemonth agone and 160 per cent higher than 2 years ago, past month's Urbanation study shows.

The study besides recovered that 63 per cent of buildings offered incentives to renters, much than treble from a twelvemonth ago.

The vacancy complaint for purpose-built rentals completed since 2000 successful the Toronto and Hamilton areas was 3.5 per cent successful the archetypal 4th this year, the highest level since astir 4 years ago.

WATCH | Why are rental prices dropping successful Toronto?:

The study besides recovered that condo rents are 10 per cent little from their highest successful 2023. Niezgoda said the 2nd 4th mightiness spot a further drop, adjacent though the bulk of landlords are resistant to the idea.

"Looking astatine each this proviso hitting the condo markets and (they) are reasoning this could beryllium a short-term marketplace impact," helium said. "To enactment competitory successful this short-term market, let's connection incentives alternatively of dropping rents."

Toronto Regional Real Estate Board's main accusation serviceman Jason Mercer besides said the grounds proviso of condominium apartments is down the surge successful rental incentives.

Mercer said helium has seen akin trends during the fiscal situation of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave renters "negotiating powerfulness connected price."

"You besides conscionable payment from a batch of choice, truthful it's easier to find an apartment, for example, that perfectly meets your needs," helium said.

The national authorities has implemented a bid of measures aimed astatine stabilizing Canada's colonisation maturation and addressing lodging shortages, including a simplification successful migration levels and planetary pupil permits.

But Mercer said request for lodging is inactive precocious and the fig of lease transactions recorded by the committee has accrued due to the fact that the colonisation continues to turn and the GTA remains a apical destination for newcomers.

Rent costing hundreds of dollars little than successful 2024

According to caller information from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, the nationalist mean asking rent successful April was down year-over-year for the seventh consecutive month, with Ontario signaling the largest decline. Asking rents successful the state fell 2.7 per cent to an mean of $2,338.

Zumper, a rental website operating successful Canada and the United States, besides recovered successful April that rents for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments successful Toronto had declined 8.4 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively, compared to the aforesaid period the twelvemonth before.

Zumper spokesperson Crystal Chen said galore radical were "priced out" of the metropolis erstwhile rents surged dramatically successful 2023. But reduced request and broader economical uncertainty mean apartments are present being rented for hundreds of dollars little than a twelvemonth ago.

"All of this together, the caller supply, the weaker request drivers, has resulted successful a slower market," Chen said, adding it's "a large clip for a Toronto renter to find an amenity affluent flat that whitethorn person antecedently been retired of reach."

But experts accidental the existent marketplace dynamics favouring tenants whitethorn not past long.

Urbanation president Shaun Hildebrand noted successful the study that operation of purpose-built and condominium apartments has slowed down importantly this year,