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Searching for housing in Canada as a newcomer can be challenging. Working with a real estate agent to help you search for a rental is a great way to navigate the process. If you’re searching for a rental, you likely have things to ask a realtor about when renting your first home. Canada’s rental market is ultra-competitive right now. Vacancy rates in large and mid-sized cities across the country are at record lows (around 1.5 percent), prices continue to rise, and landlords may have multiple applicants for their rentals.
The competition gets more intense, with record numbers of newcomers arriving every month. Canada is working to increase its rental stock, but a surplus of rental units is years away.
Nasma Ali, a Toronto real estate broker and founder of OneGroupToronto told Prepare for Canada that a licensed, experienced real estate agent (or realtor) can guide newcomers through a sometimes complicated rental agreement and process.
In addition to using their experience and contacts to help you find a rental home, “it’s good to have a realtor,” said Ali, “to guide you through the rental process and explain what each of the clauses (in the agreement) means. What are your rights and obligations, and what are you signing?”
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Ali says a real estate agent can also protect newcomers against landlords who try to “sneak something that’s not lawful” into the agreement. The realtor, she says, “is going to be advocating for you and protecting your rights.”
There are approximately 85,000 licenced realtors in Ontario. Prepare for Canada and Souqh, a fintech company, have partnered to give newcomers a FREE and easy way to find a realtor in the city where they wish to settle.
Souqh partnered with Prepare for Canada and Rentals for Newcomers to connect immigrants with realtors and assist with finding rentals across Ontario.
Ahmer Rafiq, CEO, Souqh
If you’re interested in working with a realtor to find your first rental home in Canada, here are some common questions newcomers ask about the process:
Using a real estate agent to help find your first rental home in Canada costs you, the tenant, nothing. Your future landlord (the actual owner of the property) pays the realtor’s commissions and fees. However, be sure to check any agreement that you sign, either with the realtor or the landlord, carefully for hidden fees. If the realtor asks you to pay an additional cost, you can walk away and find another agent.
Newcomers who choose to find their own apartment for rent will find that the main cost is time…and stress! Canada’s rental market is competitive, with low vacancy rates below 2 percent in most large and medium-sized cities. This means many people are competing for the same rental home. Canada will welcome 485,000 newcomers in 2024 and 500,000 in 2025, so many newcomers are looking for a rental.
According to a recent Rentals.ca Canadian Renter Survey, 34 percent of people surveyed have been looking for a place for at least two months, with 15 percent searching for more than six months. So, it could take you that long to find a spot on your own.
Sites such as Rentals for Newcomers, which is unrestricted, provide listings from landlords who value newcomers as tenants. But, you must search, inspect, and negotiate simultaneously as you are likely looking for a job and getting settled.
As they say, time is money, and your time as a newcomer is best spent viewing the rentals in person, not searching for them.
You can, but it is not advised, particularly if you have signed a representation agreement. It’s doubtful a realtor will work with you or put in their best effort if you have multiple real estate agents.
It’s smarter to select a realtor who knows the city or neighbourhood where you wish to live and trust their experience and knowledge.
While tenant insurance is not mandatory, most renters in Canada get renter’s insurance. This is mainly because many landlords and buildings require it. Many landlords will only rent to you with insurance and may insist that the realtor only present tenants willing to get it.
When renting your first long-term home as a newcomer, you don’t own the property, but you most likely own the contents, such as furniture, electronics, and other personal possessions, unless you rent a furnished place. Personal items, including valuables such as jewellery, can be costly to replace if you have to pay out of pocket for them.
Also, if you cause damage to the landlord’s property, tenant insurance can cover you for those damages. And, if you must move out temporarily due to damage (water, fire, etc.), tenant insurance can help cover your temporary costs.
As of May 2024, the national average asking price for a one-bedroom apartment was $2,188, according to Rentals.ca National Rent Report.* That’s a 9.3 percent year-over-year increase.
But asking prices for a one-bedroom vary by province and city.
For example, a one-bedroom in Vancouver (the priciest city for rent) is $2,646. In Toronto, it is $2,459. The cheapest rent in Ontario in a large or medium-sized city is Windsor at $1,553. Rents are more affordable in the western provinces, particularly in Saskatchewan. The asking rent in Saskatoon is $1,215 for a one-bedroom and $1,251 in Regina.
If you have recently arrived in Canada, discover how to find a realtor to find the perfect home for you!
* Rental prices across Canada can change monthly
Steve Tustin is the Editor for Rentals for Newcomers and a contributing editor for Prepare for Canada. He is also the former managing editor of Storeys.com and a former senior editor at the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.
Prepare for Canada did not use AI-generated content in writing this story; all sources are cited and credited where possible.
© Prepare for 2024
Working with a real estate agent is a reliable alternative way for newcomers to Canada to find their first long-term rental accommodation.
Why should newcomers consider working with a real estate agent (also known as a realtor) to find a rental?
Demand, competition, expertise, and access to landlords are four obvious reasons (also, searching for a rental yourself in a new country can create stress, delay, and wasted effort).
In Canada’s red-hot rental market, the demand for all types of rental accommodation has never been higher.
The country’s ambitious immigration targets are fuelling rental demand as prices rise each month. And that demand will only get stronger across the country, particularly in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and Ontario.
Canada intends to welcome 465,000 new immigrants this year after admitting a record-breaking 431,000 newcomers in 2022 (mostly from India, the Philippines and China).
In 2024 that number will rise to 485,000 newcomers, and then to 500,000 in 2025.
Canada has also welcomed a record number of international students. These numbers are forecast to continue to rise, again increasing the demand for rental housing.
With so many newcomers arriving in Canada, the competition for available rental accommodation continues to escalate. Typically, rental listings in Canada (particularly those with choice locations) receive multiple offers from newcomers and those already in Canada. And many of those applicants have done their research and are prepared to act quickly.
Real estate agents have the expertise that newcomers can use to get the rental accommodation they want, where they want it, and when they want it.
According to the Real Estate Council of Ontario, in which membership is mandatory for all real estate professionals in Ontario, there are more than 86,000 real estate agents in the province.
Searching for your first home in Canada? Join this exclusive session for key insights on housing market conditions, affordable options, and renting without credit history. Tailored for newcomers settling in the next six months, register now for valuable tips and a free guide!
REGISTER FOR THE WEBINARUsing a real estate agent to help you find your ideal rental property typically costs nothing. Your future landlord (the actual owner of the property) covers the realtor commissions.
In Ontario and the GTA, more renters are using real estate agents because realtors:
Finally, the realtor’s access to landlords and listings cannot be overstated. Because of this access, realtors know about rental properties that aren’t listed on rental sites, or that are about to be listed. So, you get a head start on the competition. This is particularly true regarding Toronto/GTA condo owners who often work only through real estate agents.
These are just some of the advantages that come with working with a real estate agent.
While real estate agents in Ontario are licensed, there are still some other things newcomers should consider when deciding to work with one to find a rental:
So how do you find the real estate agent that’s right for you?
Prepare for Canada and Rentals for Newcomers has teamed up with Souqh to make it easy for newcomers and international students to work with a licensed real estate agent to find suitable rental accommodation.
Souqh is a Canadian real estate and home services marketplace whose goal is to simplify every step of the home buying, ownership, and rental journey.
Ahmer Rafiq, Souqh’s CEO, says his company partnered with Prepare for Canada and Rentals for Newcomers “to connect immigrants with realtors and assist with finding rentals across Ontario.”
“We have onboard 3,000+ real estate/home services professionals onto our marketplace across Ontario and … we have partnered with ten real estate boards and associations across Ontario.”
Dave Frattini, the managing partner of Prepare for Canada and Rentals for Newcomers, is excited about working with Souqh to help newcomers access real estate agents.
“Prepare for Canada has been helping newcomers make connections that simplify the immigration journey for over 12 years, said Frattini, “and Souqh is Canada’s real estate and home services marketplace. Together we’re on a mission to help newcomers enter the rental market faster and easier than ever by connecting newcomers with real estate agents who can assist in finding the rental property that’s right for our newcomer audience needs.”
So, if working with realtors to find accommodation in Ontario appeals to you, simply click here to register with Souqh. Once you register, a real estate agent in the city where you wish to rent will respond to you.
And remember: If you’re not in Canada or Ontario yet, but are arriving soon, please register for our Renting in Canada webinar to learn all about working with a real estate agent, finding your own rental, renting a room in a home, and all the other options for finding rental accommodation in Ontario and Canada.