The new data from Statistics Canada shows that more than 40% of homes built in the five years up to 2021 were occupied by renters. This is the highest share of tenant-occupied new homes since the apartment boom of the 1960s (44.5%).
Renting affordability
While younger Canadians may continue to face barriers to homeownership, there is at least some good news from the data.
The affordability of renting has improved due to higher incomes.
Those households spending 30% or more of their income on shelter was 21% in 2021, down three percentage points from five years earlier.
For renters, this unaffordable housing rate was down from 40% in 2016 to 33% in 2021 and this was driven by rents for those earning less than the median income for all renters.
