Canada’s rental vacancy rate dips for first time in two years
That softness extends to tenant behaviour: residents are staying put, with the national average length of stay now at 38 months, up slightly from 37 months in Q2 2025.
Canada multifamily market snapshot
Q2 2026 — Source: Yardi Canadian National Multifamily Report Q3 2026
National vacancy rate
4.7%
▼ 40 bps vs Q1 2026
Avg in-place rent
$1,774
+2.2% YoY
New lease rent growth
−0.6%
Improved from −1.0%
Avg length of stay
38 mo
National average
| City | Vacancy rate | YoY in-place rent | New lease growth | Avg in-place rent | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax |
|
+5.7% | +2.5% | — | Tight |
| Winnipeg |
|
+3.6% | +1.3% | — | Tight |
| Ottawa–Gatineau |
|
+2.6% | +1.5% | — | Moderate |
| Vancouver |
|
+0.9% | −2.0% | $1,914 (1-bed) | Moderate |
| London |
|
+2.0% | −1.4% | — | Moderate |
| Toronto |
|
+2.0% | −2.8% | $1,788 (1-bed) | Moderate |
| National |
|
+2.2% | −0.6% | $1,774 | National avg |
| Hamilton |
|
+2.7% | +1.3% | — | Moderate |
| Saskatoon |
|
+1.4% | −1.3% | — | Moderate |
| KCW |
|
+1.1% | −4.5% | — | Moderate |
| Montreal |
|
+3.4% | +0.5% | — | Moderate |
| Edmonton |
|
+1.5% | −1.2% | $1,359 (1-bed) | Soft |
| Calgary |
|
−1.9% | −2.2% | $1,628 (1-bed) | Soft |
Source: Yardi Canadian National Multifamily Report, Q3 2026. Data covers 6,100 properties and 533,000+ rental units. KCW = Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo.
Supply pipeline set to slow
Apartment starts in 2025 accounted for more than half of all housing starts in Canada, though the pipeline now appears set to slow, with residential building permits declining in several markets.
In Halifax, one of the country’s tightest rental markets, building permits fell 9.7% in the first five months of 2026 compared with a year earlier, according to Yardi’s analysis of Statistics Canada data.
Calgary has delivered approximately 23,000 apartments since the start of 2024, more than it produced in the previous decade, according to Yardi, a supply surge that helps explain its elevated vacancy and negative rent growth.
For brokers working with investor clients, the picture is nuanced. RBC economist Rachel Battaglia has noted that Canada’s rental market is experiencing a period of adjustment after years of unsustainable rent growth, and that while current headwinds will continue pulling vacancies higher in most markets near-term, the correction is not expected to extend far into the future.
