Toronto's Rental Housing Crunch: Are We Pushing Mom-and-Pop Landlords Out of the Market?
Toronto is facing a critical rental housing challenge. With a population that continues to grow and a shrinking share of purpose-built rentals, many are asking: who will house Toronto’s future residents?
📊 Overview of Toronto’s Rental Landscape
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Toronto has approximately 334,748 rental apartment units, broken down as follows:
3–5 units: 10,727
6–19 units: 20,602
20–49 units: 34,939
50–199 units: 139,616
200+ units: 128,864
City-Owned Units: ~60,000
🏘️ Who Owns Toronto’s Rentals?
Toronto’s rental market is split between two categories:
Primary Market (49.2%): Purpose-built rental buildings.
Secondary Market (50.8%): Condos, basement apartments, and houses—typically owned by individuals.
This means over 170,000 units are owned by small landlords, often referred to as "mom-and-pop" landlords. These owners are responsible for more than half of Toronto’s rental housing.
💸 Can Small Landlords Keep Up?
Rising maintenance costs, property taxes, insurance, and now new municipal bylaws—like Toronto’s renoviction license—are putting immense pressure on small landlords.
Many of these owners rent out basement units or secondary suites. They can’t afford expensive upgrades or to comply with bureaucratic requirements. If forced to shoulder additional costs, many will simply exit the rental market.
On average, even a basic legal renovation (e.g., fire safety upgrades, electrical rewiring, insulation, HVAC improvements) can cost a landlord between $30,000 to $70,000 per unit. With the new renoviction bylaw taking effect in July 2025, additional costs include:
Permit fee: $700 per unit
Engineer/architect report: $5,000–$10,000
Temporary accommodation for tenants: $4,000–$8,000 per project (based on $2,000–$4,000/month)
Moving allowance: $2,500 per tenant
This amounts to an approximate 40–100% increase in total renovation costs. For many mom-and-pop landlords, that level of capital investment is simply not viable without increasing rents—which current rent control policies restrict.
The result?
Fewer available units
Higher rents
Greater housing insecurity for tenants
🏗️ Are We Building Enough Purpose-Built Rentals?
Between 2005 and 2025, only 14,835 new purpose-built rentals PBR (purpose-built rental) units have been constructed in Toronto.
📈 Population vs. Rental Unit Growth (2005–2025)
📉 % of PBR (purpose-built rental) Units per Person:
2005: 11.6% of Toronto residents in PBR (purpose-built rental) units
2025: 10.8%
CMA: Drop from 5.9% to 5.0%
In simple terms: Toronto is adding people faster than rental housing.
🔍 Why the Decline in Rental Construction?
Private investment is scarce: High costs and low returns.
Governments aren’t building enough: Public housing stock is stagnant.
Mom-and-pop landlords face increasing regulation: Making it harder to stay in the market.
🧠 Final Thoughts: Who Will House Toronto?
If Toronto pushes small landlords out through excessive regulation and fails to incentivize private or public sector investment, the rental crisis will worsen.
Fewer rental options mean:
Skyrocketing rents
Increased homelessness
Economic strain on the city
We need a balanced approach that protects tenants but also keeps rental housing providers—especially mom-and-pop owners—engaged in the market.
📚 Sources
CMHC Housing Market Information Portal
Provides detailed data on Toronto's rental apartment units by structure size.
🔗 CMHC Housing Market Information PortalCMHC Rental Market Report – January 2023
Offers insights into Canada's primary and secondary rental markets, including trends and conditions.
🔗 CMHC Rental Market Report - January 2023Statistics Canada – Population Estimates
Provides annual population estimates for the City of Toronto and the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).
🔗 Statistics Canada Table 17-10-0148-01City of Toronto – Purpose-Built Rental Housing Incentives
Details the city's initiatives and reports on purpose-built rental housing developments.
🔗 City of Toronto Staff ReportFRPO – Purpose-Built Rental Housing in the Greater Toronto Area
Analyzes the state of purpose-built rental housing in the GTA, including construction data and market trends.
🔗 FRPO Whitepaper
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