The moving season is fast approaching in Quebec and tenants must deal, even more than ever, with the rise in apartment prices. In fact, the cost of rent has skyrocketed over the past four years and there are certain cities in the province where the situation has gotten particularly worse for your budget.
This is what emerges from the new report Moving: A nightmare for tenants, a dream opportunity for owners of the Regroupment of Housing Committees and Tenant Associations of Quebec (RCLALQ). “In recent decades, the construction of residential units has outpaced the growth in the number of households, which has not prevented the erosion of accessibility and affordability of housing,” underlines -on in the document published on June 19.
The Legault government would have intensified the crisis by stimulating the construction of “unaffordable” private housing, denounces this organization. “ […] it is precisely this approach that is pushing tenants into crisis,” laments Cédric Dussault, spokesperson for RCLALQ in a press release.
What you need to know: Data collected by this organization from 2020 to 2024 shows large rent increases for housing available on the Kijiji platform.
Here is how much the average price per month of apartments (all sizes combined) is for major cities in Quebec as well as the increase since 2020 for each of them (in ascending order):
- Montreal: $1,725, + 27%;
- Quebec: $1,352, + 33%;
- Sherbrooke: $1,305, +44%;
- Trois-Rivières: $1,225, + 50%.
If the most marked increase is in Trois-Rivières, Montreal unsurprisingly wins the prize for the highest average cost for the last four years.
What type of unit received the biggest rent increase since 2020? For Montreal, Quebec and Trois-Rivières, it is 5 ½ (with the exception of Sherbrooke, where the price of 4 ½ has jumped the most in four years). Here is now what their average price looks like in 2024 as well as the percentage increase:
- Montreal: $2,293, +32%;
- Quebec: $2,052, +43%;
- Trois-Rivières: $1,517, +51%;
- Sherbrooke: $1,602, +40% (and +46% for the 4 ½whose average cost is $1,306).
In case you didn’t know: While housing has cost even more since the start of the year in Quebec, Montreal has not escaped rent increases: the average cost of a 3 ½ apartment has seen a further increase to stand at $1,640. per month in May, according to a recent report.
However, some neighborhoods generally offer better prices than others – find out where you could direct your search, particularly based on your salary in our article on the subject.
