Rents across Canada fell 4.7 per cent in May compared to a year ago, marking the 20th consecutive month of year-over-year declines, and Ajax in Durham Region recorded one of the steepest drops in the country according to the latest National Rent Report by Urbanation.
One-bedroom apartment rents in Ajax plunged 9.5 per cent year-over-year, the second biggest decline among 20 cities surveyed nationally, trailing only Scarborough at 9.9 per cent. Ajax also saw the largest month-to-month decline for one-bedroom units at 4.1 per cent, far outpacing any other community in the report.
The data signals a significant shift for renters in Durham Region, where rapidly rising rents had been a persistent and growing concern for residents in recent years. The downward trend offers some welcome relief for tenants who have weathered years of increases.
Conversely, the picture for two-bedroom units in Ajax told a different story. Two-bedroom rents rose 2.2 per cent month-to-month, second only to Kanata’s 9.5 per cent jump. Year-over-year, Ajax two-bedroom units increased 3.9 per cent, behind only Kingston at 10.2 per cent. The sharp divergence suggests growing demand for larger rental units even as one-bedroom prices soften.
The national average asking rent fell 100 dollars to 2,029 dollars year-over-year, while rents rose just 0.1 per cent from April. That marginal increase was well below the average seasonal increase for May during the previous five years of 1.3 per cent, indicating a slower than normal uptrend heading into the peak summer rental season.
North Vancouver remained the most expensive city to rent in Canada with an average asking price of 2,297 dollars across all rental units. Vancouver followed at 2,712 dollars, then Kanata at 2,543 dollars, North York at 2,520 dollars, and Toronto at 2,512 dollars.
Since reaching a pandemic low of 1,662 dollars in April 2021, average national rents have climbed 22.1 per cent but have now fallen 7.8 per cent from the peak of 2,202 dollars reached in May 2024.
Current economic indicators suggest rents will continue facing headwinds through the second half of 2026. Canada fell into a technical recession in the first quarter of the year, and elevated youth unemployment combined with changes to federal immigration policy are expected to continue reducing rental demand.
The combination of newly completed supply hitting a market with declining demand has created persistent rent reductions and heightened competition among property owners for tenants. In the Greater Toronto Area, the most common rental incentive being offered by newly completed purpose-built apartment projects is now two months of free rent.
For Durham Region renters in Ajax, Pickering, Oshawa, and Whitby, the extended decline in rental prices across the region may create genuine opportunities to negotiate better lease terms. However, the divergence between one-bedroom and two-bedroom trends in Ajax suggests the market remains segmented, with larger units still commanding steady premium pricing.
The National Rent Report underscores the broader economic challenges facing Canadian households even as some cost pressures begin to ease in the Canadian rental market heading into the second half of 2026.
