Global News ran the headline today: rents in Canada have now fallen for 24 consecutive months. The number comes from the October National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, which covers September 2026. It is worth looking past the headline, because the average is hiding a split that matters a lot more to Ontario landlords and tenants than the national figure.

The national average asking rent was $2,034 in September, down 4.2% from a year earlier. That is two full years of straight annual declines, and the average is now 9.2% below the May 2024 peak of $2,202. September also marked the second straight month-over-month dip, which the report attributes to the usual seasonal cooldown once the summer leasing rush ends. Rentals.ca October 2026 National Rent Report

Ontario fell the hardest

The provincial breakdown is where it gets uncomfortable for Ontario landlords. Average asking rents fell 4.8% year over year in Ontario, the steepest drop of any province. BC was next at 2.9%, then Alberta at 2.6% and Quebec at 1.7%. Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan actually rose 1.4%.

Toronto tells the same story in sharper detail. The average asking rent fell to $2,554 in September, down 0.6% from August and 1.4% from a year ago. The report notes that is the lowest September average since 2021, and it marks the 32nd consecutive month of annual decline in Toronto, a full eight months longer than the national streak.

Vancouver, by comparison, saw rents rise 1.4% month over month to $2,741, the biggest monthly gain among the six largest markets, though prices there are still down 1.3% on the year.

The average is two different markets

Here is the part the headline misses. Condo rents fell 7.8% year over year to $2,052, with studio condos down 9.6%, the worst of any segment. Houses and townhomes fell 7.4% to $2,016. But purpose-built rentals only fell 2.7% to $2,036, the most resilient category in the report.

And in Toronto, the split is even more dramatic by unit size. The September report shows Toronto was the only major market where three-bedroom rents rose annually, up 1.8% to $3,586, while the overall city average kept falling. The family-size stock is thin, and its relief from high rents ended first. The glut is in small downtown condos, not in the units families are searching for.

Rent per square foot across the six largest markets sits at $2.48, down 1.5% on the year and down 3.7% over the past 24 months. Shared accommodation remains the cheap end of the market: $935 on average across BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, down 0.8% from a year ago and 7.4% below September 2024.

What this means if you own a rental in Ontario

If you own a condo unit or a small one-bedroom, you are competing against a growing pile of vacant investor units, and pricing like it is 2023 will leave your listing sitting. We see it in Brampton: listings priced near $2,800 sit for weeks while units at $2,200 move fast. Every empty month costs more than the price cut would have.

If you own a 3-bedroom house or a family-size unit, your segment is holding up far better. Toronto 3-beds are already rising again. Price fairly, screen carefully, and you can still pick a great tenant without chasing the market down.

The seasonal angle matters too. September is when the summer rush ends, so month-over-month dips are expected. The real question is whether the annual declines keep shrinking into the spring. Ontario fell harder than any province this month, so landlords here cannot afford to price on hope.

What this means if you are renting

Tenants have negotiating power right now that they have not had in years, especially for condos and small units. If a listing has sat for a month, the landlord is feeling it. It costs nothing to ask for a better number, a parking spot thrown in, or a shorter lease term.

The one exception is family-size units. If you need two or three bedrooms, the market is already tightening back up in Toronto. Waiting for a better deal that may not come can cost you the good units that are out there now.

The bottom line

Rents are not falling everywhere. They are falling hard in small condos and soft in houses and family-size units, and Ontario is leading the decline, not following it. Whether you own or rent, the smart move is the same: look at your specific segment, not the national average, and act on what is actually happening in front of you.

A verifiable payment history is the currency of this market. Landlords who can show their records price with confidence, and tenants who can prove they pay on time get picked first when competition thins. LIVIO keeps that proof for both sides: receipts for every payment, one record that follows the tenant to the next application.

Sources: Rentals.ca October 2026 National Rent Report; Global News, Oct 7 2026.