The Rental Trap in New Toronto Rental Buildings

So if you have to rent a property in Toronto, watch out, don't let yourself get trapped, and here's how some are getting trapped as tenants right now. A lot of the new purpose built rental buildings in the city of Toronto are having a problem filling up. There's a lot of new inventory across the city.

Some of the big ones may be only 50% occupied, meaning they've got tons and tons of units. That's a real problem for them. So what are they doing? Well, they're taking that rent. So say, For example, maybe you're looking at a unit there that's $2,800 a month. They'll say, hey, we'll give you three months free in year one.

And that makes the effective rent in year one only $2,000 a month. And you think, wow, that's a great deal. But here's what happens. 12 months goes by very fast. In year two, while 30 days before your one year leases up, they say, hey, you can stay. If you sign another one year lease, your rent is only going to go up 10%, and that's based on $2,800 a month, meaning that you're not over $3,000 a month in rent.

Or if you want to stay a month to a month, your rent will only go up 15%. So you're even higher. That's how they trap you. So be careful. You know, if they're offering you a great inducement or incentive to move in, well, don't be surprised if they get yet at the end of the lease.

Be careful. Be careful. Make sure you know what you're signing when you sign the lease.