Moving to Canada soon and looking at housing options? Whether you’re arriving alone or with your family, renting will likely be your go-to option for the first few years as a newcomer. From understanding your rights as a tenant to spotting potential scams, there’s a lot to learn. This housing guide is here to help you make informed choices, avoid common mistakes, and find a place you can confidently call home.
Many newcomers to Canada stay with friends or family for a few days or weeks and rely on their help to find a place of their own. If you don’t have connections here, you can start by renting through Airbnb for a short period (this is easy to finalize even before you land). Once you arrive in your chosen city in Canada, you can explore rental options using real estate websites and social media. Sites like kijiji.ca, realtor.ca, rentals.ca, and others offer verified listings that connect you directly with real estate agents. Additionally, Facebook Marketplace is a useful platform for finding rental accommodations by connecting with people who have posted available properties.
Long-term vs. short-term rentals
When finding accommodation as a newcomer to Canada, there are two main options available to you: long-term and short-term rentals. When you agree to a long-term rental, you’re signing a lease for a year or longer. Anything below that 12-month duration is considered short-term.
Depending on your budget and family size, you have various options available to you, ranging from studio and one-bedroom condos to a part of (or the entirety) of a house. Another option (and one of the most affordable) is to rent out a basement apartment in someone else’s home until you’ve established yourself. Alternatively, you might look into sharing a place with someone else.
As a newcomer, you’re most likely to rely on public transport when you arrive, so make sure you live close to transit hubs and are a short distance away from your day-to-day requirements, such as supermarkets, banks, and more.
Also read: Your questions answered: Living and working in Canada as an immigrant
Rent prices depend on where you live
As you plan to rent an accommodation in Canada, bear in mind that housing is an expensive affair, and can take up to between a third and half of your salary, depending on your financial and housing situation.
Rentals.ca releases a Rent Report every month that lists Canada’s major cities in terms of how expensive it is to rent a one or two-bedroom apartment there. Prepare to shell out around $2,500 a month for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver, as well as other cities in British Columbia, such as Burnaby and Coquitlam.
Ontario’s cities are slightly cheaper, but still quite expensive: living in the Greater Toronto Area could cost you anywhere from $2,000 to $2,300 for a one-bedroom apartment, figures similar to Ottawa and the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge region.
Many of the other provinces are far more affordable: Quebec ($1,250 to $1,700), Alberta ($1,250 to $1,600), Manitoba ($1,400), and Saskatchewan ($1,275) are more likely to be in your budget. In St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador, a one-bedroom apartment can cost you a little more than $1,000.
When doing your research, make sure you find out what’s included in the rent: some landlords will include services such as utilities, locker storage, Wi-Fi, and a parking spot. Note: Rent prices are based on mid-year 2025 data and may change over time.
Documents you’ll need as a renter
You will need the following documents to determine whether you have the means to pay the rent:
- Employment letter from your employer, confirming you are gainfully employed
- Proof of income in the form of pay stubs
- Character references from a friend or coworker
- Credit reports
- A copy of your valid government ID
As a newcomer, it is also possible that you haven’t yet found work or have built a credit score, in which case you will be asked to pay a certain amount of rent (such as six months’ worth) up front.
Also read: Five common scams that target newcomers to Canada
Rental scams: What to look out for
With Canada actively inviting newcomers to build their lives here, there are unfortunately some bad actors who might take advantage of your lack of knowledge of local laws and regulations and swindle you of your hard-earned money.
While no two scams are exactly alike, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police asks you to look for red flags such as:
- The monthly rent is lower than other similar places
- You’re asked to leave a deposit without any formal rental agreement/lease in place
- You’re asked to send money to someone outside the country
- You get an email that sends you to a website asking for personal or financial information
- Ads show pictures of the outside of the property only, or pictures that don’t match the actual property
- The landlord does not meet you in person
- The landlord does not require a credit or reference check
- The name of the landlord is not on the rental documents
To report online fraud, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or contact local law enforcement.
Know your rights as a tenant
As a tenant in Canada, you have certain rights that vary between provinces, and govern issues such as your privacy, what to do in case of a renovation, what to do in case of an eviction, and whether or not you can have pets at home. Understand landlord-tenant relations and look up tenant rights in your destination of choice to know more.
Also read: Empowering newcomers with knowledge of mortgage options in Ontario