Here's proof that finding a Toronto rental is way more difficult in August

Toronto’s already-stressed rental market is feeling extra pressure as September approaches and students scramble to find apartments before the school year starts. 

Supply of rental units in Toronto has been tight for several years, meaning prospective tenants compete for space regardless of the season. 

But the third quarter of the year — which spans parts of July, August, and all of September — is the busiest. According to Urbanation, which tracks condo activity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), since 2012, the third quarter is when condo rentals spend the least number of days on the market as students try to secure housing before the start of the school year. It’s also the period that sees the most rental transactions: around 30% of the year’s total are made in the third quarter.

One renter, Brianna Love, told The Globe and Mail on Friday that she’s gone to apartment showings where more than a hundred people were present. Others said that they’ve seen landlords ask for several months of rent in advance, or more money than they’d initially asked for in their listing. In one disturbing story, Love recalls a landlord telling her, “If you’re interested, there are a lot of applications in front of you. You’d have to do something pretty special to move up the list.” Love asked the landlord what he meant, but could not determine whether he was asking for more money or sex.

According to the Globe, Renters can be especially vulnerable if they are students, since they’re often first-time renters, uncertain about their rights, and on a low budget. One-bedroom apartments near the University of Toronto are around $2,400, said Dena Shiff, a real estate agent with Sage Realty, while the same units in the rest of the downtown core are going for an average of $2,100.

“Typical market rent is prohibitively expensive for many of our students,” said Katrina Persad, an off-campus housing facilitator at Ryerson University. “Units within their budget are often dirty, in need of essential repairs, or are located in neighbourhoods that feel unsafe to walk home in after an evening class.”

Shiff said that the third quarter of 2018 hasn’t been busier than the back-to-school season in 2017 — about the same volume of students are looking to rent.

However, there is one difference between last season and this season: price.

An apartment that might have commanded $1,700 last year would now go for $1,900, said Shiff.

Such prices are definitely not making young people happier about living in the GTA. On Monday, the Angus Reid Institute released a report which found that most young people in the city were “uncomfortable” or even “miserable” because of their housing and commuting circumstances.