P.E.I. apartment vacancy rate eases but still low, tied for worst in Canada

The vacancy rate for apartments on P.E.I. was up a little in 2023, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation meaning a slight easing in the difficulty of finding a home to rent for some parts of the Island.

The rate rose from 0.8 per cent in 2022 to 1.1 per cent. The rate is based on an annual survey done by CMHC every October.

The 1.1 per cent vacancy rate is tied with Nova Scotia for the lowest in the country. Nationally, the vacancy rate was 1.5 per cent.

The market bucked the trend by getting tighter in Charlottetown, going from 0.8 per cent in 2022 to 0.5 per cent last year. Among more than 50 communities surveyed by CMHC, onlyTrois-Rivires had a lower rate than P.E.I.'s capital city.

The numbers show there is still work to be done on the Island, said Cory Pater of the advocacy group P.E.I. Fight for Affordable Housing.

"It's not too surprising. There's been a fairly big push federally for more housing, so I think that's going to have an effect on the number provincially."

P.E.I. apartment vacancy rate eases, but advocates say more action needed

8 months ago

Duration 1:13

The Island's rental unit vacancy rate was up a little in 2023. But when it comes to availability, P.E.I. is still tied for worst in the country. Cory Pater with P.E.I. Fight for Affordable Housing says the province should regulate the market and boost the public housing supply.

Patersaid the changing vacancy rate doesn't tell the whole story, though.

"One thing we've heard a lot more lately is people who live in large apartments have seen them turned into condominiums," he said. They can't afford to buy the units they live in, so they have to move on and try to find something else.

"And then also overcrowding.... You have a home that's meant for maybe a four- or five-person family initially that's being divided into different apartments then let out to well upwards of seven to 10 people."

Pater said he still hears every day from people struggling to find a place to live.

While there were more apartments available on the Island last year, rents were on the rise.

In 2022, the average rent was $1,041. Last year, including newly opened apartments, the average rent rose to $1,130, an increase of 8.5 per cent.