JRN 270, SECTION 4 GROUP 1
POLL: More than two-thirds of Ryerson students living in Toronto pay over $1000 per month in rent
By Xavier Eeswaran
Two-thirds of rent-paying Ryerson students living in Toronto pay over $1000 per month, according to a poll conducted by Ryerson journalism students.
The poll results, released Friday morning, suggest that out of the 632 students who indicated that they’re paying rent, 39 per cent of them said that they’re paying in between $1000-$1500 per month in individual rent.
Julie Kazdan, a first-year psychology student, pays $1500 per month in individual rent. She splits rent with her roommate for her downtown apartment.
“I would say we pay a good amount for what we have compared to other apartments, but it’s definitely overpriced,” said Kazdan.
The poll also suggested that 35 per cent of students who indicated that they’re paying rent are paying $750 to $999 per month.
“It sucks that we get screwed over because we have to pay inflated rent prices,” said Andrew Taylor, a third-year politics student. Taylor pays $900 per month in individual rent.
“I have friends that go to other schools in other cities and they’re paying almost half of what I’m paying now.”
Ryerson School of Journalism students conducted in-person surveys about Toronto election issues with 1,081 undergraduate and graduate Ryerson students in October prior to the municipal election. The results are considered accurate to within plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Toronto: the most expensive city to rent in Canada
Toronto has the most expensive average rent in Canada, according to a report released by Rentals.ca.
The report, which featured data accurate as of September 2018, indicates that Toronto has an average price of $1,902 per month for a one bedroom, while a two bedroom has an average price of $2,374 per month.
The report also shows a 2.8 per cent increase month-over-month in average pricing for a one bedroom apartment, and a 7.1 per cent increase for two bedroom apartment.
The city’s rent prices have increased substantially in the past few years.
There has been a 50 per cent increase in average rent for condos between 2012 and 2017, according to a report released by Toronto’s Tenant Issues committee, February of this year.
The committee’s report also shows that 47 per cent of the city’s households are renters, and 47 per cent of Toronto’s renters spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing.
With municipal elections around the corner, here’s what the candidates have to say about rent.
Ryerson falls within Ward 13, and Kristyn Wong-Tam is running for re-election as counselor for the ward. Here’s what Wong-Tam and other notable candidates have planned to deal with Toronto’s rent situation.
Wong-Tam’s platform did not explicitly mention any plans for rentals in Toronto however, her platform does mention a plan for affordable housing.
Walied Khogali’s platform disregards short term rentals (beneficial for students), which reduce the housing stock available to long-term tenants.
Jon Callegher’s platform emphasizes the fast construction of building affordable and transitional housing in the Port Lands. He also wants to speed up approvals for developers to build lower-rise buildings outside of the downtown core.
Saron Gebresellassi’s platform outlines the importance of affordable housing and wants to meet targets towards affordable rental units and ownership units.
Toronto’s municipal election takes place October 22nd.
The cost of living in Toronto
Aaliyah Dasoo
Rental Prices across Toronto
Interactive map by Victoria Malawi
Social media/layout: Emma Buchanan
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