'Crisis level' of B.C. renters spending more than half their income on rent and utilities
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British Columbia now has the highest share of renters spending more than half of their income on rent and utilities in Canada.
British Columbia now has the highest share of renters spending more than half of their income on rent and utilities in Canada.
That’s according to a new study highlighting the struggle to keep up with the province’s ballooning cost of living.
The Canadian Rental Housing Index has released its latest findings, revealing a staggering increase in rental costs.
Between 2016 and 2021, the largest increases in average rents in Canada were in British Columbia, which saw a 30 per cent jump.
Sixteen per cent of renters in the province are using more than half their income to pay for rent and utilities each month, which the index considers a crisis level of spending.
Eleven per cent of B.C. renters are also living in “overcrowded conditions,” representing an increase of about 20 per cent over five years.
The situation is worse in Surrey, where 24 per cent of renters are living in cramped quarters.