Hamilton sees rent for one-bedroom apartment exceed $1,900

According to a new survey, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Canada now tops $2,100 a month.

And it’s very clear that people in our area are paying more for their homes, with three local communities being some of the most expensive in the country.

Twenty-nine-year-old Theodore Plastaras says he was in a car accident in April, couldn’t work and couldn’t pay his rent, so he was evicted.

“I would have been so close to being homeless after being evicted from our home of 2.5 years,” Plastaras said.

He and his mom are staying with friends while they search for a two-bedroom apartment.

“I’m seeing almost $2000-$3000 for a two-bedroom, one-bedroom is about $1,500 before we were paying $1,500 for a two-bedroom,” Plastaras said.

READ MORE: Tenants intend to purchase building to avoid rent hikes, renoviction

According to a recent survey by rentals.ca, the average one-bedroom in Hamilton goes for $1,900, a two-bedroom about $300 more.

And that’s not even the highest in our area. Burlington is the eighth most expensive in the country at about $2,200 for a single and $2,653 for a two-bedroom.

St. Catharines also made the list at just over $1,600 for a one-bedroom and just under $2,000 for a two-bedroom.

“It’s really challenging. It doesn’t compete with incomes. The income you’d need to sustain that is high. The rent that you’d need on a minimum wage full-time income is $750 for it to be affordable,” McMaster University professor Jim Dunn said.

He said home ownership has dropped, so more people are renting.

READ MORE: Vacancy rate for rentals in Hamilton is at its lowest point since 2002

“We’ve underbuilt purpose-built rentals for quite some time. For the past 50 years, at least 30 per cent of the population rented, and only about 7 per cent of new construction has been purpose built rentals,” Dunn said.

With rent being so high, students at McMaster University say they’ve had to get a little creative with their living situations.

“I pay $500 and I live with eight people, how hard is that? They’re all my pals so it works out. But sharing a kitchen with the right people, we’re fighting tooth and nail to get some stove real estate,” one student said.

As for Plastaras, he’s working two part-time jobs and searching every day to find a home for himself and his mom.