GTA rent prices eased again in September, and for the first time in years, unfurnished units in the City of Toronto are actually renting for more than furnished ones – a sign of just how much the rental market has shifted. According to liv.rent's September 2026 Ontario Rent Report, most GTA neighbourhoods saw rents fall from a year earlier, giving renters more leverage than they've had in a while. Here's what the numbers show, and what they mean whether you're renting, leasing out a condo, or just trying to figure out if now's the time to buy instead.
GTA Rent Prices in September 2026
In the City of Toronto, the average furnished one-bedroom rent slipped 1.64% month-over-month to $1,898, while the unfurnished average actually rose 1.33% to $1,973. That leaves unfurnished units renting for about $75 a month more than furnished ones – a reversal of the usual pattern, where furnished units command a premium. Compared to a year earlier, though, unfurnished one-bedroom rent is still down 3.73% from $2,050 in September 2025. Downtown Toronto remains the priciest pocket for unfurnished one-bedrooms at $2,106, even after easing 1.0% from $2,127.
The softening isn't limited to downtown. Of the 19 GTA-area markets liv.rent tracks with comparable year-over-year data, 16 posted lower unfurnished one-bedroom rents than September 2025, with declines ranging from 0.72% in York to 10.57% in East York, averaging roughly 4.7% down across those areas. The one notable exception was Vaughan-Richmond Hill, where unfurnished one-bedroom rent jumped 9.87% month-over-month to $2,012 – still a modest 2.96% year-over-year gain, but the kind of single-month swing worth watching rather than reading too much into.
Mississauga and the Wider Rental Market
Mississauga is telling a similar story from a different data source. Rentals.ca and Urbanation's National Rent Report put Mississauga's average rent across all unit types at $2,346 in August, with one-bedrooms averaging $2,042 (down 3.3% year-over-year, down 0.5% from July) and two-bedrooms at $2,443 (down 4.4% year-over-year) – enough to rank Mississauga as the 13th most expensive city in Canada for rent. That's still above the national average of $2,035, which itself was down 4.8% year-over-year in August, but the direction is the same: rents easing almost everywhere in the GTA.
Why Rents Are Easing
liv.rent's own read on the market points to supply as the main driver, noting that rental conditions should keep favouring renters in the near term as more condo apartments and purpose-built rental buildings finish construction and reach the market. That tracks with what's been happening on the ownership side too: the Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on September 2 – its seventh straight hold – citing renewed inflation risk from Middle East-driven energy prices and tariff disputes, with no decision due until October 28. Steady rates haven't been enough to pull many renters off the fence and into ownership, which has kept rental demand from tightening even as new supply keeps landing.
The Rent Increase Guideline for 2026
If you're a tenant in an existing unit, Ontario's 2026 rent increase guideline is 2.1%, set by the province using the Consumer Price Index. It applies to most units first occupied on or before November 15, 2018; anything built and occupied after that date is exempt, meaning a landlord can raise the rent by any amount with proper notice. Increases need 90 days' written notice and can only happen once every 12 months, and a landlord seeking more than the guideline needs Landlord and Tenant Board approval through an Above Guideline Increase application – generally capped around 5.1% in most cases. If an increase you've received doesn't follow those rules, you're not obligated to pay it.
What It Means If You're Renting or Leasing in the GTA
If you're renting: this is a market where it's worth negotiating, especially outside the handful of pockets like Vaughan-Richmond Hill that bucked the trend this month. Landlords are competing with more newly completed supply than they have in years, and a 4.7% average year-over-year pullback across most GTA markets gives you real room to ask for a better rate or added incentives on a renewal or new lease.
If you own a rental property or are weighing one as an investment: pricing it against this month's comparables matters more than it did a year or two ago, since overpricing a vacant unit in a softer market just adds carrying costs while it sits empty. For older units subject to the 2.1% guideline, plan renewals around that number; for newer, exempt units, you have more flexibility, but tenants have more alternatives to compare you against too.
Wondering what rent trends mean for a specific property, whether you're a tenant weighing your next move or a landlord rethinking your numbers, I'm happy to walk through what's happening in your building or neighbourhood – reach out anytime.
