Windsor tenants trapped by high rates despite lower rental costs compared to other Canadian cities

While a new survey shows Windsor's rental rates are among the lowest in all of Canada, some tenants in and around the city say they have no choice but to stay in their current residence because of high rental prices.

According to a recent survey by rentals.ca, Windsor ranks 28 out of 35 municipalities in terms of rental prices for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.

In Windsor, a one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment costs a monthly average of $1,529 and $1,952, respectively.

Brittany Leroux lives in a two-bedroom apartment in east Windsor with her partner, son, and daughter. She fears the day when her children, an infant and toddler, grow up and her family is forced to move to a bigger space.

"Eventually, we're going to have to look elsewhere because we're not going to have a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old [boy] sharing the same room," said Leroux.

In her preliminary search for a three-bedroom apartment, Leroux said she's found units listed for as high as $2,500 per month.

Leroux, who currently receives ODSP and federal child care benefits, moved into a one-bedroom apartment with her husband six years ago. At the time, she paid $1,050 a month.

After shifting to a two-bedroom unit in the same building a year and a half ago, her rent increased to around $1,430.

"Even in a two-bedroom, we're already cutting into our basic needs. Our grocery money is going toward housing," said Leroux, adding her in-laws live in a separate two-bedroom unit for around $1,100 per month.

"They're living in an un-renovated apartment that hasn't been updated in 10 years," Leroux said. "Their only option is to move to another apartment and pay a drastic amount — but that's not feasible for someone on a pension."

The primary issue is supply, according to the president of the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors.

"There is not enough inventory to meet the growing demand. Depending on the data source, two-bedroom apartments can get into the $2,000 range, making them unaffordable for many," said Mark Lalovich.

For families in need of more substantial accommodations, such as homes with three or more bedrooms, their situations can be dire.

Lalovich said more people are paying a larger portion of their income toward housing costs, far beyond the typical guideline of 30 per cent, in recent years.

The result is many tenants staying put in their current rental conditions due to affordability concerns.

"We need to produce more supply as fast as we can. The city has got to get on board and we've got to get the approvals done quicker. We've got to take advantage of the ability to subdivide properties into three units," Lalovich added.

Affordability concerns aren't just exclusive to tenants living in apartments.

Originally from India, Krishna Kumar moved to Belle River two months ago to be closer to the Canada-U.S. border for work purposes.

Despite wanting to rent a home in Windsor with his wife and children, he opted to live in Belle River since rental costs in the Lakeshore community were lower than in the city.

"When I looked at Windsor, my only options were very old houses and the rent was very high," said Kumar. "I would love to live there because anytime I want to go to Walmart or Costco, it takes around 20 to 25 minutes. I would love to be closer to the border, but only if there were more rental options in Windsor."

According to the report from rentals.ca, the most expensive city to rent an apartment is Vancouver where a one-bedroom and two-bedroom unit costs a monthly average of $2,976 and $3,908, respectively.

The cheapest is Saskatoon. A one-bedroom apartment there costs an average of $1,070 per month and a two-bedroom unit costs $1,244.