Rental Market Forces Landlords to Rethink Rents
Calgary’s oil and gas slump has hit several sectors recently and now landlords are feeling the heat. Up until recently, it’s been a dog eat dog world for renters as picky property managers host group showings for suites, run reference checks, and take their time selecting the perfect tenant.
Alberta’s economy dip has chased away demand for rentals and landlords are forced to make their properties more attractive to potential candidates. Some are offering to lower rents and others are choosing incentives like free utilities or cable.
Bany Declair owns a 3 bedroom townhouse in the must-have Marda Loop community. After watching it go empty, she was forced to lower her rent by $700. "If you want to drop your prices, just go ahead, don't be scared, having a lower rent is better than no renter," Declair said.
But this hasn’t been easy for landlords to accept. Darren Paddock runs the website Rentfaster.ca and points to the recent economic slowdown as the cause. With job cuts and layoffs, the demand just isn’t there and renters have more choices.
"Landlords have grown accustomed over the last couple of years of being able to be very picky with their restrictions on pets and smoking and credit and so forth, and those are some of the adjustments that will have to be made now as the market shifts towards more of a renter's market," Paddock said.
Traditionally, landlords have benefited from Alberta’s lenient tenancy laws and high-demand for rental properties. They have been able to insist on strict lease conditions, raise rent at will, and ask tenants to leave. But now the market has swung the other way.
“This [was] not a fair thing for the renters,” says Declair.”Now I think it’s better for renters and they have more options."
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