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Burnaby has the fifth-highest rents in Canada: report

Data from Rentals.ca shows affordability for low-income people looking for a place to rent in Burnaby is even worse than reported in mid-July by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
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The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has released a rental housing wage report for cities across Canada and Vancouver was ranked the least affordable. Photo Dan Toulgoet

Data from Rentals.ca shows affordability for low-income people looking for a place to rent in Burnaby is even worse than reported in mid-July by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Burnaby is expensive for renters, finishing fifth on a list of 37 Canadian cities for average monthly rent for a two-bedroom home at $2,146 and 10th for a one-bedroom at $1,554. Burnaby's average rent per square foot for condo and apartment rentals was about $2.10 vs. an average unit size of about 1,020 square feet, said a news release.
TheAugust National Rent Report, produced by Rentals.ca and Bullpen Research & Consulting, shows that a Canadian making $13 an hour would have to work 62 hours a week to afford the average lower-cost rental, maintaining the recommended 30-per-cent rent-to-income ratio. 
On the lower end of rental prices - in the 10th percentile - if $975 per month is 30 per cent of someone’s monthly income ($3,250) and the employee works 40 hours a week for four weeks (160 hours), that worker would need to make $20.31 per hour to afford that unit in July 2019. This is an increase from $18.75 in October 2018, according to Rentals.ca data from October 2018 to July. 
The CCPA’s “Unaccommodating - Rental Housing Wage in Canada” report uses data from the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation, which calculates rental rates on most all units, including those under rent control. The data from Rentals.ca comes from the asking price of landlords for vacant units. 
The CCPA says about its report: “rent is almost always higher for unoccupied apartments.” 
Rentals.ca data from October 2018 to July confirms this is true not only for unoccupied apartments, but also for all other vacant rental types. 
Nearby Vancouver topped the $3,000 threshold for average monthly rent for a two-bedroom ($3,089), and is the priciest for renters of the 37 Canadian cities on the Rentals.ca list. For average monthly rent for a one-bedroom, Vancouver ($2,028) placed second behind Toronto ($2,259).