PEI seniors pay highest rents, Quebecers pay lowest as rates rise across Canada
The national average rent for seniors’ housing residences is $2,043 as the number of residents grow 6.2% from last year.
The cost of seniors housing by province is the highest in Prince Edward Island and lowest in Quebec, according to a new survey from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The Crown Corporation said the average monthly rent for a bachelor unit or a private room was $2,782 in P.E.I. but $1,497 in Quebec. Nationally the average rent is $2,043.
CMHC says across the country there are 219,052 spaces in seniors’ housing residences with 76.5% being what is called standard spaces — a space where the resident does not receive more than 1.5 hours of care per day.
The number of residents is expanding rapidly, up 6.2% so far this year from 2013 levels while the number of standard spaces rose 5.2% during the same period.
Overall, the vacancy rate for standard seniors housing space was down to 9.7% in 2014, from 10.3% in 2013. Vacancy rates in the seniors sector tends to be higher than the traditional rental market because of higher rents and more frequent turnover, said CMHC.
Canadian Alliance of United Seniors 