Toronto 
Move-in incentives are playing a larger role in Ontario’s rental market as rents soften, vacancy rates rise and more rental supply comes online.
Credit: Khay Edwards
A new analysis from Rentals.ca and Urbanation finds that about one in five listings on Rentals.ca now include some form of incentive. These offers can include free rent, reduced or waived parking fees, internet or utility packages, gift cards and cash bonuses.
The trend is especially visible in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. In Q1 2026, 66 per cent of newly completed purpose-built rental projects in the GTHA offered incentives. That is up from 62 per cent a year earlier and 32 per cent two years ago.
Credit: Rentals.ca and Urbanation
The most common offer was two months of free rent, used by 47 per cent of projects with incentives. That share rose from 32 per cent in 2025, as some building managers added another month to their lease-up packages.
Other incentives included cash move-in bonuses at 17 per cent, parking or storage lockers at 9 per cent, 1.5 months of free rent at 6 per cent, three months of free rent at 4 per cent and included internet at 4 per cent.
For the average GTHA unit, incentives lowered effective rent by 13 per cent, or $379 per month. That compares with $292 in 2025, $163 in 2024 and $76 in 2023. Face rents averaged $4.05 per square foot in Q1, while net rents after incentives were $3.52.
In Ottawa, the stabilized building vacancy rate reached 3.2 per cent in Q1, double the level from two years earlier. Purpose-built rents averaged $3.28 per square foot, while incentive-adjusted rents fell to $2.91, an 11.4 per cent discount.
The largest Ottawa-area discounts were reported in Gloucester, Britannia/Carlingwood and Carlington/Iris.
