• The cost of rent in Edmonton has increased significantly over the past 20 years.
• Rent tends to decrease slightly during economic downturns, such as the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2010, but increases sharply during economic booms.

Built Environment. For almost everyone, housing represents the largest living cost. The availability, affordability, and adequacy of housing is therefore crucial to quality of life for both renters and homeowners.

Renters tend to have lower and more variable incomes and are therefore less able to afford substantial rent increases or the cost of purchasing a home. Vulnerable groups that face barriers, such as recent immigrants, refugees, and Indigenous peoples, often live in crowded or substandard housing.

Home ownership rates are an indicator of the overall level of financial independence in a community. Buying a home requires savings that many low- and moderate-income families do not have. Rising housing costs can make it more difficult to enter the housing market.

Incomes are intricately linked to housing affordability. If incomes do not keep up with the rising cost of housing, people’s ability to cover other living costs and to save for their future (education, retirement, etc.) declines.