How much can you save when living with a roommate vs. solo across six major Canadian cities?

From Toronto to Edmonton, sharing a home can dramatically lower your monthly rent. But you have to weigh your potential savings against financial and personal trade-offs.

Living alone has several lifestyle and privacy advantages in many Canadian cities. Privacy comes with a steep price.

For example, in May 2026, a renter looking for a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto faced an average asking rent of $2,218/month. Splitting average monthly rent of $2,913 for a two-bedroom apartment evenly with a roommate would cost you about $1,457/month. Having a single roommate equates to savings of roughly $762/month, or more than $9,100/year. In Edmonton, sharing your two-bedroom rental with a roommate rather than renting a one-bedroom alone could save you close to $5,900 annually.

What are annual savings when you share rent with a roommate?

Living alone vs. sharing with a roommate could amount to annual savings between $5,800 to $9,100 based on average rental costs across six Canadian cities. Rental costs were calculated using average asking rents for purpose-built and condo apartments in Canada's six largest rental markets, as of May 2026. Note: Splitting rent with one roommate assumes dividing rental costs of a two-bedroom apartment equally and excludes utilities, parking, or other expenses. Asking rents reflect searches for a vacant apartment, rather than current rents of all existing tenants.

Source: Rentals.ca Network Data, May 2026. Figures rounded to nearest dollar.

Have rents become more affordable across Canada?

Yes, Canada's rental market has cooled from its recent peak. Average asking rent across the country fell 4.7% year-over-year in May 2026, marking the 20th consecutive month of annual declines.

Yet, the national average asking rent of $2,029 remains 22.1% higher than April 2021, down 7.8% from May 2024 highs. While renters are receiving some relief after an extraordinary run-up in prices, rents remain considerably higher than they were five years ago.

Sarah Lewis, strategic communications manager with the Housing Research Collaborative at the University of British Columbia's Peter A. Allard School of Law, says the growing financial advantage of having roommates illustrates how far rents have moved beyond what many people can afford.

"According to Housing Assessment and Resource Tools (HART) data, only households earning at or above median income can afford market-rate rentals," she says. "In some markets, like Vancouver, even median income isn't enough to cover the average rent. … When it's the only path to shelter, it's a signal that policymakers need to act to bring the market back into balance for the average Canadian."

What drove up property rental costs in Canada?

A shortage of housing, especially affordable housing for lower- and middle-income renters, has contributed to rental property price pressures. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) estimates that Canada would need to double its annual pace of home construction over the next decade, building between 430,000 and 480,000 units per year, to return affordability to 2019 levels. The current business-as-usual pace is projected at approximately 245,000 to 250,000 units annually.

"The financialization of housing has also had a major impact on prices," Lewis says, referring to purchase of homes solely as investment assets. "These tactics erode affordability, especially for vulnerable tenants."

Corporate landlords in particular, she notes, use tactics like raising rents above legal limits to pass renovation and repair costs onto tenants. Private landlords most commonly use no-fault eviction—wherein tenants did nothing wrong, to increase rents above allowable standards.

"Most of these are framed as renovation evictions, which landlords sometimes use, with or without actually doing the work, as a way to bring in a new tenant at a higher asking rent. As these patterns have come to light, some provinces have strengthened rental protections, but there's still a long way to go," says Lewis.

What are other benefits beyond rent of sharing your living space?

Besides rent, roommates can divide internet, electricity, and other utility bills, along with the cost of furniture, cleaning supplies, groceries, streaming subscriptions, among other services. There can also be non-financial benefits such as companionship and shared responsibilities of communal living.

"Anyone who wants to live in community, in co-housing, should have that option," Lewis says. "There are co-housing communities across Canada's urban centres and beyond where people choose to share chores, build connections, and support one another as a household."

Those benefits depend heavily on compatibility. Different expectations around cleanliness, noise, guests, pets, working from home, and overnight guests can turn a money-saving arrangement into a stressful one. A written roommate agreement can establish how expenses and chores are divided, how much notice is required before moving, and what happens to any major jointly purchased items, like furniture, in the event of one roommate's departure.

How much should renters budget for tenant insurance?

Tenant insurance is another monthly expense renters should be careful not to overlook. A typical policy protects a renter's belongings, provides personal liability coverage, and may cover additional living expenses when a rental becomes temporarily uninhabitable after an insured loss. A landlord's insurance generally protects the building, not the tenant's furniture, clothing, electronics, or personal liability.

Prices vary according to location, claims history, type of building, deductible, and value of renter's belongings. Recent Rates.ca data estimates average Ontario tenant insurance premium around $300 annually or about $25 per month in the first quarter of 2026.

Read more: Factor in the cost of tenant insurance in your apartment hunt

Can roommates share a rental insurance policy?

Roommates should ask insurers whether they can share one policy. Some providers allow unrelated roommates who are named on the lease to be added to a single policy, while others require each tenant to purchase separate coverage.

A shared policy may appear cheaper, but links roommates financially. A claim filed by one person can become part of a shared claims history, potentially affecting the other renter's future premiums. Roommates may also disagree about how a claim payment should be divided if one person owns considerably more valuable property. When a roommate moves out, a shared policy has to be changed, and its coverage limits need to be high enough to replace both tenants' belongings. Separate policies are often cleaner because each person can choose coverage based on what they own, and maintain an independent insurance history.

Read more: Can you share renters' insurance with a roommate in Canada?

What to look for in a lease agreement before splitting your rent

Exact rules and procedures vary by province, so renters should review their local tenancy legislation and the wording of the lease before choosing to move in together. When two or more tenants sign a joint lease, they are each responsible for the full rent, not just the share they privately agreed to pay. If one roommate moves out unexpectedly or stops transferring their share of rent payments, a landlord can generally still require remaining tenants to pay the complete rent.

Having an emergency fund is especially important to help you tide over a period until you find a replacement roommate.

Separate accounts for internet, electricity, or other services also help create individual liability. You remain responsible for missed payments of accounts solely in your name, regardless of whether your roommate has sent you their portion of these additional costs.

Before moving in together, roommates should agree on the following:

• Names that appear on your rental lease and utility accounts
• Whether each renter purchases separate tenant insurance
• How rent is divided if one bedroom is larger
• Who owns furniture bought for your shared space
• How much notice is required before moving out
• How property damage, deposits, and replacement roommate searches are handled

Deciding to live with a roommate vs. solo involves more than monetary considerations. Sharing a home can free up hundreds of dollars each month for savings, debt repayment, travel, or other pursuits. But it could also mean less privacy, more complicated relationships, and potential liability for another person's decisions.

Read more: Who pays when it comes to damage from renters?

An ideal arrangement is a choice that suits both your finances and lifestyle.

As Lewis says, "When shared housing is someone's only option because of affordability, especially as their income approaches the median, that's a sign policy has failed them."