Why is Calgary rent falling in 2026?
Calgary spent 2021 to 2023 as Canada's tightest big-city rental market, with vacancy near 1.4% in 2023 per the CMHC Rental Market Survey. Two forces broke that.
First, supply exploded. Calgary delivered nearly 7,000 purpose-built rental units in 2024 alone — 165% above the historical average — and CMHC's tracked rental universe hit 67,980 units by October 2025, up 11% in a year.
Second, demand cooled. Softer oil prices are expected to slow new drilling and capital spending across Alberta in 2026, and the CREB 2026 Forecast projects Calgary job growth of just 0.4% with unemployment elevated at 7.4%.
Vacancy tells the story cleanly. The purpose-built rate ran 1.4% in 2023, jumped to 4.6% in 2024 — the largest single-year vacancy increase of any major Canadian city that year — and reached about 5.0% by October 2025. Empty units give renters options they simply did not have three years ago.
Supply up, hiring flat. That is why the market turned.
What is the average rent in Calgary in 2026?
📷 Diana GP / Pexels
Two numbers matter, and they measure different things. The CMHC October 2025 survey — the official purpose-built benchmark — put averages at CA$1,438 for a bachelor, CA$1,581 for a one-bedroom, CA$1,908 for a two-bedroom, and CA$2,118 for a three-bedroom or larger.
Asking rents on active listings run lower, because they reflect what landlords advertise today. Zumper's July 2026 data showed a studio at CA$1,355, a one-bedroom at CA$1,600, a two-bedroom at CA$1,925, and a three-bedroom at CA$2,295.
The gap between the two — CMHC's survey versus live listings — reflects concessions and a renter-favourable market. If you are apartment-hunting now, the asking-rent figures are closer to what you will actually pay.
How much have Calgary rents dropped year-over-year?
📷 Donovan Kelly / Pexels
The declines are modest but real, and they are the first sustained drops in years. Zumper's July 2026 figures show studios and one-bedrooms both down 6% versus July 2025, with two-bedrooms down 4%.
Longer-run listing data tells the same story. CMHC's 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update found advertised two-bedroom rents fell roughly 7.7% from early 2024 to late 2025, with first-quarter 2025 advertised rents running 3.5% to 8% below the year before.
Basement suites moved most. AspirePeak Properties, citing Rentals.ca, reported Calgary secondary suites falling from roughly CA$1,250–1,350 in 2024 to about CA$1,095 a month by early 2026 — a meaningful cut for budget renters and roommate seekers.
Is the oil patch really behind it?
The energy connection is real, but indirect. Oil prices do not set rent directly — they set jobs, and jobs set migration, and migration sets rental demand.
When the oil patch hires, workers pour into Calgary and compete for units. In 2026 that pipeline narrowed. Alberta's population growth slowed sharply: liv.rent, citing Statistics Canada and CMHC, reported Alberta added only 19,268 people in the second quarter of 2025 versus 51,335 in the same quarter of 2024. International student arrivals fell roughly 60% after federal study-permit caps.
Fewer new arrivals plus thousands of new units equals softer rent. The 2024 vacancy spike was mostly supply-driven — record completions — but the oil-linked slowdown in hiring is why demand has not absorbed that supply. For inter-provincial movers weighing Alberta, that is the honest read.
The caveat: this cycle can reverse. Calgary rent has always tracked energy employment, and a rebound in oil prices would revive drilling, hiring, and the migration flows that pushed vacancy to 1.4% in 2023. Today's softness is a window, not a permanent shift.
Where is rent cheapest in Calgary right now?
CMHC's October 2025 zone data shows the spread is narrower than newcomers expect. The Southeast averaged CA$1,755 with a tight 2.9% vacancy, and the Northeast sat at CA$1,758 with 4.5% vacancy — both below the citywide figure.
Beltline and Lower Mount Royal, the densest inner-city rental district, averaged CA$1,774 with 5.6% vacancy, while Downtown came in at CA$1,782 at 5.8%. The Northwest was CA$1,810 with the highest vacancy at 6.0%.
The Southwest topped the list at CA$1,897 with the tightest vacancy at 3.6%. The pattern: high-vacancy zones like the Northwest and Downtown give you more negotiating room, even if the headline rent is similar. In a renter's market, vacancy is your leverage, not just the sticker price.
One more distinction worth knowing: CMHC tracks purpose-built apartments and privately owned condominium rentals separately. Condo vacancy stayed tighter, near 2.2% in October 2025, versus roughly 5.0% for purpose-built. If you are set on a specific inner-city condo, expect stiffer competition and less give than the citywide averages suggest.
What are Calgary's rent and deposit rules for 2026?
Alberta has no rent control, which cuts both ways. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, there is no cap on how much a landlord can raise rent — but per tenantrights.ca, they must give three months' written notice for a monthly tenancy and can raise it only once per calendar year.
Your damage deposit (security deposit) is capped at one month's rent. The landlord must place it in a trust account within two business days, and return it within 10 days of the tenancy ending, with a final statement inside 30 days. The 2026 deposit interest rate is 0% by provincial regulation.
If a dispute arises, Alberta's RTDRS — the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service — issues binding decisions on claims up to CA$25,000 without going to court, which is faster and cheaper than the provincial court route. In a soft market, use the notice rules to your advantage: a raise on renewal is a fair moment to renegotiate, and with vacancy above 5%, a landlord losing a paying tenant may struggle to replace them quickly.
How can newcomers find a Calgary room without overpaying?
With vacancy near 5% and secondary suites down to about CA$1,095, this is a good year to be picky. Book multiple viewings, ask what concessions are on the table, and compare listing asking rents against the CMHC benchmark so you know when a deal is actually a deal.
For shared housing, a roommate splits a two-bedroom's roughly CA$1,925 asking rent into something far more manageable, and often puts a better neighbourhood within reach compared to a solo one-bedroom. A CTrain-accessible unit shared two ways can land well under what a solo studio at CA$1,355 costs. Search a few platforms rather than one, and treat any suite advertised well below the CMHC benchmark as a signal to move quickly.
Coinquilino is one option — a free room and roommate app from Italy, now available in Canada (full disclosure: Coinquilino is our app). Use it alongside local Calgary boards and Facebook groups, not instead of them. The goal is coverage, and in a renter's market, more listings mean more leverage.
Moving from another province? Compare the numbers against other markets before you commit:
Is now a good time to rent in Calgary?
Yes, relative to recent years. Zumper's July 2026 data shows one-bedroom asking rents down 6% year-over-year, and CMHC projects vacancy climbing to 5.7%–6.2% in 2026. More empty units and falling rents mean more negotiating power for renters.
Will Calgary rents keep dropping in 2026?
CMHC's Housing Market Outlook expects vacancy to rise further in 2026 as supply continues to outpace moderating demand. Rising vacancy typically pressures rents downward, so continued softness is the more likely path than a sharp rebound — barring an oil-price surge that revives hiring and migration.
How much is a one-bedroom in Calgary?
It depends on the source. CMHC's October 2025 purpose-built survey put the one-bedroom average at CA$1,581, while Zumper's July 2026 live-listing data showed CA$1,600. The listing figure was down 6% from a year earlier.
Does Alberta have rent control?
No. Under the Residential Tenancies Act there is no maximum on how much rent can rise. Landlords must give three months' written notice for monthly tenancies and can only raise rent once per calendar year, per tenantrights.ca.
What's the cheapest area to rent in Calgary?
By CMHC's October 2025 zone data, the Southeast (CA$1,755) and Northeast (CA$1,758) averaged below the citywide CA$1,775. Higher-vacancy zones like the Northwest (6.0% vacancy) may offer more room to negotiate even where the headline rent is comparable.
How big can a damage deposit be in Calgary?
Alberta caps the security deposit at one month's rent. It must be held in trust within two business days and returned within 10 days of the tenancy ending, with the 2026 interest rate set at 0% by provincial regulation.
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This article was produced with the help of AI tools and reviewed by the Coinquilino editorial team.
