An increasing number of Canadians are choosing renting vs. buying in today’s economy. Why are we seeing this shift? And what are the advantages of rental living?

1. Fewer Upfront & Ongoing Costs

Buying and maintaining a home is expensive. You require funds for a down payment, property taxes, home insurance, ongoing repairs and maintenance and utility costs. You also have additional costs to furnish a larger space, since most homes are larger in size than the typical rental home. However, renting a home involves no maintenance costs or repair bills and in many instances your monthly rent includes partial or full utility costs. Budgeting for your lifestyle is simpler with one fixed payment per month compared to the many payments required with home ownership.

2. Flexibility in the event you need to relocate or change homes

In the event that you need to relocate for a job or personal reasons, renting allows you the ease of simply providing 60 days notice to vacate. This is much less labor intensive than selling a home and renting may allow you to take advantage of career opportunities with more ease. Renting also allows you choice in terms of the type of home you live in. If for example, you need to upsize or downsize you can do so much quicker than if you were selling or buying a new home for the same reasons.

Related Post: Renting vs Buying: Which is the Best Choice?

3. More Free Time

Renting a home means that the landlord takes care of the most time consuming aspects of maintaining a home—exterior repairs, snow removal, large renovations, appliance replacement, painting, plumbing, etc. This allows you more free time to pursue other interests. Many renters are choosing rental homes specifically for the lifestyle it affords them: more free time and less stress.

4. Access to Amenities

Another benefit to renting over buying a house of your own is having access to amenities that may not be included in the purchase of a home or may be cost prohibitive when owning a home. For example, many landlords provide amenities such as fitness centers, saunas, community rooms, underground parking and more at no additional cost to residents.

5. More Options

Today’s rental market has a wide variety of homes that are not always present in the home buying market. High-rise or low-rise apartments, townhomes with backyards, 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedroom homes and many more variations are available to renters.

6. Community

Increasingly we live in a busy, modern world and many people feel disconnected. Often people seek out renting because of the communities that many rental providers offer.