That’s the warning from a report by Urbanation which says that the additional units are needed on top of the current expectations for new development.
The province’s vacancy rate has fallen to 2.1% with the City of Toronto at just 1.3% according to CMHC data.
"Ontario's scarce rental housing supply combined with escalating house and condo prices have created a housing crisis in our biggest cities," said Jim Murphy, president of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) which commissioned the study.
"The only solution is for Ontario to build itself out of this situation. This begins with our provincial leaders working with industry to identify and implement policies that create more purpose-built rental units, not less."
FRPO has launched its 'Rent On' campaign encouraging Ontarians to ask the provincial government to take measures to allow for more housing choices for renters – details are available at www.rent-on.ca.