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<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto: James Bombales<\/em><\/p>\n Amid worries about the worsening affordability in the Toronto rental market, the Ontario government implemented new rent control regulation in April. But according to new data, rent in the city has only gotten pricier.<\/p>\n A new report from the Toronto Real Estate Board has found that the average rent for a one-bedroom condo GTA condo went up 10.9 per cent year-over-year to $1,970 in Q4 of 2017. The cost of a two-bedroom condo shot up 8.8 per cent to $2,627.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the population in the GTA continues to grow, so too does the demand for rental accomodation,\u201d writes TREB president Tim Syrianos, in a statement. \u201cThe problem is that rental supply has not kept up with the increase in demand in recent years. The result has been low vacancy rates and intense competition between renters for available units. This competition has underpinned very strong growth in average rents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n That lack of supply is reflected in the number of condo apartments listed in Q4 2017, which was down 3.4 per cent year-over-year. <\/p>\n According to TREB director of market analysis Jason Mercer, rent control is making the situation worse, not better.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking forward, we continue to have concerns that rent control legislation announced in conjunction with the Ontario Fair Housing Plan will preclude additional rental supply coming on stream, both in the purpose built and investor-held condominium apartment segments,\u201d he writes in a statement.<\/p>\n The worry is that, since condo owners are unable to charge higher rents, they might be more likely to sell, further decreasing the city\u2019s worryingly low supply of rental units.<\/p>\n