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Alberta Rental Market Data 2026 | Average Rent & Vacancy Rates

Updated

Alberta rental market data

Alberta had the highest vacancy rate and the highest turnover rate of any province in CMHC’s October 2025 survey: renters had more empty units to choose from, and moved more often, than in any other province. Those are CMHC’s figures for apartments in privately initiated buildings of three or more units; the Canada rental market page explains the survey.

Measure (October 2025)AlbertaA year earlier
Vacancy rate4.3%3.6%
Average 2-bedroom rent paid$1,680$1,616
Turnover rate (units with a new tenant in the year)27.2%26.1%
Rent change for the same 2-bedroom units (fixed sample)2.4%7.9%

Source: CMHC Rental Market Report data tables, Table 1.0 (apartments in privately initiated structures of three or more units, centres of 10,000 people or more).

Average asking rent (September 2026)Alberta
Studio (August 2026)$1,189
1 bedroom$1,482
2 bedroom$1,818
3 bedroom$2,109

Source: Rentals.ca / Urbanation National Rent Report, apartments and condos listed for rent (September 2026). Asking rents are what a new tenant is quoted, so they run above the CMHC averages paid by all tenants.

Alberta against the other provinces

The Alberta 2-bedroom average of $1,680 was the fourth-highest of the 10 provinces, 8% above the Canadian $1,550 and 19% below British Columbia’s. What changed was the pace: rent for the same 2-bedroom units rose 2.4%, after 7.9% the year before, the second-lowest increase among provinces with a published figure and well under the national 5.1%. Alberta’s vacancy rate of 4.3% compares with 3.1% for Canada, and its turnover rate of 27.2% with 12.8%.

New and sitting tenants paid almost the same in Alberta. In Alberta centres a 2-bedroom that turned over in the year rented for $1,658 on average and one with the same tenant for $1,647, a gap of $11, against $286 across Canada. In Calgary a new tenant actually paid less than a sitting one; the Calgary page has the figures.

Average rent by city (Alberta)

CentreVacancy rate, October 2025A year earlierAverage 2-bedroom rent paid
Calgary5.0%4.8%$1,914
Edmonton3.8%3.1%$1,603
Red Deer3.5%1.5%$1,414
Lethbridge4.5%†0.5%$1,706
Grande Prairien/an/an/a

Source: CMHC Rental Market Report data tables, Table 1.0 (apartments in privately initiated structures of three or more units). Ottawa-Gatineau is split by province. n/a: the centre is not in Table 1.0. † CMHC rates this estimate's reliability as poor (use with caution).

Calgary is the dearest of the Alberta centres CMHC covers in this table, with a 2-bedroom average 19% above Edmonton’s, and Red Deer the lowest. Lethbridge’s average of $1,706 was $103 more than Edmonton’s, and its turnover rate, 46.3%, was the highest of all 43 centres in CMHC’s table. Its vacancy rate rose sharply, but CMHC rates that estimate as poor, so treat it with caution. Red Deer’s vacancy rate went to 3.5% from 1.5%. Grande Prairie isn’t in CMHC’s headline table; Statistics Canada’s series puts its 2-bedroom average at $1,419. City pages: Calgary and Edmonton, each with rent and vacancy by survey zone.

Asking rents

Listings tell a softer story. The Rentals.ca and Urbanation report, which tracks asking rents on listed apartments and condos, had Alberta at $1,675 in September 2026, -3.4% on a year earlier; over three years the change was 0.7%. A listed 2-bedroom averaged $1,818, 8% above what all Alberta tenants paid on CMHC’s measure.

What rent costs relative to income

Alberta’s household incomes are high relative to its rents. The census median household income for the province was $96,000 in 2020; keeping the average 2-bedroom rent to CMHC’s 30% of income takes $67,200, 30% below that median, and the listed 2-bedroom rent takes $72,720. The census income predates the rent figures. The rent affordability calculator tests a particular income.

What CMHC says is driving rents in Alberta

CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report stresses supply in Alberta’s two big markets. Rental completions stayed well above historical trends in Calgary and Edmonton, and Calgary’s purpose-built stock grew 11% in a year. Demand held up better than in BC: CMHC’s chart of the young adult population shows Alberta’s still growing, by 2.2% in the latest year, though down from 7.0% the year before. CMHC says Calgary and Edmonton still had the highest purpose-built vacancy rates among the major markets, and that rent growth slowed significantly in both.

Rules on rent increases in Alberta

  • There is no limit on how much rent can go up.
  • Rent can go up once a year (365 days) since the last increase or the start of the tenancy, and not during a fixed-term lease.
  • A month-to-month tenant must get 3 full tenancy months' written notice.
  • The notice period is 12 full tenancy weeks for a week-to-week tenancy and 90 days for any other periodic tenancy.

Source: Alberta government.

Security deposits

In Alberta a security deposit can't be more than one month's rent at the start of the tenancy, it can't be raised later, and the landlord holds it in a trust account and returns it with interest: within 10 days of move-out if nothing is deducted, or with a statement of account (or an estimate, then a final statement within 30 days) if something is.

The Alberta tenant rights guide covers entry, repairs and ending a tenancy; rent increase rules by province compares Alberta, which sets no limit, with provinces that cap increases, and how to get a security deposit back has the full deposit rules and covers move-out.

Sources

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