Prince Edward Island rental market data
Prince Edward Island’s rental vacancy rate rose from 0.8% to 2.1% in CMHC’s October 2025 survey, still below the national 3.1% and lowest, tied with Newfoundland and Labrador among the provinces. The average 2-bedroom rent paid went from $1,181 to $1,293, 9% higher. CMHC didn’t publish its same-unit rent change for PEI this time, so that change also reflects newly built units entering the average. The surveys are described in how these figures are measured.
| Measure (October 2025) | Prince Edward Island | A year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Vacancy rate | 2.1% | 0.8% |
| Average 2-bedroom rent paid | $1,293 | $1,181 |
| Turnover rate (units with a new tenant in the year) | 9.8% | 8.2% |
| Rent change for the same 2-bedroom units (fixed sample) | not published | 3.8%† |
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). † CMHC rates this estimate's reliability as poor (use with caution).
Average rent by city (Prince Edward Island)
| Centre | Vacancy rate, October 2025 | A year earlier | Average 2-bedroom rent paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlottetown | 1.6% | 0.7% | $1,300 |
| Summerside | n/a | n/a | n/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.
Charlottetown accounts for 7,344 of the 9,577 purpose-built rental units CMHC surveys on the Island, 77%. Its vacancy rate, 1.6%, was up from 0.7%, and is the lowest of the Atlantic centres in CMHC’s table. Summerside isn’t in CMHC’s report tables; in Statistics Canada’s release of the survey (table 34-10-0133) a 2-bedroom averaged $1,263 there and $1,300 in Charlottetown, and a 1-bedroom $1,070 against $1,066. For 1-bedrooms, Summerside is the dearer of the two; for 2-bedrooms, the cheaper.
Other Atlantic provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador.
New and long-term tenants in Charlottetown
Units that changed hands cost more. In the Charlottetown area, a 2-bedroom re-let to a new tenant during the year averaged $1,479, and one with a continuing tenant $1,272, a gap of $207 a month (16% more). For 1-bedrooms the figures were $1,217 and $1,014. Across PEI, 9.8% of units changed tenants, against 12.8% nationally.
PEI against other provinces
On CMHC’s three-units-and-over survey, PEI’s 2-bedroom average ranks third-lowest of the 10 provinces, 17% below the Canadian $1,550, and Charlottetown ranks seventh-lowest of the 43 centres CMHC lists.
What PEI rent means for household income
CMHC considers housing affordable when it costs less than 30% of before-tax household income, counting the rent (or mortgage payments, property tax and condo fees) plus electricity, heat, water and other municipal services. The figures here count the rent alone, so with utilities the income needed is higher. Using CMHC’s line of 30% of before-tax income, Charlottetown’s average 2-bedroom ($1,300) calls for a household income of $52,000, 32% below the area’s census median of $76,500. Summerside’s comes to $50,520 against a median of $64,500, and the Island-wide average $51,720 against $73,500. The medians are census figures for 2020 covering owners as well as renters, so they sit beside rents from the October 2025 survey rather than matching them in time. The rent affordability calculator handles other cases.
Rules on rent increases in Prince Edward Island
- The Director of Residential Tenancy sets the allowable annual increase: 2% for 2026 and 2.1% for 2027, for all rental units.
- A landlord can apply for up to 3% more on top of the allowable increase.
- Tenants must get at least 3 months' notice.
- Rent can go up once in a 12-month period.
Source: Prince Edward Island government.
Annual limit by year
| Year | Limit on increases |
|---|---|
| 2027 | 2.1% |
| 2026 | 2% |
On Charlottetown’s average 2-bedroom rent, the 2027 allowable increase of 2.1% comes to $27 a month. If a landlord were also granted the largest additional increase allowed, 5.1% in all, the rise would be $66.
Deposits
- The deposit can be no more than one week's rent where rent is paid weekly, or one month's rent where it is paid monthly.
- A landlord can require only one security deposit, and only when the tenancy agreement is entered into.
- Within two banking days it goes into an interest-bearing account at a financial institution in the province (a trust account used only for deposits, for landlords with three or more units).
- It is returned in full plus the interest it earned while the landlord held it.
- Within 15 days after the tenancy ends the landlord returns it, in full or in part, or files an application with the Rental Office to keep some or all of it.
See also rent increase rules by province and how to get a security deposit back.
Related pages
- Prince Edward Island Housing Market: home prices
- Average Income in Prince Edward Island and PEI income percentiles
- Nova Scotia Rental Market and New Brunswick Rental Market: the other Maritime provinces
Sources
- CMHC Rental Market Report data tables: Tables 1.0, 5.0 and 6.0
- Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133: CMHC average rents by unit size, including Summerside
- Statistics Canada table 98-10-0061: 2021 Census household income
- Prince Edward Island allowable rent increase