How to rent a condo or an apartment in Toronto?

By Todd Rowley

The demand for Toronto condos is back after a cooling period during the pandemic. As most people get back into the swing of living their best life, finding the best place to live that life is front and centre. If you find yourself in the market for a condo or apartment rental, we have five tips to help you on your hunt for real estate in Toronto.

What’s important to you?

Apartment and condo rentals are everywhere, although not all areas of Toronto—or any city for that matter—are created equal. Determine what’s important to you in a neighbourhood, whether it’s the school district, being close to shopping, or having direct subway access. Identifying what matters most to you helps to narrow the prospective market, allowing you to focus on the neighbourhoods that fit your needs and desires.

Know your neighbourhood

Finding a home is easy. Finding the right home is more challenging. But finding the right home in the right neighbourhood is fundamental to bringing your apartment or condo-hunt journey to a happy ending. At CondoReviews.ca, we’ve put together a list of the five best neighbourhoods for condo rentals in Toronto to help you find the perfect place for you and your family. Whether you’re in search of a downtown location or something a little further from the buzz of the downtown, there is a neighbourhood suited for you.

Search the listings

Once upon a time, buyers and renters needed to rely solely on realtors and the classified ads in the weekend paper. Fortunately, those days are long past us. Today there are vast resources that include the traditional Realtor.ca for your condo purchase, but also numerous sites like Strata.ca and Condos.ca now feature sales listings as well, opening up the options like never before.

But getting into rental listings is where it gets exciting. With the hot real estate market, renters can now find available listings for apartment rentals on sites like Viewit.ca, Padmapper.com, and Rentals.ca, each providing comprehensive rental listings to help move you into your new home.

If condos are more your vibe, you’re in good hands. Much like apartment listings, condo rentals are a booming market as well. With dedicated sites including Condos.ca and Zoocasa.com, your list of potential condo rentals is at your fingertips. In addition—and often overlooked—Facebook Marketplace and Kijiji are good resources for available rental listings that may not be posted on some of the other sites listed.

Of course, there is a plethora of information available here on our website, CondoReviews.ca, where you can search through our map, by address, or by condo name to get the most reliable information on potential rentals.

Work with a realtor

Traditionally, realtors were often associated with home sales, however, today many realtors are widely connected in many aspects of real estate including rentals. When looking for your ideal apartment or condo rental, consider working with a realtor who may be able to assist in finding the right place for you. In addition to the property search, realtors are highly knowledgeable about various neighbourhoods and can provide vital information to support your hunt for the right rental.

Get your paperwork

Be ready. Just like the real estate market, the rental market is booming. You must be ready to make a quick decision or risk losing out. Have your paperwork ready to jump in, including cheques, credit scores, references, and employment letters. You might not need everything, but it’s better to be overprepared than to lose out on the place you wanted to call home.