Individual property owners have taken the lead in Canada’s rental housing market, significantly outperforming large institutional investors over the past decade, according to new data released by Statistics Canada.
Unlike the United States, where Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) have faced criticism for acquiring substantial portions of the housing market, Canada tells a different story. Small-scale investors—defined as individuals owning up to five properties—hold the largest share of investment properties by assessed value in almost every province studied, with Nova Scotia being the only exception.
The numbers are striking: by 2021, these individual landlords owned approximately half of all rental properties in British Columbia (49.4%), Ontario (52.6%), and Prince Edward Island (57.1%). Meanwhile, institutional investors—including REITs, pension funds, and large family-owned businesses—held only 20.3%, 23.6%, and 16.6% respectively in these provinces. The abundance of condominium apartments in BC and Ontario has made property investment more accessible to everyday Canadians.
However, not everyone views this trend positively. Housing researcher Carolyn Whitzman from the University of Toronto points out that the term ‘mom-and-pop investors’ tends to romanticize a system that treats housing as an investment rather than a fundamental need. She notes that while good small landlords exist, many problematic ones operate without accountability.
On the other hand, Royal Bank of Canada economist Rachel Battaglia suggests that having a less concentrated rental market could benefit consumers by promoting healthy competition. She cautions, however, that the study measures market value rather than housing units, meaning someone owning an expensive penthouse could represent a similar market share as multiple landlords with smaller apartments. This rise in small-scale investment has coincided with property values nearly doubling and rents increasing 42% between 2011 and 2021.
