Regina landlords offer rent incentives as vacancy rises

The Regina rental scene is a much different place than fiveyears ago.

The vacancy rate is growing which means landlords haveto work harder to attract renters and many are doing so with incentives.

There are offers of freewi-fi, laundry and parking but the incentives get much biggerthan that.

You can find deals where tenants can getgiftcardsfor just paying rent on time. One company is asking forsecurity deposits aslow as $399. Another companywilldecreasetherent if the tenant signs a one-year lease.

North Prairie Developments Ltd.recently started a program where a portion of a tenant's monthly rentgoes intoa special savingsaccount. The money can be used later if the tenant choosesto buya housefrom thecompany.

Dawn Dallyn runs Dawn's Rentals in Regina and has been in the rental industry for almost 10 years.Shesaysthe market has changed drastically.

Dallyncurrentlymanages about 250 properties and saysit's beendifficultcompetingwith units in the city that are brand new.

One of herclients is trying to attract renters by usingan incentivewhere if a tenant signs a one year lease andpays their renton time for six months, they get the seventh month for free.

Dallyn says it's a win-win situation for both the renter and property owner.

Vacancy rate on the rise

According to arecent report by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation(CMHC), the apartmentvacancy rate forRegina forthe fall of 2015 wasat 5.4 per cent. That's up more more than two percent from theprevious year.

CMHC statedone of the reasons for this is Saskatchewan'sweak energy sector which has slowed economic activity and means less people are moving to the province for work.

There was also a jump in the actual amount of places to rent in Regina.

Despite the increasing vacancy rates, rent continues to rise.The average rent in Regina for a 2 bedroom apartment inOctober of 2015was $1097. That's up $18 from 2014.