Calgary Rental Market: Calgary Rent Report: Family Units Surge as Singles Finally Catch Break

CALGARY, AB — Calgary's rental market is bifurcating into two distinct battlefields: entry-level units are cooling under the weight of new supply, while family-sized apartments have become the last frontier where landlords still hold the whip. This week, 4+ bedroom units hit $2,714, cementing the family segment as the only category where prices are still climbing—and showing no signs of surrender.

The Entry-Level Exhale

Studio apartments now sit at $1,314, and 1-bedrooms clock in at $1,466—both well below Calgary's overall average asking rent of $1,815. This is the rare good news: entry-level units have shed 8% year-over-year as purpose-built rental towers flood the market. Calgary's vacancy rate has climbed to 5-6% in early 2026, a sharp reversal from the suffocating 1-2% lows of 2023-2024. For singles and couples hunting starter units, the squeeze is finally loosening.

The Family Unit Fortress

But if you need space for kids, furniture, or a home office that isn't your kitchen table, the market has a different message: pay up or pack out. Two-bedroom units are running $1,881, while 3-bedrooms have jumped to $2,233. The 3-bedroom segment is the only category actively appreciating, with market-wide gains averaging 1.1% annually and purpose-built units surging 3.9% to hit $2,756. The 4+ bedroom tier—now at $2,714—has become the luxury class of the rental world, pricing out families who just a few years ago could afford suburban breathing room.

The Alberta Model: No Brakes, Just Supply

Alberta remains a rent-control-free zone. Premier Danielle Smith's government has doubled down on the belief that flooding the market with new units—not imposing caps—is the only sustainable fix. The influx of purpose-built supply is the primary driver behind the vacancy spike, giving renters in the studio and 1-bedroom tiers their first negotiating leverage in years. But in the family segment, demand is still outrunning inventory, and landlords know it.

The Legal Wild Card

A new national law in 2026 now allows tenants to sue landlords for damages exceeding $25,000, introducing an untested legal mechanism that could reshape the landlord-tenant power dynamic—or simply drive up rents as property owners bake legal and insurance costs into monthly bills. The law is still too fresh for case law precedent, but the threat alone has landlords recalculating risk.

Who Wins, Who Loses

The market is trending toward balance in the entry-level tier, where increased supply is finally applying downward pressure. But families hunting 3+ bedrooms are still caught in the crossfire: demand remains strong, supply remains tight, and landlords are adjusting prices accordingly. The rental squeeze hasn't disappeared—it's just moved upmarket, where the stakes are higher and the rent checks are fatter.

Next major market data drop is expected in late March as spring leasing season kicks into gear.