Many Toronto renters spend half of pay cheques on rent

One of Toronto's clearest class divides can be visualized quite succinctly by reaction to a new report from TD Economics regarding the housing market in the city. Camp A is shocked to learn that, instead of following the handy "30%" rule of income-to-rent ratio, Toronto renters are donating an average of 50% of each pay cheque to their landlord's designer dog + Muskoka cottage lifestyle. Camp B, on the other hand, is saying "duh" and getting on with their seven day work week.

According to the report, the renters' statistic applies to non-one per cent (actually non 60%) of workers, while those in the upper bracket are bleeding cash at similar volumes to mortgages and other home owning fees that people like myself can't even begin to comprehend. The heart of the matter is that if you're only paying half your income on housing, the landlord hasn't left you without heat for weeks at a time, and you don't have bed bugs, congratulations, you're doing okay in Toronto. For now.

Do you dedicate 50% of your working life to funneling money into the pockets of someone who will one day callously serve you an eviction notice claiming their grand niece is taking over the lease in two months? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Derek Flack