Life in Toronto gets even more expensive as condo maintenance fees skyrocket

For those few who are able to earn and save up enough funds to purchase a property in Toronto, costs beyond the already-unaffordable down payment and mortgage payments are getting far worse, and fast.

Condos, which are typically the easiest entry point for first-time homebuyers, are now getting even more expensive for people to manage on a monthly basis thanks to runaway maintenance fees that in some parts of the city increased a whopping two times faster last year than in previous years.

Many in the city are paying upwards of $1,000 per month in these fees, on top of thousands in other bills to keep the property (the average condo, which now costs $700,000, requires nearly $4,000 per month in mortgage payments on a fixed-term 3-year mortgage with a 25-year amortization after a $150,000 down payment).

This is how much you need to earn to afford a house in Toronto right now https://t.co/y7eAUEAC4h

— blogTO (@blogTO) March 20, 2024

With property taxes also escalating by 9.5 per cent this year, even the cheapest and smallest properties in the city are becoming too much, even for those who were prepared to cover the sky-high costs of actually buying a home in the first place.

According to a Star investigation using condos.ca data this week, average maintenance fees across 12 areas of the city spiked by more than 5.5 per cent between 2022 and 2023, versus just 2.72 per cent the year prior, and 2.98 per cent the year before that.

These costs — which cover things like utilities, the upkeep of common areas, insurance, a reserve fund for repairs, etc., depending on the building — have now climbed to around 81 cents per square foot in Toronto.

#Landlords have to find ways to pass on Olivia Chow’s 9.5% #propertytax hike to their tenants in order to continue covering their expenses—ALL of which have soared this year including many condo maintenance fees (reflecting inflation as well). #affordablehousing #Toronto #rent

— Leslie Whicher (@patinaandcompan) February 21, 2024

This is hundreds more annually than people were paying just a few years ago (in the Star's example, a 650-square-foot unit now carries $620 more in maintenance fees per year than it would have in 2020, or more than $50 extra per month).

Though the cost may not end up being monumentally more per month, it is yet another inflating bill that adds up to an overwhelming cost of living in the city.