Halifax landlords offer incentives to prospective tenants

From free parking to no down payment, and even one month of free rent, some property managers and landlords are offering incentives to fill vacant apartments around Halifax.

“You know, incentives are being offered because the vacancy is up and so there’s a need to fill the units that are vacant,” said Kevin Russell, executive director of landlord advocacy group Rental Housing Providers Nova Scotia.

“Incentives are a way to fill the units without impacting the rents.”

These incentives are one of the first signs of a shifting rental housing market, which has seen rent prices increase significantly over the past four years. 

According to economist Kelvin Ndoro at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Halifax market remains tight compared to other Canadian cities, with a vacancy rate of 2.7 per cent. However, new rental builds face higher vacancy rates of 5.5 per cent compared to existing builds, which have a vacancy rate of less than 2 per cent. 

New construction comes at a cost, and property management corporations are looking for a return on investment. 

“You know, their funding was based on a pro forma of achieving certain rent revenue levels,” Russell said, “so rental incentives are a better way of not impairing their pro formas on what they presented to the funding agencies.”

The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Halifax in 2025 was $1,826, the fourth highest average rent in Canada behind Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa.  

While CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report noted rents for apartments in Nova Scotia with sitting tenants increased an average of four per cent thanks to provincial rent caps, the rent for two-bedroom units accepting new tenants increased 23 per cent. 

Tim Allenby, the chair of the Dartmouth chapter of Nova Scotia ACORN, a tenant’s rights organization, said incentives being offered by property managers and landlords might be a sign that the market is weakening, but also could be a way to get people to sign up for fixed-term leases they would otherwise avoid.

“If it’s being used to sign people onto (fixed-term leases), then it’s not a positive thing, because that does still allow prices to rise uncontrolled.” 

The rising vacancy rate is attributed to a decrease in migration to the city and an increase in new apartment units. 

Chris Chaisson, president of Halifax Quality Homes Limited, which manages individually-owned rental units, has seen rents drop due to rising vacancy rates. 

“We have a lot of places in and around the universities and, you know, two years ago, before we even got a sign in the ground, to say ‘it’s for rent’, we had it rented,” said Chaisson. “And now it’s taking weeks or months. So the people who are renting places, they are finding they’re having to lower their prices.

“This started maybe five or six months ago, you could feel it changing.”

He said the existing vacancies are easing pressure on prospective tenants. “They’re starting to understand that they have options now and they’re shopping around.”

One such renter was Ainsley Wilks, who told The Signal she is still looking for a rental unit, but would rather rent a place with an advertised decrease in price than one that offers ‘first month rent free’. 

The CMHC’S Ndoro said property managers and landlords may be hesitant to drop prices because there is still uncertainty about whether the lower demand will persist.  

“With the rent cap in place, if (property managers) do drop the price, (they) are now stuck with that price for anywhere between two to five years when the tenant moves in.” 

As of December 2025, housing rental starts are up seven per cent in Halifax compared to the year before, which could contribute to continued lower vacancy rates when the units become available.