Rent Split Calculator Canada
This rent split calculator is a roommate calculator: equal, income, square footage, or hybrid, preloaded with CMHC sitting rents by bedroom — not Craigslist asking.
Half the rent is shared space (equal). Half is bedrooms (sq ft + ensuite).
- Alex
- $1,187$1,117 rent + $70 bills
- 55% of rent · +$94 vs equal · 23% of take-home · $1,117 of last month's rent
- Sam
- $998$928 rent + $70 bills
- 45% of rent · -$95 vs equal · 27% of take-home · $928 of last month's rent
- Move-in (first month + deposit)
- $4,230
Ontario allows a last-month rent deposit only — not a damage or pet deposit. Split it the same way you split rent. The landlord can still chase any one named tenant for the full cheque. Hydro is split equally, even when rent is not.
Calculators by city
Each page is preloaded with that city’s CMHC October 2025 sitting rent by bedroom, the provincial deposit, and what a joint lease actually means.
Toronto, ON
2-bed $2,045 sitting · ~$1,023 each
Mississauga, ON
2-bed $2,045 sitting · ~$1,023 each
Brampton, ON
2-bed $2,045 sitting · ~$1,023 each
Ottawa, ON
2-bed $1,916 sitting · ~$958 each
Hamilton, ON
2-bed $1,659 sitting · ~$830 each
Vancouver, BC
2-bed $2,364 sitting · ~$1,182 each
Victoria, BC
2-bed $2,121 sitting · ~$1,061 each
Calgary, AB
2-bed $1,908 sitting · ~$954 each
Edmonton, AB
2-bed $1,598 sitting · ~$799 each
Montreal, QC
2-bed $1,346 sitting · ~$673 each
Winnipeg, MB
2-bed $1,570 sitting · ~$785 each
Halifax, NS
2-bed $1,828 sitting · ~$914 each
Same two people, four rules
Equal ignores the ensuite. Income ignores the room. Square footage ignores the paycheque. Hybrid splits the difference: half the rent is the kitchen, half is the bedroom.
Alex has the ensuite and $4,800 take-home. Sam has 95 sq ft and $3,400. Same two people, four rules.
Sitting 2-bed, split two ways
Same household size so the bars compare cities, not roommate count. Asking rent is not on these bars — a vacant Toronto 2-bed often lists hundreds above sitting.
CMHC sitting 2-bed, split equally two ways. Asking rent — where we have a city listing print — is not on these bars on purpose.
Sitting rent is not asking rent
CMHC’s October 2025 purpose-built averages are what current tenants pay. Turnover 2-beds — a new lease on an occupied building — sit between sitting and asking. Ranking roommate tools that preload Craigslist are quoting the listing, not the building.
Mississauga and Brampton sitting figures are the Toronto CMA print. There is no standalone city bedroom table in the 2025 RMR. Paste the listing when you have one.
Sitting rose, turnover fell
Ranking roommate tools still preload a Craigslist ask. CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report is the opposite story: the average 2-bed sitting rent rose 5.1% nationally, while turnover 2-bed rents fell in Vancouver ($2,883 to $2,696), Toronto ($2,612 to $2,547), Calgary, and Halifax. Operators offered a free month and moving allowances to fill vacant units.
Halifax is the clearest split: 2-beds that turned over carried a 29% premium over non-turnover units, which is why sitting tenants stay put. In Toronto a vacant 1-bed still took 42% of after-tax income for an average GTA earner, and two-thirds of a minimum-wage earner’s disposable income for a vacant studio (Table 1.1.9).
The spreadsheet is not the lease
Ontario’s standard form of lease: if more than one tenant signs, each is responsible for all tenant obligations, including the full amount of rent. The landlord can collect the whole cheque from whoever is on page 1. Named co-tenants in other provinces are typically jointly liable the same way.
Deposits follow the province, not the roommate app. Ontario last month only. Quebec none. B.C., Manitoba, Nova Scotia half a month. Alberta up to one month in trust. Split the deposit with the rent method — not equally unless rent is equal.
What the statute actually says about deposits
B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Act s. 19(1) caps the security deposit at half a month. The Residential Tenancy Regulation s. 4 pays interest at 4.5 percentage points below prime, compounded annually. If the landlord does not return the deposit (or apply to claim it) within 15 days of the later of the tenancy ending and a written forwarding address, RTA s. 38(6) says they must pay the tenant double.
Quebec is stricter than “no damage deposit.” TAL / Civil Code art. 1904: a landlord cannot require, as a condition of the lease, a security deposit, more than the first month’s rent, or post-dated cheques. An illegal clause is without effect — so a roommate app that splits a Quebec security deposit is splitting money the lease cannot demand.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fairest way to split rent with roommates?
Equal when rooms and incomes match. Square footage when one bedroom is clearly larger. Income when paycheques differ a lot. Hybrid — half the rent as shared space, half by bedroom — is the compromise that prices the ensuite separately from the kitchen.
Should I use sitting rent or asking rent?
Sitting rent is what current tenants pay in purpose-built stock (CMHC, October 2025). Asking rent is a vacant listing. A calculator that preloads Craigslist is using asking. Paste the lease figure if you already have an offer.
Does the landlord care how we split it?
Usually no. Ontario's standard form of lease says that if more than one tenant signs, each is responsible for all obligations, including the full rent. A private split does not change that. Other provinces typically treat named co-tenants the same way.
How do we split the deposit?
The same way you split rent. Ontario: last month's rent only — damage deposits are an offence. Quebec: no security deposit, and art. 1904 bars requiring anything more than first month as a condition of the lease. B.C., Manitoba, and Nova Scotia: half a month. Alberta: up to one month, held in trust. In B.C. unused deposits earn interest at 4.5 points below prime; if not returned in 15 days, RTA s. 38(6) says the landlord must pay double.
More free tools
Check the budget first with how much rent you can afford. Deciding whether to keep renting? The rent vs own calculator compares the two over your time horizon.
Sources
- CMHC 2025 Rental Market Report (sitting +5.1%; turnover 2-beds fell in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Halifax)
- CMHC: Halifax 29% 2-bed turnover premium; Toronto vacant 1-bed 42% of after-tax income (Table 1.1.9)
- Ontario standard form of lease: each tenant is responsible for the full rent
- B.C. Residential Tenancy Act s. 19(1) and s. 38(6): ½-month cap; double if not returned in 15 days
- B.C. Residential Tenancy Regulation s. 4: interest 4.5 points below prime, compounded annually
- TAL / Civil Code art. 1904: landlord cannot require more than first month as a condition of the lease