Desperate Toronto condo landlords are luring tenants with $500 gift cards

In an effort to jump-start Toronto’s comatose condo market, landlords sitting on empty units have begun rolling out sweeteners for prospective renters, including $500 gift cards and two months of rent-free living. Free parking and discounted rents are also becoming the norm, with 63 per cent of buildings now offering incentives—more than double the number from 2024.

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It’s all part of a battle to lure renters after a record 29,000 condo units were completed in the GTHA last year. In 2025’s first quarter, there were 160 per cent more units available for lease compared with two years ago. Rents, in turn, are down 10 per cent from their blistering peak in 2023, and vacancy rates have climbed to 3.5 per cent on purpose-built rentals completed after 2000.

“They’re just trying to protect their investment,” says Dan Balm, a broker with Sage Real Estate. But Balm warns that owners may be unintentionally creating false expectations. In other words, this will not be standard practice when the market inevitably shifts. “So, it’s a risk.”

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Balm recalls the pandemic, when landlords employed similar giveaways to fill vacant homes. “Today’s incentives derive from the unprecedented economic uncertainty we’re experiencing thanks to Donald Trump’s trade war—and renters are holding back.” However, he predicts a condo shortage by 2028, as developers have been scrapping projects due to a lack of pre-sales. “Toronto’s population is consistently growing one-and-a-half to two per cent every year, so a lot of these vacant units will be absorbed.”

For now, Toronto renters have rare leverage. But Balm cautions that it likely won’t last. “It might be favourable for renters now, but I don’t know how easy it’s going to be in two years.”