If you pay rent to keep a roof over your head, brace yourself.
According to a report from apartment rental website PadMapper, the average cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Windsor jumped nearly 10% between 2017 and 2018 and that upward trend is expected to continue in 2019.
The National Rent Report from Rentals.ca estimates an increase of 6% could be seen across Canada this year.
Siblings Justin and Julia Reiss rent a two-bedroom apartment in Sandwich Town, which costs them $1,500 a month.
Justin tells CTV Windsor a rent hike could force them to relocate.
"It's scary actually. It's already way too high as it is. It's pretty expensive, it's hard to afford," says Reiss. "You need to spend half of my whole month's pay cheque, working full-time to be able to pay even just half the rent."
His sister can't imagine the situation getting any worse.
"It's a little bit overpriced and the prices are going up," says Julia Reiss. "If it went up 6%, I would not be able to afford it because it’s already a problem. I'd have to move out."
PadMapper also reports a two-bedroom unit in Windsor ranges in price from $900 to $1,600 a month.
Paul Rouillard of Rent4All Property Management says it's a major problem for people in Windsor.
"How can they afford to pay $1,400, $1,500, $1,600 plus their utilities, plus their living expenses and everything to get by to make ends meet? The more expensive that the rents become, more tenants can't afford to pay those rents. So at the end, no one is going to win," says Rouillard.
Industry experts say the national rental market is hot for a number of reasons including tighter mortgage rules, higher interest rates and a low housing stock.
In 2003, the vacancy rate in Windsor was about 15% — that number is now estimated to be about 3%.
The city also has a waiting list of more than 4,500 people looking for affordable housing.