The struggle is real for those looking to rent in Kelowna right now.

According to Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Kelowna is the hardest city to find a rental unit in all of Canada.

The annual report from CMHC details how the cost of rental units surged in 2017 while the city’s vacancy rate decreased from its already below 1% mark.

Currently, Kelowna has the lowest vacancy rate in the country at 0.2%, which is a sharp decline from 2016’s year-end vacancy rate of 0.6%.

#Kelowna, #Abbotsford, #Victoria, #Vancouver, #YGK & #Toronto have the lowest apartment rental vacancy rates, while #Saskatoon, #Regina, #Edmonton & #StJohns have the highest vacancy rates. More info: https://t.co/FKoPCOg4Vc

— CMHC (@CMHC_ca) November 28, 2017

With rental supply dwindling, the demand for rental units in the city has skyrocketed, leading to Kelowna reporting the biggest average rent increase in the country of 8.6%.

Photo Credit: PadMapper.

According to PadMapper’s monthly Canadian rental report, renters in Kelowna were paying an average of $1,130 for a one bedroom unit and $1,590 for a two bedroom unit.

Kelowna's citizen survey named affordable housing the top concern and Kelowna residents are well aware of the rental scarcity.

Encouraging a diverse supply of housing at different price points was citizens’ top priority for City investment over the next three years, with traffic flow management and drinking water the next two priorities.

Click here to fill out the City of Kelowna's Healthy Housing Strategy Survey and have your voice heard.