What's typically included in Barrie rent?

Purpose-built apartment buildings near downtown Barrie and along the waterfront commonly include heat and water, with tenants covering their own electricity and internet. Houses and basement units further from downtown vary more — always confirm exactly what's covered in writing on the Ontario Standard Lease before signing.

What is Ontario's rent increase guideline for 2026 and 2027?

For most units first occupied on or before November 15, 2018 (Ontario's rent control cutoff), annual increases at renewal are capped by a guideline the provincial government publishes every year. The guideline is 2.1 percent for 2026 and 1.9 percent for 2027. Landlords seeking an increase above the guideline generally need approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board (an Above Guideline Increase application), typically justified by capital expenditures, extraordinary utility cost increases, or municipal tax increases. Units first occupied after November 15, 2018 are exempt from the guideline entirely.

How does a security deposit work in Ontario?

Ontario does not allow a traditional damage deposit the way most other provinces do. Landlords can only collect a rent deposit equal to at most one month's rent (or one rental period's rent if shorter), and it must be applied as the payment for your last month of tenancy, not held separately and refunded afterward. Ontario landlords cannot charge a separate damage or pet deposit. If damage occurs beyond normal wear and tear, the landlord's recourse is to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board directly, not to deduct from a deposit that does not exist for that purpose.

Does my Barrie landlord have to use the Ontario Standard Lease?

Yes, for most private residential tenancies entered into on or after April 30, 2018. The Ontario Standard Lease is a mandatory government form. If a landlord does not provide it within 21 days of a tenant's written request, the tenant can withhold one month's rent, and the landlord loses the right to collect it once the form is provided. Some tenancy types are exempt (care homes, social housing, some co-ops), but the large majority of Barrie apartment and house rentals must use this form.

How do I dispute my landlord at the Landlord and Tenant Board?

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is Ontario's tribunal for residential tenancy disputes, covering everything from illegal rent increases and maintenance issues to eviction applications. The LTB carries a significant multi-year backlog, and hearings can take months to be scheduled. Bring your Ontario Standard Lease, all written correspondence with your landlord, photos or inspection records, and any notices you received or served. LTB orders are binding and enforceable, including through the Ontario Court of Justice or Superior Court where needed.

Can my landlord enter without notice?

No, with narrow exceptions. Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act requires landlords to give at least 24 hours' written notice before entering for a reasonable purpose (repairs, inspections, showings to prospective tenants or buyers), and entry must occur between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Emergencies (fire, flood, gas leak) are the main exception where notice is not required. Repeated no-notice entries can be raised with the Landlord and Tenant Board as a breach of the tenancy.

What if my landlord wants to sell the property?

A sale does not automatically end your tenancy. The new owner takes over the existing lease on the same terms. The one major exception is if the new owner (or an immediate family member) intends to personally move in, in which case the landlord must serve a valid Landlord's Own Use notice with the correct notice period and, since recent amendments, compensation requirements. Showings for a sale still require the standard 24 hours' written notice, same as any other entry.

Barrie, Ontario Canada

Living and Renting in Barrie in 2026

Real rents, real neighborhoods, real answers. The complete SQRFT guide for renters and landlords in Ontario's gateway to cottage country.

Browse Barrie rentals

Rent trend

+14.3%

Rentals.ca, Sept 2026 (YoY, no $ figure published)

Population

161,746

StatCan, 2024

Colleges

Georgian College

GO Transit

Yes

Barrie line to Toronto Union

FFrancis, SQRFT TeamCanadian Rental Market Analysts, SQRFT Editorial Team Updated September 20, 2026 8 min read

Section 1

What Barrie rents look like in late 2025

Barrie does not currently have its own section in CMHC's Fall 2025 Rental Market Report, which covers only Ontario's 7 largest CMAs. CMHC does publish Barrie data in a separate companion Rental Market Survey data-table product, but not in the narrative report this guide otherwise cites, so we won't cite a dollar figure we can't independently confirm from our primary source.

What we can confirm: Rentals.ca's September 2026 National Rent Report names Barrie as having posted the largest annual rent increase among markets outside Canada's six largest cities, up 14.3 percent year over year. Rentals.ca does not publish a specific average dollar rent for Barrie alongside that figure.

+14.3%

Year-over-year rent growth, largest outside Canada's 6 biggest markets

Rentals.ca · Sept 2026

The practical read

Treat the 14.3 percent figure as a trend signal, not a budgeting number — it tells you Barrie's rental market has been tightening quickly, likely tied to GTA commuters priced out of Toronto moving up the GO Transit Barrie line, but it can't tell you what a specific unit should cost. Check live listings for current asking rents in the neighborhood you're targeting.

Section 2

Where people rent in Barrie

Barrie is increasingly a long-distance commuter city via GO Transit rather than a close-in GTA satellite.

Gateway to cottage country (Muskoka, Georgian Bay) on Lake Simcoe, and the fastest-growing city in the northern Greater Toronto Area, increasingly a long-distance commuter city via GO Transit rather than a close-in satellite.

Landmarks that anchor each area

Kempenfelt Bay waterfront

A defining Barrie landmark renters use to orient themselves by area.

Centennial Park beach

A defining Barrie landmark renters use to orient themselves by area.

Heritage Park

A defining Barrie landmark renters use to orient themselves by area.

SQRFT is building out detailed neighborhood-level pages across Barrie. In the meantime, browse live listings from the rentals index and filter by area.

Section 3

Barrie schools and school boards

Where you live decides which public school your kids attend.

The two boards

Simcoe County District School Board

SCDSB

Serves families across Barrie and Simcoe County with designated catchment schools plus alternative and specialized programs.

Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board

SMCDSB

Serves families across Barrie and Simcoe County with designated catchment schools plus alternative and specialized programs.

How to find a school for your address

1
Use the board's school locator first.Enter the address on the SCDSB or SMCDSB site and it returns the designated school for each grade level.
2
Check whether the school is capped.Fast-growing subdivisions on Barrie's south and west sides can see designated schools close to non-catchment students as enrolment climbs.
3
Confirm before you sign the lease.School-driven address decisions do not have a rewind button once you have committed to a lease term.

Public vs Catholic vs private

•
Public (SCDSB):free, catchment-based, Simcoe County's largest school board.
•
Catholic (SMCDSB):free, catchment-based, priority for baptized Catholic families with some open enrolment for others.
•
Private schools:a modest presence, concentrated near downtown Barrie.

Section 4

Barrie's post-secondary: Georgian College

Georgian College's Barrie campus enrolls roughly 12,000 students.

Georgian College

~12,000 students

Georgian

Students concentrate in neighborhoods within walking or short-transit distance of the Georgian campus, as well as commuter students from across Simcoe County.

Timing tip

Rentals near Georgian College hit peak demand in August and September as students sign leases for the fall semester.

Section 5

Getting around Barrie

Barrie Transit runs local routes; GO Transit connects Barrie to Toronto.

The essentials

•
GO Transit Barrie line connects to Toronto Union Station, one of the longer commuter-rail commutes in the GTHA network

Commuter premium

Rentals within walking distance of Barrie's two GO stations (Allandale Waterfront and Barrie South) typically command a premium from renters commuting to the GTA, even though the GO Transit Barrie line is one of the longer commuter-rail rides in the network.

Section 6

What it costs to live in Barrie in 2026

Rent is the biggest line, but not the only one. Here's how Barrie's fixed costs stack against the rest of Ontario.

Where Barrie wins

•
More affordable than the GTA proper.Barrie has historically undercut Toronto-area rents, though the 14.3 percent year-over-year increase Rentals.ca reports suggests that gap has been narrowing quickly.
•
GO Transit access without GTA-core rent.The Barrie GO line makes a Toronto commute realistic without paying GTA-core rent, though the trip itself is long.
•
No separate damage deposit required.Ontario law caps the move-in deposit at one month's rent applied to your last month, unlike provinces requiring a separate refundable damage deposit.

Where Barrie is expensive

•
HST.Ontario charges 13 percent HST (combined federal and provincial sales tax).
•
Fast-rising rents.Rentals.ca's report flags Barrie's rent growth as the fastest among markets outside Canada's six largest cities — budget for a market that has been moving quickly, not a static one.
•
Winter heating costs.Significant lake-effect snow and cold winters mean higher heating bills than milder parts of southwestern Ontario.

For live monthly cost-of-living data, Statistics Canada's Consumer Price Index release publishes regional CPI components you can use as a proxy for the broader Simcoe County / Barrie area.

Section 7

Barrie events, culture, and why people love it here

The last section before we get to the practical answers. If you're deciding whether to move to Barrie in the first place, this is what tips the scale.

Barrie's identity is built around Kempenfelt Bay and its role as the gateway to cottage country — Muskoka and Georgian Bay are both a short drive north.

Major annual events

Kempenfest

August civic holiday weekend, waterfront arts and craft festival

A signature Barrie event drawing large crowds citywide.

Winterfest

February

A signature Barrie event drawing large crowds citywide.

Barrie's sports scene

Barrie Colts (OHL)

A hometown team Barrie residents follow closely.

Barrie's climate

Humid continental with significant lake-effect snow from Georgian Bay/Lake Simcoe, cold winters (January average low around -10°C), warm summers (July average high 26°C).

Section 8

Renting in Barrie: Ontario tenancy law essentials

These rules apply to every Barrie rental. Bookmark this section.

The common rule of thumb is 30 percent of gross monthly income on housing (rent plus utilities). Barrie does not currently have a standalone CMHC-published average rent figure, so we can't give you a precise benchmark dollar amount the way we can for Toronto or Ottawa. Rentals.ca's national report does flag Barrie as having posted the largest annual rent increase among markets outside Canada's six largest cities (+14.3 percent year over year as of its September 2026 report), so budget for a market that has been moving quickly.

Try the free rent affordability calculator →

Section 9

Live Barrie rentals on SQRFT

Browse listings across Barrie neighborhoods. All listings verified. Free to list.

Browse Barrie listings

Pricing

What should Barrie rent cost?

Get a free rent estimate

SQRFT Rent Estimator

See a data-driven rent range for your Barrie property based on our Canadian rental market model.

Sources

Where these numbers come from

Rentals.ca National Rent Report, September 2026 (Barrie year-over-year rent growth figure)
CMHC Fall 2025 Rental Market Report (confirms Barrie is not covered in this report's narrative CMA sections)
Government of Ontario, 2026 Rent Increase Guideline
Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario
Barrie Transit
Statistics Canada, Q3 2024 population estimate for Barrie CMA

Living and Renting in Barrie in 2026

What Barrie rents look like in late 2025

Where people rent in Barrie

Landmarks that anchor each area

Barrie schools and school boards

The two boards

How to find a school for your address

Public vs Catholic vs private

Barrie's post-secondary: Georgian College

Getting around Barrie

The essentials

What it costs to live in Barrie in 2026

Where Barrie wins

Where Barrie is expensive

Barrie events, culture, and why people love it here

Major annual events

Barrie's sports scene

Barrie's climate

Renting in Barrie: Ontario tenancy law essentials

Live Barrie rentals on SQRFT

Related SQRFT content

What should Barrie rent cost?

Where these numbers come from