Renting in Summerside in 2026

Summerside is Prince Edward Island's second city, with a population of roughly 16,000 people as of Statistics Canada's 2021 Census, about 45 minutes west of Charlottetown on the Trans-Canada Highway. It grew up around the former CFB Summerside air force base, and that legacy now anchors Slemon Park, an aerospace and unmanned-aircraft testing cluster that's one of the city's largest employers.

Health PEI's Prince County Hospital and the province's agri-food processing sector round out the local economy, alongside the city's own municipal workforce. Summerside's rental market also serves smaller nearby communities like Kensington, near the north-shore beaches, and Borden-Carleton, at the PEI landing point of the Confederation Bridge.

The local economy runs on the following:

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  Slemon Park, the former CFB Summerside air base now home to an aerospace and UAV-testing cluster
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  Health PEI (Prince County Hospital), the region's hospital
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  City of Summerside, the municipal government
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  Agri-food processing, a significant employer given PEI's farming economy

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  Eptek Art and Culture Centre, a gallery and museum space
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  Summerside Waterfront Boardwalk, running along the harbour
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  Spinnakers' Landing, a boardwalk shopping and entertainment area

Every rental in Summerside is governed by the Rental of Residential Property Act (PEI). Key rules that apply regardless of town size:

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  Rent increases are capped by an annually-set IRAC guideline.Landlords must give 90 days' written notice, and can only raise rent once every 12 months.
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  Security deposits capped at one month's rent.Returned within 10 days of move-out if there's no dispute over damage.
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  Landlord entry requires 24 hours' written notice.For repairs, showings, or inspections.
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  Disputes go to the Residential Rental Property Tribunal.Part of PEI's Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC), which handles applications from both landlords and tenants.
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  No legally required move-in inspection report.A written move-in inspection is good practice but is not a PEI Rental of Residential Property Act requirement.

Deep guides for each of these topics are in the SQRFT guide library.

• Statistics Canada 2021 Census Profile
• Public Schools Branch
• PEI IRAC Residential Rental Property Tribunal