It will now cost you well north of $2,800 to rent an apartment in Toronto, and renters looking to move into a new home will have to fork over more than 15 per cent higher prices than this time last year.

The latest Rentals.ca and Urbanation National Rent Report shines a spotlight on rising rents across the country in May. Average rents rose by 6.5 per cent nationwide last month, though that figure pales in comparison to the rate of rent price increases in the nation's largest urban centre.

The former City of Toronto (these rent reports cover pre-amalgamation cities with separate figures) ranked second on the list of 35 cities for average one-bedroom monthly rent in May, at $2,538, and third place for two-bedroom rent averages, at $3,286.

That's a 17.5 per cent year-over-year spike in one-bedroom rents, and a 12.4 per cent increase for two-bedroom rents.

Overall rents in Toronto increased by 15.5 per cent year-over-year in May to a new average of $2,808 for purpose-built and condominium rentals.

Prices have indeed experienced a surge in the last year, but when measured on a month-over-month basis, average rents actually decreased in Toronto last month.

The April average rent price clocked in at $2,822, meaning it's a whole $14 (my, what a fortune) more affordable to sign a lease than it was one month earlier.

Average Toronto rent prices just skyrocketed by a shocking amount https://t.co/V4wGp6zlFG #Toronto #RealEstate

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 22, 2023

Eight other Greater Toronto Area cities and areas were on the list, including Mississauga, Vaughan, Burlington, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, Brampton, Oshawa, Oakville and Richmond Hill.

"Higher rents are on the horizon with interest rates at a 22-year high, rising home prices and record immigration," said Matt Danison, CEO of Rentals.ca Network.

"Gen Z could become the 'Boomerang Generation' moving back in with the parents or the 'Roommate Generation' splitting rent as it's unaffordable for many Canadians to pay rent on their own," says Danison, adding that "governments at all levels need to come up with creative solutions to increase housing supply."