Rental costs are soaring. What can the government do?

High housing prices have forced many Canadians to accept that they may never be able to afford buying their own home.

Strong demand for rentals and a shortage of homes are both contributing to soaring rental costs. And that's making it even more difficult for people to save money for down payment on a home.

For the first time ever, average asking rents for purpose-built condominiums and apartments rose above $2,000 in July.

One-bedroom apartments alone saw a 13 per cent annual increase in the average rent and a monthly rise of 2.5 per cent, bringing July's figure to $1,850.

The need to construct more purpose-built rentals, which refers to buildings where the dwelling units were always intended to be rented out, rather than sold, is becoming all the more pressing.