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New research confirms what renters in Vancouver already knew: they’re paying more for housing.

Using data from online rental listings posted between March and mid-August of this year, UBC professor Tom Davidoff crunched the numbers, only to find there’s been a “striking” increase in rents.

“If the trends continue that I’ve seen since March, rents would rise 20 per cent year on year which you almost never see in a rental housing market,” Davidoff said.

What’s more, he said it’s rentals on the lower end of the spectrum where he’s seeing the steepest increase, smaller units and in less desirable neighbourhoods.

Making matters worse, wages are out of synch with housing prices in Vancouver. Davidoff says the data points to a bigger problem.

“If somebody wants to live in Vancouver and can’t even afford a decent place to rent, I think that’s the really serious affordability problem,” Davidoff said.

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Vancouverite-turned housing advocate Justin Fung said he’s hearing of more renters being priced out or kicked out of their apartments.

He says the stories and data are out there, but government needs to step up.

“The leaders of our country of our province of our city should have a pulse here, they should be capturing this information and getting out in front of it and being proactive,” Fung said.