The Canadian Rental Housing Index released its latest list and assessment of Canada’s housing rental markets this week, and things aren’t looking so good in Peel Region for renters.

Not only did the index rate the region’s rental supply and affordability as “critical”, it ranked Peel as the third most critical region in Canada.

According to the methodology the organization used, the ratings and rankings were calculated using data from the 2016 long-form census.

The Index examined and compared affordability and overcrowding data for all Canadian communities with more than 4,000 people and 500 renter households. More than 800 regions and municipalities across the country made the cut.

Each community was scored out of 50, using the sum of five indicators each with a score out of 10 — affordability, overspending, income gap, overcrowding and bedroom shortfall.

Peel’s index rating of 32.4 trailed only list-topping Toronto’s rating of 35.6 and York Region’s score of 34.6 on the regional level. Greater Vancouver (31.5) and the Sunshine Coast (29.4) in British Columbia rounded out the top five.

On the city or municipal level, Mississauga ranked the fifth-worst city in the country with a score of 38. Richmond Hill was ranked worst with a rating of 39.5. Only Markham (38.9), Burnaby, B.C. (38.7) and Toronto (38.1) also fared worse than Mississauga.

Brampton didn’t rank in the bottom 10, but its score of 32.29 also rated it critical. Comparatively speaking, Caledon’s score of 17.59 saw it fall in the “poor” range.

Of Mississauga’s 240,660 households, 66,655 or 27.7 per cent were renters in 2016, earning an annual income of $58,272. The average cost of rent and utilities per month for Mississauga renters came in at $1,281 compared to $1,109 for the rest of Ontario.

Forty-six per cent of Mississauga renters were spending more than 30 per cent — the generally accepted safe-threshold — on rent and utilities per year. Twenty-three per cent were spending more than 50 per cent.