Affordability under MLI Select — the income-based threshold.
Under MLI Select, a unit "counts" as affordable if its rent is at or below 30% of the median renter household income (before tax) for the subject Census Metropolitan Area. This is an income-based threshold — not a percentage of local market rents. CMHC publishes the threshold data annually in a downloadable Excel spreadsheet attached to the MLI Select program page.
The distinction matters. In CMAs where rents have outrun incomes (Vancouver, Toronto), the threshold often sits below market rent and requires a real discount. In markets where incomes have kept pace with rents (parts of the Prairies), units can sometimes score affordability near market — a material edge when structuring a points-path.
Monthly rent thresholds by CMA.
Approximate 2025–2026 values (30% of median renter household income, before tax). For authoritative current-year figures use CMHC's MLI Select XLSX or GreenBirch Capital's public lookup tool — both linked below.
| CMA | Monthly threshold | Annual (implied HH income) |
|---|---|---|
| Calgary | $1,738/mo | ~$69,520 |
| Toronto (high) | $1,625/mo | ~$65,000 |
| Vancouver (high) | $1,500/mo | ~$60,000 |
| Edmonton (high) | $1,500/mo | ~$60,000 |
| Toronto (low) | $1,450/mo | ~$58,000 |
| Vancouver (low) | $1,375/mo | ~$55,000 |
| Edmonton (low) | $1,375/mo | ~$55,000 |
Implied household income = monthly threshold × 12 / 0.30 (rent at 30% of gross income). Values rounded.
Threshold = 30% of median renter household income for the subject CMA. Published in the MLI Select median renter income XLSX attached to CMHC's MLI Select page. Updated annually — effective rent thresholds shift with wage data, not rent data.
Advantage: markets with naturally lower rents relative to median incomes (e.g. parts of the Prairies) can sometimes hit Level 1 affordability at near-market rents — very valuable for MLI Select tier 1 (50 points).
Some legacy CMHC programs used a percentile of local market rent as the affordability threshold (for example, 20–30% below median market rent). This is rent-based, not income-based — and moves with the rent market, not the labour market.
Under MLI Select this approach has been replaced by the income-based rule, which is structurally more protective for tenants in high-rent-growth markets.
How many units need to be affordable to score.
MLI Select affordability points scale with the percentage of units held at or below the CMA threshold — and the thresholds differ for new construction vs. existing.
Plus a 30-point bonus for a 20-year affordability commitment (vs. the default 10 years). See the point scorer to model your project.
Where to find current-year thresholds.
Downloadable Excel spreadsheet attached to the MLI Select program page at cmhc-schl.gc.ca. Contains median renter household income by CMA and the corresponding 30% monthly rent threshold. Updated annually.
Public browser-based lookup at greenbirchcapital.com/affordable-unit-monthly-rents/ — searchable by CMA with immediate threshold output. The most convenient way to sanity-check an MLI Select pro forma without opening the XLSX.
Open the lookup →