High rents, job losses contributing to lease breaks, defaults

As the torrential storm of job losses in the province escalates, Calgary's rental community is beginning to feel the fallout.

Rental management groups in the city are reporting a higher incidence of lease breaks and defaults on rent this year as energy sector woes reverberate throughout the economy.

"We've certainly had to do a lot more of this recently than in years' past," said Brett Turner, owner of Redline Real Estate Group Inc., which manages a multitude of rental properties from single-family homes to small apartment buildings.

"We've seen significantly more lease breaks and defaults on rents than ever before."