Toronto inhabitants fed up with rising rents are flooding city-run lotteries for affordable housing in new developments, but the chance of being selected for a subsidized unit is often less than 1%.

One new development in the city’s West End recently offered a random public draw to allocate 135 units with rents pegged to income ceilings that would cost hundreds of dollars less than market rates. Nearly 12,500 people entered the draw for the homes aimed at middle-income earners in the Galleria on the Park development.

Rents across Canada rose 9.3% in the year to May to reach C$2,202 (US$1,607), with prices in Toronto averaging C$2,479, according to a recent report.

In comparison a one-bedroom lottery unit in the Galleria on the Park development would cost C$1,589 a month to someone with an annual income of C$82,000.