Vancouver Rental Market Guide for Movers (2026)
Verified 2026 data on Vancouver vacancy rates, average rents, tenant rights, seasonal patterns, rental scams, and neighbourhood breakdowns to help you find an affordable place before your move.
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Vancouver’s Rental Market in 2026: What Movers Need to Know
If you’re planning a move to Vancouver, you’re entering the rental market at a pivotal moment. After years of sub-1% vacancy rates and relentless rent increases, 2025 and 2026 have brought a dramatic shift. Vacancy rates have more than doubled, asking rents are falling for the first time in years, and a wave of new rental supply is reshaping the landscape. This guide breaks down everything movers need to know — backed by verified data from CMHC, Rentals.ca, liv.rent, and official BC government sources.
Vacancy Rates Have Hit a Historic High
According to the CMHC 2025 Rental Market Report, Metro Vancouver’s purpose-built rental vacancy rate climbed to 3.7% in late 2025 — the highest level since 1988. This is a seismic shift from the ultra-tight conditions that defined the market for most of the past decade:
2019: 1.1%
2020: 2.6% (COVID-driven spike)
2021: 1.2%
2022: 0.9%
2023: 0.9%
2024: 1.6%
2025: 3.7% — more than double the prior year
Several factors are driving this shift. Record levels of new purpose-built rental construction entered the market in 2025. BC’s short-term rental legislation has returned thousands of former Airbnb units to the long-term market. And federal cuts to immigration targets have slowed population growth, particularly among temporary residents who typically rent.
What this means for movers: You have more options and more negotiating power than at any point in the past decade. Landlords in many buildings are now offering one to two months of free rent as move-in incentives — something that was unheard of just two years ago.
Current Average Rents
Here’s what renters are currently paying in Metro Vancouver, based on CMHC’s October 2025 survey of purpose-built rental apartments:
2-bedroom: $2,363/month (+2.2% year-over-year — the lowest rent growth in 20 years)
1-bedroom: approximately $2,000–$2,100/month (based on liv.rent February 2026 data)
However, what you’ll see on listing sites is often higher than what existing tenants pay. Statistics Canada reported the average asking rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in Metro Vancouver at $3,170 in Q1 2025 — the highest in Canada. This gap exists because existing tenants benefit from BC’s rent increase caps, while new listings reflect current market rates.
Purpose-Built vs. Condo Rentals
There’s a meaningful price difference between purpose-built rental buildings and condo rentals. CMHC data shows the average 2-bedroom condo rental was $2,900/month in 2025, roughly 23% more ($537/month) than the purpose-built average. However, condo vacancy remains tighter at just 1.5%, as individual owners rely on rental income to cover mortgage costs and can’t afford long vacancies.
Mover’s tip: Purpose-built rentals generally offer better value, more stable tenancies, and stronger tenant protections. Condo rentals may offer newer finishes but come with higher rents and less security of tenure.
Rents Are Falling — Here’s the Data
For the first time in years, asking rents in Vancouver are declining significantly. According to Rentals.ca:
Vancouver 1-bedroom asking rents fell 8.1% year-over-year to $2,515 in October 2025
Apartment rents in Vancouver have fallen for 24 consecutive months, reaching their lowest level since March 2022
BC-wide asking rents have declined 8.5% over two years (Business in Vancouver)
CMHC reports that same-sample rent growth (what existing tenants pay) hit a 20-year low in 2025
This decline is being driven by a surge of new supply, reduced demand from immigration policy changes, and the conversion of short-term rentals to long-term units.
When to Move: Seasonal Rent Patterns
Timing your move can save you hundreds of dollars per month. Liv.rent’s monthly data shows clear seasonal patterns in Metro Vancouver’s 1-bedroom unfurnished rents throughout 2025 and into 2026:
March 2025: $2,306/month (seasonal peak)
May 2025: $2,275/month
September 2025: $2,171/month
December 2025: $2,120/month
February 2026: $2,069/month (seasonal low)
That’s a swing of roughly $237/month between the spring high and winter low — which adds up to nearly $2,850/year in savings if you time your lease start right.
Best months for renters: October through February. Once the September rush (driven by students and new professionals) passes, competition drops significantly and landlords are more willing to negotiate. The absolute lowest rents tend to appear in December through February, when fewer people are actively looking.
Most competitive months: May through August, when student turnover overlaps with peak moving season, and January through March, when relocating professionals arrive.
Where Rents Are Most Affordable
Not every neighbourhood in Metro Vancouver commands the same premium. If you’re on a budget, consider these areas where rents tend to run below the metro average:
Maple Ridge / Pitt Meadows: The most affordable in Metro Vancouver, though further from downtown
Langley: Growing suburbs with newer rental stock and strong transit connections via the planned Surrey-Langley SkyTrain
Surrey: Large, diverse rental market with significant new supply; many areas have good SkyTrain access
New Westminster: Centrally located with excellent SkyTrain access and a growing stock of purpose-built rentals
Coquitlam: Studio vacancy jumped from 0.6% to 5.5% in 2025, meaning much more availability and softer pricing
Key insight: Lower-income affordable units remain extremely tight even as overall vacancy rises. CMHC data shows vacancy rates of only 1–2% for the most affordable rental units, meaning budget-friendly apartments are still competitive.
Where Rents Are Highest
The most expensive rental neighbourhoods in Metro Vancouver include:
Downtown Vancouver: 1-bedroom unfurnished rents averaged $2,457/month in February 2026 (liv.rent), though this is down 9% from a year ago
West Vancouver: Premium waterfront location with consistently high rents
North Vancouver: Strong demand near the mountains and Seabus
Kitsilano / Point Grey: Beach proximity and UBC access drive premiums
Your Rights as a Renter in BC
BC has some of the strongest tenant protections in Canada. Here’s what every renter moving to Vancouver needs to know, based on the BC Residential Tenancy Act:
Rent Increase Cap
The maximum allowable rent increase for 2026 is 2.3%, tied to inflation (down from 3.0% in 2025 and 3.5% in 2024). This is the second consecutive year the cap has declined. Your landlord must give you three full months’ written notice before increasing rent, and you do not have to agree to any increase above the legal maximum. (CBC News)
Security and Pet Deposits
Under BC law, the maximum security deposit is half of one month’s rent. If you have a pet, the landlord can also require a pet damage deposit of up to half a month’s rent. That’s the legal maximum — any landlord asking for more is breaking the law. When your tenancy ends, the landlord has 15 days to return your deposit (after receiving your forwarding address), or you can apply for double the deposit amount through the Residential Tenancy Branch. Note: the deposit interest rate for 2026 is 0%.
Landlord Entry
Your landlord must provide at least 24 hours’ written notice before entering your unit, specifying the reason, date, and time. Entry is only permitted between 8 AM and 9 PM unless you specifically agree otherwise. Exceptions exist only for genuine emergencies. (BC Government)
Eviction Protections
As of June 18, 2025, if a landlord wants to evict you for personal use (for themselves, a family member, or a purchaser), they must now give three months’ notice (reduced from the previous four months). You have 21 days to dispute the eviction through the Residential Tenancy Branch. Bad-faith evictions carry significant penalties. (TRAC)
Pets
Landlords can restrict pets when you first sign a lease, but certified guide dogs and service dogs cannot be restricted under any circumstances, and no pet deposit can be charged for them. (BC Government) Finding pet-friendly housing remains challenging: the BC SPCA reports that a lack of pet-friendly housing is the primary reason healthy pets are surrendered, with over 12,400 animals given up since 2014.
Subletting
If your fixed-term tenancy has six months or more remaining, your landlord cannot unreasonably refuse a sublet request under Section 34 of the RTA. They also cannot charge you a fee for considering or approving the sublease.
Renoviction Protections and Tenant Relocation
Vancouver has specific protections for tenants displaced by renovations or redevelopment. The City’s Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP) requires developers to compensate tenants who are permanently displaced:
Standard compensation: $750 for bachelor/1-bedroom units, $1,000 for 2+ bedrooms
Enhanced areas (Broadway Plan corridor and Transit-Oriented Areas): compensation ranges from 4 months’ rent (for tenancies of 1–5 years) up to 24 months’ rent (for tenancies over 40 years)
Burnaby has its own Tenant Assistance Policy that includes the right to return to the redeveloped building at the same rent, plus rent top-up payments and moving costs during displacement. As of 2022, this program had assisted 883 households.
The Broadway Subway: How It’s Reshaping the Rental Market
The Broadway Subway (Millennium Line extension) will add six new underground SkyTrain stations from VCC-Clark to Arbutus, spanning 5.7 km through Mount Pleasant, Fairview, South Granville, and Kitsilano. Originally targeted for 2025, the opening has been delayed to Fall 2027 due to longer-than-expected tunnelling.
The transit expansion is already transforming the rental landscape. The Vancouver Tenants Union documented significant “rent gaps” along the Broadway corridor — the difference between what current tenants pay and what landlords could charge new tenants:
Studio: $758/month potential increase
1-bedroom: $821/month potential increase
2-bedroom: $1,315/month potential increase
This creates strong financial incentives for landlords to find reasons to evict existing tenants near future stations — which is exactly why the City enacted the enhanced TRPP protections in the Broadway Plan area.
New Rental Supply Coming Online
A massive wave of new rental housing is entering the Vancouver market, which is a key reason vacancy rates have risen and rents are softening.
Broadway Plan Development Pipeline
The Broadway Plan area currently has 146 projects in the development pipeline (BIV), including 15,372 market-rental units and 3,549 below-market and social housing units. Over 30 years, the plan envisions 41,500 net new homes accommodating up to 64,000 additional residents.
Senakw: Vancouver’s Largest Rental Project
The Senakw development on Squamish Nation land near the Burrard Bridge is the single largest rental project in Vancouver’s history. Phase 1 will deliver approximately 1,400 purpose-built rental homes (including about 300 affordable units) across three towers by 2026. The full project will eventually add 6,080 rental homes across four phases through 2032–2033.
Short-Term Rental Conversions
BC’s Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act has had a measurable impact. When the legislation was introduced in 2023, there were an estimated 28,000 individual short-term rental listings in BC. As of 2025, over 20,000 have registered under the new rules, meaning roughly 8,000 listings have left the STR market — many returning to long-term rentals. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon stated: “Through BC’s short-term rental rules, thousands of homes have returned to the long-term rental market.”
Affordability Reality Check
Despite improving conditions, Vancouver remains one of Canada’s most expensive rental markets. CMHC considers housing “affordable” when a household spends no more than 30% of gross income on shelter. Vancouver renters are well beyond that:
SingleKey’s Q3 2025 report found Vancouver renters spend 41.6% of income on rent and debt repayments (national average: 38.6%)
Royal LePage’s 2024 survey found 27% of Vancouver renters spend more than half their income on rent (national average: 16%)
At the Metro Vancouver median household income of approximately $82,000/year, a 2-bedroom at $2,363/month represents about 34.6% of gross income — above the affordability threshold
Bottom line: While rents are softening, Vancouver remains unaffordable by standard measures for most renter households. Budget carefully before your move and factor in all costs including utilities, transit, and renter’s insurance.
Will Interest Rate Cuts Make Buying an Option?
The Bank of Canada has cut its policy rate by 275 basis points since June 2024, bringing it from 5.00% down to 2.25% (Bank of Canada). Despite this, the shift from renting to buying in Vancouver has been minimal. The MLS Home Price Index benchmark for Metro Vancouver sat at $1,142,100 in September 2025 — still far beyond what most renters can afford, even with lower mortgage rates. For now, renting remains the reality for the vast majority of newcomers to Vancouver.
Watch Out for Rental Scams
Vancouver’s competitive rental market makes it a prime target for scammers. The numbers are alarming: the Better Business Bureau reports that 42.9% of people exposed to rental scams become victims, with a median loss of $1,600. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre logged 788 reported rental scam incidents costing $721,952 in 2022 — and estimates this represents only about 5% of actual cases.
Common Scam Types
Fake listings: Scammers steal photos from MLS or real ads for properties that don’t exist. Most common on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.
Deposit fraud: Requests for deposits or “application fees” before you’ve seen the property.
Phantom landlord: Scammers pose as the owner of a property listed for sale, using listing photos to create fake rental ads.
Prepayment scams: Deep discounts offered for paying several months upfront, then the “landlord” vanishes.
How to Protect Yourself
Always view the property in person (or send someone you trust) before paying anything.
Reverse image search listing photos — if they appear on MLS or multiple sites, it’s likely a scam.
Never use untraceable payment methods like wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or gift cards.
Verify landlord identity through BC Land Title records.
Be skeptical of below-market prices — if it seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is.
Report fraud to RCMP BC, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, or Vancouver Police (604-717-3321).
Tips for Apartment Hunting Before Your Move
Finding a place to rent in Vancouver is more manageable than it has been in years, but you still need a plan:
Use verified listing platforms: liv.rent (includes landlord verification), Rentals.ca, PadMapper, and Zumper are more reliable than Craigslist or Facebook.
Have your documents ready: Prepare references, proof of income, photo ID, and credit report in advance. Vancouver landlords move quickly.
Budget for first and last: You’ll typically need first month’s rent plus half a month’s security deposit upfront.
Consider purpose-built rentals: They’re averaging $537/month less than equivalent condo rentals, and offer more stable tenancies.
Look for move-in incentives: With vacancy rates at 3.7%, many buildings are offering one to two months free rent.
Explore transit-connected suburbs: New Westminster, Coquitlam, and Surrey offer lower rents with strong SkyTrain access.
Time it right: Moving in November through February can save you $200+/month compared to spring or summer.
Furnished vs. Unfurnished: A Shrinking Premium
If you’re relocating from out of province or country, you might consider a furnished unit to avoid shipping costs. The good news: the furnished premium is eroding. Liv.rent data shows the premium in the City of Vancouver averaged just $68–$108/month for 1-bedroom units throughout 2025. In the suburbs, the premium has actually disappeared entirely — furnished units rented for less than unfurnished in Langley, Burnaby, West Vancouver, Richmond, and New Westminster. This collapse likely reflects reduced corporate/short-term demand and increased supply of furnished units from former Airbnb listings.
Planning Your Move Around Your Lease
Most Vancouver leases are 12 months, converting to month-to-month after the initial term. Here’s what to keep in mind when timing your move:
Give proper notice: You must give your landlord one full month’s written notice before the end of a rental period.
Move on a weekday: Elevator bookings in apartment buildings fill up fast on weekends. Weekday moves are easier and often cheaper.
Coordinate with Two Small Men: We know Vancouver’s buildings — the loading zones, elevator restrictions, and parking challenges. Book early during peak season (May–September) to lock in your preferred date.
Check your lease for move-in/out fees: Some buildings charge a refundable damage deposit for moving, separate from your security deposit.
Planning a move to Vancouver? Get a free quote from Two Small Men and let us handle the heavy lifting while you focus on finding your perfect rental.
Sources and Further Reading
Author
Walter Lyng is a multifaceted writer, marketing specialist and performer based out of his hometown of Montreal. Trained as a journalist, Walter spent several years working at a community newspaper before going on to work for companies such as Audible, Mattel and Bell Canada. Breaking into the stand-up comedy world in his early 20s, Walter has performed in venues and festivals throughout the country. He is a Just For Laughs recording artist and his comedy can be heard regularly on Sirius XM satellite radio.