This page sets out what is known: BC's rent rules, the federal down payment rule and the costs of owning. It does not forecast prices, because nobody can, and GVR's benchmarks have both risen and fallen over the periods it reports.
The short version
- BC's maximum rent increase is 2.3% for 2026 and 2.2% for 2027, effective January 1, 2027.
- A landlord can end a tenancy so they or a close family member can live in the home, with a Three Month Notice the tenant can dispute within 21 days.
- To buy at GVR's September 2026 townhouse benchmark of $1,016,700, the federal minimum down payment is $76,670.
- An owner's monthly cost includes the mortgage, strata fee, property tax, insurance and utilities, plus savings for anything the strata does not cover.
- GVR's Greater Vancouver townhouse benchmark was down 4.7% over one year and up 49.5% over ten years to September 2026. Past changes are not a forecast.
What renting gives you, and what can change
In BC, a landlord can raise the rent once every 12 months, with at least three months' notice, and by no more than the yearly limit. The Province set the limit at 2.3% for 2026, and announced on August 27, 2026 that it will be 2.2% for 2027.
That gives a renter a predictable path for the rent itself. What a renter cannot control is the tenancy ending. A landlord can end it so that they or a close family member can move in, with a Three Month Notice generated through the Residential Tenancy Branch's online portal, and the tenant has 21 days to dispute it.
Renting also leaves your savings free. The money that would be a down payment can stay invested, and repairs are the landlord's cost.
In our view, the renter's real risk is the move, not the rent. A family that has to leave a home with three months' notice may face a market where the same home costs more to rent, with children settled in a school nearby.
What buying needs up front
The federal minimum down payment, as published by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, is 5% of the first $500,000 of the price and 10% of the part between $500,000 and $1.5 million, with 20% needed at $1.5 million or more. With less than 20% down, the mortgage must be insured, and CMHC's premium is added to the loan.
As a reference, at GVR's September 2026 Greater Vancouver townhouse benchmark of $1,016,700, the minimum down payment is $76,670. At the apartment benchmark of $682,500, it is $43,250. A multiplex home's price is set by the homes for sale near it, since no multiplex benchmark is published.
On top of the down payment, plan for closing costs: legal fees, any property transfer tax not covered by an exemption, adjustments for property tax and strata fees already paid by the seller, and, on a new home, GST unless it is included or rebated. Our cost of owning guide and our pre-sale guide list them.
| Benchmark | Price, September 2026 | Minimum down payment | CMHC premium at the minimum down payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment | $682,500 | $43,250 | 4.00% of the loan |
| Townhouse | $1,016,700 | $76,670 | 4.00% of the loan |
Benchmarks: GVR, September 2026. Down payment rule: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Premiums: CMHC, read 23 October 2026. A down payment at exactly the minimum on these prices puts the loan above 90% of the price.
What owning costs each month
An owner's monthly cost has more parts than rent. The mortgage payment is the largest, and part of each payment reduces what you owe. That part, the principal, is calculable from the mortgage terms and stays yours as equity. The interest part does not.
Then come the strata fee, which pays for the building's insurance, shared repairs and the reserve fund; the property tax, set by your assessed value and the city's rates; your own home insurance; and utilities. In a bare land strata or a shared title, add savings for the repairs the strata does not cover.
Put your own figures side by side. On one line, your rent. On the other, the mortgage interest, strata fee, property tax, insurance and utilities for a specific home. The principal portion of the mortgage goes on a third line, because it is savings rather than a cost.
Insurance and repairs: renter or owner
A renter in a multiplex or apartment buys a tenant policy for their belongings and liability. The landlord insures the home, and the strata, if there is one, insures the building. A burst pipe is the landlord's problem and the strata's.
An owner of a strata home buys an owner policy, which the Province advises should cover contents, improvements, liability, the cost of living elsewhere after a loss, and the strata deductible. The owner also pays a share of every shared repair through the strata fee, the reserve fund and any special levy approved by a 3/4 vote.
In our view, this is the part of owning that surprises first-time owners most. Budget a monthly amount for repairs inside your own home from the first year, even in a new building, because the strata's fund covers only what is shared.
Programs that lower the cost of switching
Several programs are aimed at people buying their first home, and a renter is often a first-time buyer. Each has its own conditions, so check every one before you count on it.
BC's first time home buyers' program exempts property transfer tax on the first $500,000 of the price when the fair market value is $835,000 or less, with a partial exemption up to $860,000. On a newly built home, the separate newly built home exemption removes the tax up to $1,100,000, with a partial exemption up to $1,150,000, for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who will live in it.
The Canada Revenue Agency's first-time home buyers' GST rebate returns up to 100% of the GST, to a maximum of $50,000, on a new home at or below $1 million, with the rebate reduced gradually up to $1.5 million. To qualify, a buyer must not have lived in a home they or their spouse owned as their main residence in the calendar year or the four years before.
If you buy and later rent the home out
Buying does not have to mean living in the home forever. Section 141 of the Strata Property Act says a strata must not restrict the rental of a strata lot, so an owner who moves can rent the home out.
As a landlord, you then follow the same rules your own landlord follows now: a rent increase only once every 12 months, with at least three months' notice, and no more than the yearly limit, which is 2.3% for 2026. Some exemptions and transfer tax programs have occupancy conditions, so check them before you plan to rent the home out soon after buying.
Why we do not forecast prices
Many rent-or-buy calculators assume home prices will rise each year. We do not, because there is no reliable way to know. GVR's Greater Vancouver townhouse benchmark was down 4.7% over one year and up 49.5% over ten years to September 2026. The detached benchmark was down 7.3% over one year and up 4.5% over ten. Prices can fall, and in the last year they did in every category.
What can be calculated is the principal you pay down, the costs you pay, and the security of having your own title. In our view, buying makes sense when you expect to stay several years, can afford the costs with room to spare, and value not having to move on a landlord's notice. It makes less sense when your plans may change within a couple of years.
A short checklist
Before you decide, gather these numbers for your own situation.
- Your current rent and the next allowed increase.
- How long you expect to stay in the area, and in the home.
- Your savings for a down payment and closing costs, and what is left over afterwards.
- A lender's pre-approval, with the rate and the monthly payment.
- The strata fee, property tax and insurance for a specific home you would buy.
- Whether you qualify for the first-time buyers' GST rebate or BC's transfer tax exemptions.
Questions buyers ask
More in Compare Home Types
Also worth reading
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page comes from the body that issues it. Rules and rates change, so each entry says when we checked it.
- Maximum allowable rent increase set at 2.2% for 2027. Government of British Columbia. Released August 27, 2026, accessed October 9, 2026.
- Types of evictions. Government of British Columbia. Last updated April 28, 2026, accessed October 9, 2026.
- Saving for a down payment: minimum down payment by purchase price. Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
- CMHC mortgage loan insurance cost. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Greater Vancouver REALTORS monthly market report and MLS® Home Price Index, September 2026. Greater Vancouver REALTORS. Released October 2, 2026, accessed October 9, 2026.
- Home owner grant. Province of British Columbia. Page last updated 3 July 2026, accessed 29 August 2026.
General information only. The rent increase limits, down payment amounts and mortgage insurance figures on this page are illustrative and based on rules as of the dates noted. They are not financial, mortgage, tax or legal advice, and not a guarantee of qualification or any outcome. Rent limits, CMHC rules and tax programs change. Always consult a licensed mortgage broker and, on tenancy questions, the Residential Tenancy Branch before making any purchase or rental decision.
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