Viewing a Home in Vancouver's Rainy Season: What to Check and Ask

A rainy day is the best time to view a home in Greater Vancouver. The rain shows you where water goes: into the gutters and away from the walls, or onto the walkway, under the door and into a stained corner of the ceiling.

Rain is also what you will live with. At Vancouver International Airport, 801.5 mm of the 1,119.2 mm of rain in a normal year falls between October and March, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1991 to 2020 climate normals. This guide covers what to check and ask when you view a new or resale duplex, triplex or fourplex home in the rain, and when to call a home inspector.

How much it rains in Vancouver from October to March

Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Vancouver International Airport give these averages:

• October to March: 801.5 mm of rain, which is 71.6 percent of the 1,119.2 mm a normal year brings.
• Rainy days: rain falls on 105.2 of the 182 days from October through March, counting every day with at least 0.2 mm.
• Heavy days: 28.9 days in those six months bring 10 mm of rain or more, out of 38.8 such days in a full year.
• The wettest month: November, with 171.2 mm of rain on 19.3 days. December has the most rainy days, at 19.7.
• The driest month: July, with 34.1 mm on 6.2 days.

The amount changes across the region. The Vancouver Harbour station on the downtown waterfront records 1,537.4 mm of rain and snow in a normal year, against 1,159.5 mm at the airport, in the same set of normals.

In our view, if you have only seen a home on dry days, go back once when it rains.

Why a rainy-day viewing shows you more

When it rains, you can watch the gutters, see whether water pools on the path, check ceilings and sills while they are wet, and hear how loud the rain is in the bedroom.

Health Canada's Guide to addressing moisture and mould indoors (January 2023) lists the signs of too much moisture in a home: peeling paint, wrinkled wallpaper, cracks in plaster, warped wood, white powdery salt crystals on walls or masonry, and musty or earthy odours. Several of these are easier to see and smell on a wet day.

If your first showing was on a dry day, ask the listing agent for a short second visit when it rains, before you remove your subjects (the conditions in your offer, such as financing and inspection).

Outside: gutters, walkways and the yard

Start outside. Stand back from the home for two minutes and watch where the water goes.

• Gutters: Water spilling over a gutter, or pouring from one corner, is worth a question. Ask who cleans the gutters and when they were last cleaned. In a strata (the group of owners who share the building), ask whether it is in the yearly maintenance plan.
• Downspouts: Follow each downspout, the pipe that carries water down from the gutter, to the ground. Water that empties against the wall or onto a path is worth a question.
• Walkways and stairs: Note any puddle on the path, at the bottom of stairs, or outside a door. Health Canada's guide advises making sure rain drains away from the home, with the ground sloping away from the walls.
• The yard: Soft, soaked grass or water sitting in a low corner shows how the yard handles a wet week.
• Balconies and roof decks: Standing water after the rain stops is worth asking about.

BC Housing's home warranty page says insurers may exclude landscaping, and "site grading and surface drainage", from 2-5-10 coverage. If water pools in the yard of a new home, ask the seller in writing what will be done before you buy, because the warranty may leave you to pay for it.

Entry, parking and getting inside in the rain

Walk the route you would use every day, from the parking spot to your front door, while it rains.

• Cover at the door: Is there a roof over the door, deep enough to stand under while you find your keys?
• A place for wet things: Is there room inside the door for wet coats, boots and a stroller?
• Steps: Are the outdoor steps slippery when wet? Is there a handrail? For a parent in their 70s or 80s, this matters every rainy day.
• Lighting: Winter afternoons get dark early. Check that the path, steps and door have lights.
• Parking: Is your spot covered? Does water pool on the parking pad, or in the lane beside it? In a garage or carport, look for wet patches near the door or along the walls.
• The walk itself: How much of the walk from the car to the door is covered? With children and shopping bags, you will notice on most days from October to March.

Inside: what to smell, see, touch and hear

Water that gets in leaves marks. Here is where to look.

Smell first

Notice the air as soon as you walk in, before your nose gets used to it. Health Canada's guide lists musty or earthy odours as a sign of too much moisture. It adds that if you notice a strong musty odour with no clear sign of water damage, you should consider asking a professional about hidden mould inside the walls and ceilings. Smell closets on outside walls and cabinets under sinks. Strong air freshener can cover a smell, so note it too.

Look up, then at the corners

• Ceilings under bathrooms and under the roof, and around skylights. Look for rings, yellow or brown patches, or bubbled paint.
• The corners of windows and outside doors, on the wall and on the sill.
• One patch of fresh paint on an older wall or ceiling. Ask what it covered.
• Baseboards and floors near outside doors: swollen wood, lifted laminate, or stains on carpet.

Touch what looks wrong

If a stain looks damp, touch it, with the agent's permission. Cool and damp on a rainy day suggests water is getting in now. For a dry, old stain, ask what happened and whether it was fixed.

Windows and condensation

Water on the inside of the glass is condensation: moist indoor air meeting cold glass. Some fog on the glass on a cold morning can come from cooking and showers. Signs that it happens often are water pooled on the sill, black spots on the frame or the sealant, and peeling paint or soft wood on the sill.

Health Canada recommends keeping indoor humidity between 30% and 50%, using bathroom fans and the kitchen range hood, keeping blinds and curtains open so warm air reaches the glass, and running a dehumidifier if water condenses on windows or humidity rises above 50%. Ask how often the windows fog up, and why any dehumidifier you see is running.

Fans and fresh air

Turn on each bathroom fan and the range hood. You should hear it, and a tissue held under the grille should pull toward it. Health Canada's checklist says each bathroom should have an exhaust fan, vented to the outside, and that it should run for at least 30 minutes after a shower or bath. Ask where each fan sends the air.

Listen to the rain

Under a skylight, a metal awning or a low roof, rain can be loud. Stand in the main bedroom for a minute with everyone quiet. In a stacked triplex or fourplex, the top-floor home sits under the roof, so do this test there.

Lower and garden-level homes

In a home partly below ground, look at floor edges, baseboards and the bottom of walls. White powdery salt crystals on a wall, which Health Canada lists as a sign of too much moisture, deserve a question. Check any window well (the open pit outside a below-ground window) for standing water.

New homes: the warranty and what to ask

A new home may never have been through a rainy season with people living in it. Know what its warranty covers and how to use it.

• At the pre-delivery inspection, the walkthrough before you get the keys, check the same spots listed above. Our pre-delivery inspection guide has the full room-by-room list.
• Know your warranty dates. BC's Homeowner Protection Act Regulation sets the minimum coverage. For the first 24 months it covers defects in the outside wall covering, the sealant, windows and doors "that may lead to detachment or material damage to the new home" (Schedule 3, section 1). For 5 years it covers defects in the parts of the home that keep the weather out, "including a defect which permits unintended water penetration" that causes, or is likely to cause, material damage (Schedule 3, section 2). For 10 years it covers structural defects.
• In a strata there are two policies, one on your home and one on the common property (the shared parts of the building). BC Housing explains on its page for buyers of previously owned homes that common property coverage starts when the first home in the building is occupied or sold. If you buy the last home sold in a building, part of that coverage may already have run.
• Claims have limits. For a strata home, BC Housing lists the lesser of the first owner's purchase price or $100,000. For common property, it is the lesser of $100,000 per home or $2.5 million per building.
• Report a leak in writing, and soon. The regulation requires written notice to both the warranty provider and the company that built the home "within a reasonable time after the discovery of a defect" (section 16). It also lets insurers exclude loss from an owner's "failure... to take timely action to prevent or minimize loss or damage" (section 11).

Our 2-5-10 warranty guide explains how a claim works.

Resale homes: ask for the history

A resale home has been through rainy seasons. If water got in, it may have left marks and records.

• Ask the seller, in writing, about past leaks or mould and what was repaired, with invoices.
• Check whether warranty coverage remains. A home finished in the last 10 years may still have part of its 2-5-10 coverage, and the regulation moves any unused coverage to the next owner automatically (Schedule 2, section 2). BC Housing's New Homes Registry shows whether a home has a warranty policy, for homes registered since November 19, 2007.
• Ask for the claims history. BC Housing says owners of homes with remaining coverage can get a claims history from the warranty provider, for a fee of no more than $25. Ask the seller to order it.
• In a strata, search the meeting minutes for the words leak, water, gutter, drainage and mould. Our resale inspection checklist shows what else to look for in the strata documents.

When to bring in a home inspector

Book a licensed home inspector before you remove your subjects if a rainy viewing showed you any of these: a stain that feels damp, a musty smell, water pooling at a door, black spots on window frames, or a dehumidifier running with no clear reason.

In BC, every home inspector must be licensed with Consumer Protection BC. Its guide to home inspections says you can ask to see the licence, or search for it on Consumer Protection BC's website.

What to ask the inspector for:

• A moisture reading on every stain you noted. A moisture meter is a handheld tool that shows whether a surface is damp.
• A look at the gutters, the downspouts and how the yard drains.
• An inspection on a wet day, if your dates allow. In our view, it is worth waiting a few days for.
• For a new home, ask the seller whether you can bring the inspector to the pre-delivery walkthrough. Our guide to what a Vancouver multiplex inspection covers explains the process.

Health Canada's guide says a single patch of mould larger than 3 square metres, or mould that comes back after cleaning, needs a qualified professional.

If you are shopping across the year, our season-by-season buying guide covers how listings and buyer numbers change from month to month.

What this comes down to

• Vancouver International Airport gets 801.5 mm of rain from October to March, 71.6 percent of its yearly total, on 105.2 days. View the home in that weather.
• Start outside: watch the gutters, follow the downspouts, and note puddles on paths, at doors and in the yard.
• Inside, smell first, look up at ceilings, check window and door corners, test every fan, and listen to the rain in the bedroom.
• On a new home, know your 24-month and 5-year warranty coverage, report leaks in writing quickly, and ask about yard drainage before you buy, because insurers may exclude it.
• On a resale home, ask for the leak history in writing, look the home up on BC Housing's New Homes Registry, and ask the seller for the warranty claims history.
• Any damp stain, musty smell or water at a door is a reason to book a licensed inspector before you remove your subjects.

Frequently asked questions

Is it a good idea to view a home in the rain?

Yes. Rain shows you where water goes. You can see full gutters, puddles at doors, damp stains and fogged windows that a dry day hides. In our view, every buyer in Greater Vancouver should see a home at least once in the rain before removing subjects, especially between October and March.

What should I look for when viewing a home in the rain?

Outside, look for overflowing gutters, where the downspouts empty, puddles on paths and at doors, and standing water in the yard or on balconies. Inside, check for musty smells, stains on ceilings and window corners, water on sills, black spots on frames, and bathroom fans that move air.

How can I tell if a home has a leak during a showing?

Check ceilings under bathrooms and the roof, window and door corners, closets on outside walls, and floors by outside doors. Rings, bubbled paint, swollen wood and a single patch of fresh paint all deserve a question. Touch a stain if the agent allows it. Damp on a rainy day suggests water is getting in now.

Is condensation on the windows a problem?

Some fog on cold glass can come from cooking and showers. Water pooling on sills, black spots on frames and peeling paint show it happens often. Health Canada recommends indoor humidity between 30% and 50%, bathroom fans, the range hood, and a dehumidifier if water condenses on windows.

What does a musty smell in a home mean?

Health Canada lists musty or earthy odours as a sign of too much moisture. If the smell is strong and you see no water damage, its guide suggests asking a professional about hidden mould inside the walls and ceilings. Ask the seller about the smell, and book a licensed home inspection.

How much does it rain in Vancouver from October to March?

At Vancouver International Airport, an average of 801.5 mm of rain falls from October to March. That is 71.6 percent of the yearly 1,119.2 mm, spread over 105.2 days. November is the wettest month, at 171.2 mm. These are Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1991 to 2020 climate normals.

Does the 2-5-10 warranty cover leaks in a new home?

Yes, within limits. BC's regulation covers defects in windows, doors, the outside wall covering and the sealant for the first 24 months, and defects that let water in and cause damage for 5 years. Report a leak in writing, quickly, to both the warranty provider and the company that built the home.

Does the warranty cover water pooling in the yard?

It may be excluded. BC Housing says insurers may leave landscaping, and site grading and surface drainage, out of 2-5-10 coverage. Read your policy. If the yard or path of a new home holds water after rain, ask the seller in writing how it will be fixed before you buy.

Should I get a home inspection on a new home?

In our view, yes, if you can arrange it. A new home may never have been through a wet winter with people living in it. Ask the seller whether you can bring a licensed inspector to the pre-delivery walkthrough. Your 2-5-10 warranty applies either way, so the inspection gives you a second, independent check.

Can I ask the seller about past leaks?

Yes. Ask in writing about any leaks, water entry or mould, what was repaired, and for the invoices. If the home still has warranty coverage, BC Housing says the owner can get a claims history from the warranty provider for a fee of no more than $25. Ask the seller to order it.

What should I check in a garden-level or lower home?

Look at floor edges, baseboards and the bottom of walls for stains or white powdery salt crystals, which Health Canada lists as a sign of too much moisture. Check any window well for standing water and leaves, smell the carpet, and ask why a dehumidifier is running if you see one.

Does the warranty transfer when I buy a resale home?

Yes. BC's regulation moves any unused warranty coverage to the next owner automatically, with no notice needed. Look the home up on BC Housing's New Homes Registry, which shows whether it has a warranty policy, for homes registered since November 19, 2007. Then ask the seller for the policy documents.

Looking at homes this fall? Browse new duplex, triplex and fourplex homes on MultiLiving, or contact our team to book viewings, including a second look on a rainy day.