What did CMHC’s 2026 mid-year update actually say about Vancouver?
Vancouver’s asking rents have fallen year over year for 30 consecutive months, and B.C.’s housing ministry says the average rent is now about one-fifth below its September 2023 peak, citing Rentals.ca data in a June 8, 2026 statement. Days later, CMHC’s 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update confirmed the broader affordability shift: Vancouver’s asking-rent-to-income ratio is back to pre-pandemic levels, and CMHC found some of the most pronounced drops in that ratio in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton.
Asking rent versus what existing tenants actually pay
CMHC tracks two different figures here. Asking rent is the price advertised on a vacant unit right now, the number that’s been falling. Average, or in-place, rent is what tenants already living somewhere pay, and CMHC’s update found that number kept climbing through the first quarter of 2026 across most major markets, largely because rent resets higher when a unit turns over to a new tenant. That gap is why the 30-month streak feels different depending on whether you’re apartment hunting or renewing.
liv.rent’s own numbers echo the asking-rent side of the story. Metro Vancouver’s average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom sat at $2,098 in August 2026, down 4.86% from a year earlier, a decline of $107, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report.
Does Vancouver’s rent decline affect you if you already have a lease?
If you already have a lease in British Columbia, the CMHC milestone doesn’t automatically change what you pay. Your rent can only rise as much as the province’s annual limit allows, currently 2.3% for 2026, no matter what’s happening to asking rents around you.
How the BC rent increase cap works
British Columbia’s Residential Tenancy Branch sets a maximum allowable rent increase every year under the Residential Tenancy Act. For 2026, that limit is 2.3%, down from 3.0% in 2025 and 3.5% in 2024, the second straight year it’s declined, according to the Residential Tenancy Branch’s rent increase rules. A landlord must give at least three full months’ written notice using the official Notice of Rent Increase form, RTB-7, and can only raise rent once every 12 months for tenancies covered under the Act. You can read more about how the B.C. rent increase cap works before your next renewal notice lands.
When the cap protects you, and when it doesn’t
The cap is a ceiling, not a guarantee. It stops a landlord from raising rent more than 2.3% without special approval, but it doesn’t require them to raise it at all, so it’s still worth raising current market conditions at renewal time. On the other side, a landlord can seek a bigger increase in specific circumstances, such as major capital repairs, through the Residential Tenancy Branch, though that approval isn’t automatic. If you’re unsure whether your tenancy is covered under the Residential Tenancy Act, the province’s rent increase page is the place to check.
Which Vancouver neighbourhoods and BC cities saw the biggest rent drops?
Zoom out to a national comparison and B.C. stands out. The province’s housing ministry said six B.C. cities were among Canada’s 15 largest year-over-year asking-rent decreases, in a June 8, 2026 statement citing Rentals.ca data.
| City | Year-over-year asking rent change |
| Burnaby | Down 10.5% |
| Abbotsford | Down 10.0% |
| Richmond | Down 9.7% |
| New Westminster | Down 9.7% |
| Coquitlam | Down 9.0% |
| North Vancouver | Down 8.8% |
Source: B.C. Ministry of Housing, June 8, 2026, citing Rentals.ca data.
liv.rent’s own tracking, published separately, shows the trend held through August: every one of the nine Metro Vancouver cities liv.rent tracks posted a lower unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent than a year earlier, with Richmond down the most at 8.46% and Langley down the least at 1.6%, an average decline of roughly 4.7% across the nine, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report. Not every category moved the same way within that: Burnaby was the only city where every rental category, furnished and unfurnished alike, rose from July to August, while Coquitlam’s furnished and unfurnished rents moved in opposite directions over the same month. Despite the broader decline, four of Canada’s five most expensive cities to rent in were still in Metro Vancouver this August, alongside Burlington, Ontario.
Inside Vancouver, the neighbourhood spread is wide
City-wide averages hide a lot. Among Vancouver neighbourhoods with available data, West Point Grey and UBC was the most expensive for an unfurnished one-bedroom in August 2026 at $2,741 a month, while Sunset and Victoria Fraserview was the most affordable at $1,802, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report. That’s a gap of nearly $1,000 within the same city, which is why neighbourhood-level data matters more than a single citywide number when you’re actually deciding where to look.
Beyond Vancouver, where else in BC rents are easing
Greater Victoria’s vacancy rate climbed to 3.3% in CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report, the highest level recorded there since 1999, and vacancy across B.C. communities with 10,000 or more residents rose on average from 1.9% to 3.5% over the same period. Renters comparing options across the region can browse current Vancouver rental listings on liv.rent, and check liv.rent’s renter’s guide for tips on messaging landlords and applying safely.
Why are Vancouver rents falling? Three forces behind the streak
CMHC points to two of the three forces behind the streak directly: a wave of new supply hitting the market at once, and softer demand tied to weaker population growth and higher unemployment. B.C.’s government credits a third factor, its short-term rental rules, with adding to the shift.
A supply wave from two directions
Rental apartment completions in early 2026 were tracking above the same period in 2025, and CMHC’s mid-year update notes that newly built condos that couldn’t find buyers in the ownership market are increasingly landing in the rental pool instead, adding competition on top of purpose-built supply. B.C.’s own numbers back this up: the province says 2025 rental housing starts were roughly triple the 2015 level, and that more than 26,000 purpose-built rental units were registered that year, compared with an average of about 2,500 registrations a year between 2007 and 2016.
Softer demand, and short-term rentals coming back online
B.C. says active short-term rental listings fell from roughly 28,000 to just over 23,000 after provincial restrictions took effect, which the province says returned thousands of homes to the long-term market. Landlords adjusting to shifting applicant pools can lean on liv.rent’s guide to how to screen tenants to vet renters efficiently as the market moves.
Who actually benefits from Vancouver’s renter’s market, and who doesn’t?
New-lease hunters have more leverage than they’ve had in years. Existing tenants are shielded by the cap but not by falling asking rents. Renters at the most affordable end of the market are seeing the least relief.
If you’re signing a new lease
CMHC reports some landlords are using stronger incentives to fill vacant units, including free or discounted parking, move-in credits, gift cards, cash bonuses, and in some cases several months of free rent. If you’re apartment hunting now, compare current asking rents and ask about any available incentives in writing before applying.
If you’re renewing an existing lease
Existing tenants don’t see that side of the market directly. CMHC’s update found that affordability worsened for many existing tenants across major cities in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, even as new-tenant affordability improved elsewhere, an effect CMHC ties largely to rents resetting higher at turnover rather than to the modest annual increases sitting tenants see under caps like B.C.’s. Bringing current asking-rent data to a renewal conversation is still worth doing, even without a guarantee your landlord will match it.
If you’re searching at the lower end of the market
CMHC also found that vacancy and turnover increased across most price tiers in Vancouver and Toronto, but the lowest-priced tier stayed persistently tight, evidence that new supply, concentrated in pricier units, isn’t filtering down to the most affordable end of the market fast enough to ease pressure there.
What does this mean for Vancouver landlords in the current market?
For landlords, the calculation has shifted in places. New, higher-priced units are taking longer to lease, and a prolonged vacancy at a below-market rate can offset the value of a rent increase from a reliable existing tenant.
Weigh vacancy cost against retention
CMHC’s update notes that newer, higher-priced rentals are taking longer to fill, with landlords responding through lower asking rents and stronger incentives. In a softer market like this one, it’s worth comparing the real cost of an extended vacancy against the value of keeping a tenant who already pays reliably, rather than assuming a higher asking rent will always win out.
The cap still applies if you want to raise rent further
For tenancies covered by the Residential Tenancy Act, the 2.3% limit applies to standard annual increases in 2026. A landlord who wants to raise rent above that limit needs either the tenant’s written agreement or approval from the Residential Tenancy Branch for an Additional Rent Increase for Expenses or an Additional Rent Increase for Capital Expenditures. For a fuller monthly read on how these numbers are moving city by city, liv.rent’s rent reports are updated regularly and worth checking before setting a renewal rate.
Will Vancouver rents keep falling, or is the bottom near?
CMHC expects rental demand to hold up through 2026, led by younger renters forming new households, even as population growth stays weak. But the same forces pushing rents down now could ease over the next couple of years, which is why the stabilization signs already showing up in monthly data are worth watching.
The supply pipeline could thin out
CMHC’s mid-year commentary notes that much of what’s under construction now is expected to reach the market over the next 12 to 18 months, primarily within the first 12, but also warns that a slowdown in condo starts and the difficulty developers face making new projects pencil out could eventually shrink the flow of new rental competition, particularly the condo units that have been landing in the rental pool by default.
Watch the month-over-month numbers, not just the year-over-year ones
That’s already showing up in liv.rent’s data. Metro Vancouver’s average asking rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom rose 0.45% from July to August 2026, even as the year-over-year decline narrowed from 6.43% in July to 4.86% in August, according to liv.rent’s August 2026 Metro Vancouver Rent Report. CMHC also notes that Vancouver and Toronto typically stabilize at lower vacancy rates than cities like Calgary or Edmonton, so even modest swings in vacancy tend to move rents by more in these two markets. Whether the decline continues will come down to how asking rents, vacancy, and new supply move over the next few months, the factors CMHC flags as the real ones to watch.
What is the CMHC milestone Vancouver's rent decline just passed?
As of June 2026, Vancouver’s asking rents had fallen year over year for 30 consecutive months, with the average asking rent about one-fifth below its September 2023 peak, according to a June 8, 2026 statement from B.C.’s housing ministry citing Rentals.ca data. Days later, CMHC’s 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update confirmed Vancouver’s asking-rent-to-income ratio has returned to pre-pandemic levels, among the most pronounced improvements CMHC found in any major Canadian city.
Does the rent decline affect me if I already have a lease in B.C.?
Not directly. Your rent can only increase by the province’s annual cap, 2.3% in 2026, regardless of what’s happening to advertised rents on vacant units nearby. The cap sets a ceiling, not a requirement, so a landlord isn’t obligated to raise rent by the full amount. Falling asking rents mostly benefit renters signing new leases rather than tenants renewing an existing one.
Can my landlord raise my rent more than 2.3% in B.C. in 2026?
Generally, no. The Residential Tenancy Branch set the 2026 maximum allowable increase at 2.3% for tenancies covered under the Residential Tenancy Act. A landlord needs either the tenant’s written agreement or Residential Tenancy Branch approval for an Additional Rent Increase for Expenses or an Additional Rent Increase for Capital Expenditures to go above it.
How much notice does my landlord have to give before raising rent in B.C.?
At least three full months’ written notice, using the official Notice of Rent Increase form, RTB-7, and rent can only be raised once every 12 months under provincial rules.
Are rents falling everywhere in B.C., or just Vancouver?
It’s widespread but uneven. B.C.’s housing ministry said six B.C. cities were among Canada’s 15 largest year-over-year asking-rent decreases in a June 2026 statement citing Rentals.ca data, and liv.rent’s own August 2026 tracking shows every one of the nine Metro Vancouver cities it covers posted a lower unfurnished one-bedroom asking rent than a year earlier. Greater Victoria’s vacancy rate also reached its highest level since 1999.
Is 2026 a good time to be a renter in Vancouver?
If you’re signing a new lease, the conditions favour you: vacancy is at its highest level in more than 30 years across Metro Vancouver, and CMHC reports some landlords are increasingly offering incentives to fill units. If you’re already in a lease, the shift is less direct, though it still gives you comparison data to bring to a renewal conversation.
Why is the lowest-cost segment of the Vancouver rental market still tight despite overall declines?
CMHC’s 2026 mid-year analysis found that new supply has concentrated in higher-priced units. Vacancy and turnover increased across most rent tiers in Vancouver, but pressure stayed highest in the lowest-priced segment, suggesting new supply isn’t filtering down to the most affordable units quickly enough to ease rents there.
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