Moving to Vancouver

The short version

This page is for you if you’re moving to Metro Vancouver from somewhere else in Canada or abroad and need somewhere to live. Here’s what I’d tell a friend.

• Pick the commute first, then the neighbourhood. Where you work or study decides more about your day here than almost anything else.
• Rent first unless you already know the city. Living here for a while is the cheapest way to find out which area you actually like.
• Apply for health coverage the week you arrive. BC’s Medical Services Plan has a wait period, so the clock should start as early as possible.
• Never send a deposit for a place you haven’t seen. In BC a security deposit is capped at half a month’s rent.
• Check your status before you shop for a home. If you’re not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, federal and BC rules may apply to you.

Where to live: shortlists by situation

Metro Vancouver is a group of cities, not one. Rapid transit is the easiest way to read the map. TransLink runs three SkyTrain lines: the Expo Line from downtown through Burnaby and New Westminster to Surrey, the Millennium Line from East Vancouver through Burnaby to Port Moody and Coquitlam, and the Canada Line from downtown to the airport and Richmond. The SeaBus crosses Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver, and the West Coast Express is a weekday rush-hour train between downtown and Mission.

Before you sign anything, test the trip at rush hour with the TransLink Trip Planner, on the day of the week you’ll actually commute.

If you work downtown

• Walk or bike: West End, Yaletown, Coal Harbour and the downtown core. Mostly apartments, from older walk-ups in the West End to newer towers in Yaletown and Coal Harbour. You trade space and parking for a short walk to work. Units tend to be smaller, and busy streets can be noisy.
• A short bus ride: Kitsilano, Fairview and Mount Pleasant. Low-rise apartments, older houses split into suites, and plenty of shops. Broadway is the spine here. The Broadway Subway, a Millennium Line extension from VCC–Clark to Arbutus, is scheduled to open in fall 2027. Until then, expect construction along Broadway. CMHC also reported a large addition of new purpose-built rentals in Mount Pleasant in 2025.
• On the Canada Line: Olympic Village, the Cambie corridor and Richmond. Stations at Olympic Village, King Edward, Oakridge–41st, Langara–49th and Marine Drive, then Richmond from Bridgeport to Richmond–Brighouse. Handy if you fly a lot, since the same line runs to the airport.
• On the Expo Line: Commercial Drive, Joyce–Collingwood, Burnaby and New Westminster. Commercial–Broadway is where the Expo and Millennium Lines meet. Further out, Metrotown and Edmonds in Burnaby and downtown New Westminster are built around stations.
• Across the water: Lower Lonsdale in North Vancouver. TransLink says the SeaBus takes about 12 minutes to cross and runs every 10 minutes at weekday rush hours. Driving means a bridge, the Lions Gate or the Ironworkers, so live close to Lonsdale Quay if you want the SeaBus to do the work.

If you have kids in school

• Schools go by catchment, so check the address before you sign. Each city has its own school district. In Vancouver, the Vancouver School Board’s school locator tells you the catchment school for a street, and the district’s decision is final. To register you need proof that you live in the City of Vancouver and in that catchment.
• Timing matters. The Vancouver School Board’s priority registration for catchment schools runs from November 1 to the second Friday in June. Cross-boundary applications are only taken in February and aren’t guaranteed. Children born outside Canada, or from homes where English isn’t the main language, are directed to its Newcomer Welcome Centre to register. Other districts have their own rules, so check with the district for the city you’re looking at.
• Places to look if you want more room: the west side of Vancouver (Kitsilano, Point Grey, Dunbar, Kerrisdale), the east side (Riley Park, Kensington–Cedar Cottage, Hastings–Sunrise), the North Shore (Lynn Valley, Edgemont, Deep Cove), Burnaby and Richmond.
• The trade-offs. If you rent part of a house, like a main floor or a suite, ask what’s shared: laundry, yard, parking, utilities. There’s no SkyTrain on the North Shore, or on Vancouver’s west side west of the Canada Line until the Broadway Subway opens, so check the bus route as well as the school.

If you want somewhere quieter

• Dunbar, Kerrisdale and Point Grey on Vancouver’s west side: tree-lined streets, mostly houses and low-rise apartments, and buses rather than SkyTrain.
• Lynn Valley, Edgemont and Deep Cove on the North Shore: trails and mountains close by. You’ll likely rely more on a car, and getting downtown means a bridge or the SeaBus.
• Steveston in Richmond: a village feel by the river, further from the Canada Line.

Quiet usually costs you commute time. Drive or ride the route at rush hour before you commit.

If budget comes first

• Look where the new rental buildings are. CMHC’s 2025 Rental Market Report found the highest rental vacancy in Metro Vancouver since 1988. It pointed to new buildings around Brentwood, Metrotown and Edmonds in Burnaby, strong rental growth in Coquitlam and Surrey, and landlords in newer buildings offering one to two rent-free months to fill units. More empty units means more choice and more room to ask.
• Follow the SkyTrain. Burnaby and New Westminster on the Expo Line, and Burnaby, Port Moody and Coquitlam on the Millennium Line, put a longer ride in exchange for more options. New Westminster, Coquitlam and Surrey are outside the areas I usually help with for homes, so I’ll tell you that up front.
• Price the commute too. On weekdays before 6:30 p.m., SkyTrain and SeaBus fares go up with each fare zone boundary you cross. Buses are always one zone. An adult monthly pass is $117.20 for one zone, $156.70 for two and $211.65 for three, per TransLink.

I mostly help with homes in Vancouver, the North Shore, Burnaby and Richmond. My area pages are written for businesses looking at commercial space, not as guides to where to live.

Rent first or buy?

For most people moving here, I’d rent first. You learn the commute, the weather on your street, the noise and the neighbours before you put a down payment on it. Buying straight away can make sense if you already know the area well, your job is settled, and you’re a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

What the rental market looks like

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) surveys rents every October. Its 2025 numbers for the Vancouver census metropolitan area:

These are averages across all tenants, including people who’ve been in the same place for years. CMHC notes that new tenants generally pay more than sitting tenants, so expect asking rents on a new lease to run higher than these averages.

Once you’re in, BC limits rent increases. The limit is 2.3% in 2026 and 2.2% in 2027. A landlord can raise rent once every 12 months, with three full months’ written notice on the approved form.

Before you buy

• Get pre-approved so you know your real budget. My mortgage advice page covers pre-approval and the stress test.
• Budget for closing costs. Property Transfer Tax is usually the biggest one. See what it costs to buy a home in BC and the Property Transfer Tax calculator.
• Know the rescission period. For most BC home purchases you can cancel within three business days of acceptance by paying 0.25% of the price.
• Read the strata documents before you remove subjects on a condo or townhouse. Here’s the strata documents checklist.

A practical timeline

1. Before you arrive. Set a budget for rent or a purchase. Gather ID, references and proof of income. Shortlist two or three areas around work and school.
2. Your first weeks. Rent somewhere, either on a fixed term or month to month, so you have a base. Set up the essentials in the checklist below.
3. While you rent. Ride the commute, walk the neighbourhoods on weekends, and check catchment schools. If buying is the plan, get pre-approved.
4. When you’re ready to buy. The search can take weeks or months. Once an offer is accepted, subjects often take about 5 to 10 days, and completion is often 30 to 60 days after that. Your lender, lawyer and the seller set the real dates.
5. Before you give notice. Check the notice rules in your tenancy agreement so your move-out date lines up with your completion date.

Your first 30 days: a checklist

Official sources are listed at the bottom of the page. Rules change, so check each one before you rely on it.

Health and ID

• Apply for the Medical Services Plan (MSP) as soon as you arrive. The wait period is the rest of the month you arrive plus two months. If you’re new to Canada, the province suggests private health insurance until then. If you’re moving from another province, keep your old coverage during the wait.
• Get your BC Services Card. Most adults finish MSP enrolment at an ICBC driver licensing office, with two pieces of ID and a photo.
• Social Insurance Number (SIN). You need one to work in Canada. If you’re here on a work or study permit, it starts with a 9 and expires with your immigration documents.

Money and phone

• Open a Canadian bank account and get a Canadian phone number. Landlords and utilities often ask for them.
• Keep paper trails. Pay rent and deposits by a traceable method and get receipts.

Your rental

• Use a written tenancy agreement and read all of it. Ask what’s included: heat, hot water, internet, parking, storage, laundry.
• Check the deposit. A security deposit is at most half a month’s rent, and a pet damage deposit at most another half, whatever the number of pets.
• Do the move-in condition inspection with the landlord and keep a signed copy, with photos.
• Know how you get your deposit back. It’s due within 15 days of the later of the end of the tenancy and the landlord getting your forwarding address in writing, unless you agree otherwise or the landlord applies to the Residential Tenancy Branch.
• Watch for scams. Don’t pay before you’ve seen the place and met the landlord or their manager.

Utilities

• Electricity: open a BC Hydro account if it’s not included in the rent.
• Gas: FortisBC, if the home has gas heat, a gas stove or a gas water heater.
• Internet: book the install early. Ask the landlord which providers serve the building.

Getting around

• Transit: tap a contactless credit or debit card, or get a Compass Card for discounted fares and monthly passes. Trips starting at the airport stations include a $6.50 YVR AddFare. Children 12 and under ride free.
• Driver’s licence: switch to a BC licence within 90 days of moving here. You can drive on your valid licence in the meantime.
• Bringing a car: register, license and insure it with ICBC within 30 days of arriving. Most vehicles from outside BC need a BC safety inspection first. Some from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are exempt.
• Change of address: once you’re in BC, ICBC needs your new address within 10 days of any move.

Kids

• Find your catchment school and register with the district. In Vancouver, start with the online application and bring proof of address to the document check.

If you bought

• Watch for the yearly declarations. BC’s speculation and vacancy tax and, in the City of Vancouver, the empty homes tax each need a declaration, even when you’re exempt.

Not a citizen or permanent resident?

Renting is open to everyone. Buying is different. Canada’s ban on non-Canadians buying homes is currently set to run until January 1, 2027. Budget 2026, tabled November 5, 2026, proposes extending it for existing homes to January 1, 2029, while exempting new homes. That still has to pass. There are exceptions, such as some work permit holders with at least 183 days left on their permit, and each comes with conditions.

On top of that, foreign nationals buying residential property in Metro Vancouver pay BC’s 20% additional property transfer tax, and the yearly vacancy taxes can apply. Read buying a home from outside Canada before you make plans, and confirm your status with a BC lawyer.

Moving a business too?

A lot of people moving here are bringing a business, or opening one. A commercial move has its own timeline, and it’s usually longer than finding a home. Start with moving your business and the business moving checklist builder. If it’s your first location here, see your first commercial space. The commercial space by area pages cover what each part of the city is like for a business.

How I help people moving here

I’m a licensed commercial real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Prestige Realty, and I help people buy, sell and rent homes alongside my commercial work. I cover Vancouver, the North Shore, Burnaby and Richmond.

• Before you arrive: I’m happy to help you get a feel for neighbourhoods by commute, schools, transit and budget.
• Renting: I can help you search, view places with you and review the tenancy agreement before you sign. How that works and what it costs depends on the rental, so we’ll agree on it in writing first. See finding a place to rent.
• Buying: I’ll search for homes to buy, and arrange virtual tours if you’re not here yet. I’ll compare homes on price, strata fees and the building’s condition, read the strata documents with you, and keep track of every date. See buying a home.
• Fees: in most BC home sales, the seller’s brokerage shares its commission with the buyer’s brokerage. Before we start, you’ll get the BC disclosure forms and we’ll put how I’m paid in writing.
• The people around the deal: I can connect you with a mortgage broker. You’ll also want a BC lawyer or notary, and for immigration or tax questions, the right professional. I’m not one of those.

If you aren’t a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, I’ll ask about your status before we start, and I can’t help structure a purchase to get around the ban.

Good questions to ask

• Which areas fit my commute, schools and budget?
• Should I rent first, and for how long?
• Do any foreign buyer rules apply to me?
• What will this place really cost each month, with utilities, parking and transit?

Questions people ask

Should I rent before I buy in Vancouver?

For most people moving here, yes. Renting first lets you test the commute and the neighbourhood before you commit a down payment. Buying sooner can make sense if you already know the area, your job is settled, and no foreign buyer rules apply to you.

How long before I’m covered by MSP?

BC’s Medical Services Plan has a wait period: the rest of the month you arrive plus two months. Apply as soon as you arrive. The province suggests private insurance during the wait if you’re new to Canada, or keeping your old province’s coverage if you’re moving within Canada.

What does rent cost in Vancouver?

CMHC’s October 2025 survey put the average purpose-built rent in the Vancouver area at $1,806 for a 1-bedroom and $2,363 for a 2-bedroom, and $2,900 for a rented 2-bedroom condo. Those averages include long-time tenants, so asking rents on a new lease are often higher.

How do I find out which school my kids would go to?

Schools go by catchment. In Vancouver, use the Vancouver School Board’s school locator, then register online and bring proof of address. Other cities have their own districts and rules.

Can I buy a home here if I’m not a citizen or permanent resident?

Possibly, but the federal ban on non-Canadians buying homes may apply, with some exceptions, and BC adds a 20% additional transfer tax for foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver. Renting is not affected. See buying a home from outside Canada and talk to a BC lawyer first.

How long do I have to switch my driver’s licence?

ICBC gives you 90 days after you move to BC to switch to a BC licence. If you bring a car, you have 30 days to register, license and insure it here.

Sources

Checked November 11, 2026. Figures change, so check the source before you rely on one.

• Province of BC, How to apply for MSP (wait period, BC Services Card)
• Province of BC, Rent increases (2.3% in 2026, 2.2% in 2027)
• Province of BC, Residential tenancies (deposits, inspections, disputes)
• CMHC, 2025 Rental Market Report, Vancouver and Housing Market Information Portal, Vancouver CMA
• TransLink, SkyTrain, SeaBus, West Coast Express and fares and zones
• Province of BC, Broadway Subway news release, September 2026 (fall 2027 opening)
• ICBC, Moving and your licence and Moving to, from or within BC
• Service Canada, Social Insurance Number
• Vancouver School Board, school catchment and registration
• BC Hydro and FortisBC for utility accounts, and WelcomeBC for newcomer services
• Foreign buyer rules and taxes: see the sources on buying a home from outside Canada

Lease and property law has BC-specific wrinkles, so for anything legal, check with a BC real estate lawyer before you rely on it. This page is general information, not legal, tax, immigration or financial advice. Cam Appleton is a licensed real estate representative with Coldwell Banker Prestige Realty.

Book a 15-minute call Call or text 604 256 2002 Email me