Victoria rental market data
Greater Victoria’s vacancy rate rose to 3.3% in the October 2025 survey, from 2.6%, its highest level since 1999 according to CMHC. Unlike Vancouver, rent growth here sped up: the same 2-bedroom units cost 5.1% more than a year before, after a 3.6% rise the year earlier, and the average 2-bedroom rent paid by all tenants reached $2,120. These are CMHC figures for apartments in buildings of three or more units; the Canada rental market page describes the survey.
Average rent by bedroom type
| Unit type | Average rent paid, all tenants (October 2025) | Average asking rent, new tenants (second quarter of 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor / studio | $1,353 | $1,670 |
| 1 bedroom | $1,622 | $2,040 |
| 2 bedroom | $2,127 | $2,640 |
| 3 bedroom+ | $2,853 | $3,260 |
The first column is CMHC's average for occupied units in apartment buildings of six or more units, so it includes long-term tenants paying below-market rents. The second is Statistics Canada's average of listed rents, closer to what you'd be quoted if you moved now.
Rent and vacancy by survey zone
CMHC splits the Victoria CMA into zones inside the City of Victoria and zones for the surrounding municipalities. CMHC publishes no figures for North Saanich, so it is left out below (October 2025, privately initiated apartments in buildings of three or more units).
| Victoria area or zone | Vacancy rate | A year earlier | Average 2-bedroom rent | Average rent, all units | Units in the survey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Street area | 1.0% | 1.7% | $1,959 | $1,672 | 3,077 |
| Fort Street area | 1.4% | 1.6% | $1,868 | $1,593 | 4,572 |
| James Bay area | 2.5% | 2.1% | $2,073 | $1,734 | 4,024 |
| Rest of the City of Victoria | 5.3% | 3.6% | $2,284 | $1,793 | 7,718 |
| City of Victoria (Zones 1-4) | 3.2% | 2.5% | $2,078 | $1,714 | 19,391 |
| Saanich and Central Saanich | 3.6% | 1.5% | $2,097 | $1,853 | 4,115 |
| Esquimalt | 2.9% | 1.5% | $1,775 | $1,622 | 3,483 |
| Langford, View Royal, Colwood and Sooke | 4.0% | 4.4% | $2,378 | $2,157 | 5,615 |
| Oak Bay | 2.4% | 1.3% | $1,958 | $1,721 | 1,048 |
| Sidney | 4.7% | 2.4% | $2,515 | $2,268 | 491 |
| Remainder of CMA (Zones 5-10) | 3.6% | 2.7% | $2,154 | $1,925 | 14,752 |
| Victoria CMA | 3.3% | 2.6% | $2,120 | $1,805 | 34,143 |
Source: CMHC Rental Market Report data tables, Victoria workbook. “Not published”: CMHC suppressed the figure or rated it poor (use with caution).
Sidney had the highest average 2-bedroom rent and the Langford, View Royal, Colwood and Sooke zone the second-highest, which CMHC attributes to their high shares of newer units; in Sidney it adds limited supply and higher-income households drawn by its amenities. Esquimalt was the lowest, at $1,775, $740 less than Sidney.
Inside the city, the zone outside the Cook Street, Fort Street and James Bay areas had the highest vacancy rate in the CMA, 5.3%, while the Cook Street area was the lowest at 1.0%. Saanich and Central Saanich went from 1.5% to 3.6%; CMHC links the jumps downtown and in Saanich to new rental supply, and notes that newly built units inside the city stood empty more often than new units outside it. Average rent across all units in that Saanich zone was 13% above its level a year earlier, a figure that mixes rent increases with pricier new buildings joining the survey.
What is driving Victoria rents
The 2025 Rental Market Report says Victoria saw the same departures of international migrants and students as Vancouver, but to a lesser degree, and that a weak job market for younger people held back demand. Purpose-built supply grew more slowly than the year before; completions fell but stayed above historical levels, with many of the new units in Saanich, Esquimalt and Langford. CMHC’s contacts describe Victoria’s rental supply as mostly balanced but say developers are cautious, and Langford is competitive enough that landlords there offer incentives.
Rent growth picked up because more units changed hands and the increases on those units were larger. Turnover reached 18.8%, against 14.6% a year earlier, the highest since 2019 by CMHC’s account, driven by two years of fast growth in the rental stock. Condo rentals were tighter still: rented condominium apartments had a vacancy rate of 0.3%, with a 2-bedroom averaging $2,688, and 27.1% of Victoria condos were rented out.
New tenants vs sitting tenants
A 2-bedroom that turned over in the year rented for $2,536, while tenants who stayed paid $2,001: a gap of $535 a month. In Vancouver, where rents are higher, the same gap was $425, so the jump on moving in Victoria was the larger of the two. A year earlier the Victoria figures were $2,474 for new tenants and $1,849 for sitting ones. For a 3-bedroom the new-tenant rent was $3,270, against $2,581 for a sitting tenant.
Vacancy rate trend
Victoria vacancy rate, apartments in buildings of 6+ units (CMHC, October each year)
Source: CMHC Rental Market Survey via Statistics Canada table 34-10-0127.
What rent costs relative to income
Victoria’s average 2-bedroom rent of $2,120 is affordable on CMHC’s 30% test for a household earning $84,800 or more before tax. That is 0.2% below the Victoria CMA’s census median household income of $85,000, which is for 2020 and so older than the rent survey. A new lease is a different story: at Statistics Canada’s asking rent of $2,640 for a 2-bedroom (second quarter of 2026), the income needed is $105,600, 24% above the median. The rent affordability calculator tests your own numbers.
How Victoria compares
Victoria’s 2-bedroom average in CMHC’s three-units-and-over survey was 3% above the British Columbia figure of $2,065, 37% above the $1,550 national average and 10% below Vancouver’s. Among the 43 centres in CMHC’s table that made it the second-highest, $2 a month ahead of Kelowna. The vacancy rate compares with 3.5% for BC and 3.1% for Canada.
Rules on rent increases in Victoria
BC's rent increase limit is 2.3% for 2026. Rent can go up once every 12 months, with at least 3 full months' notice. In BC a security deposit can be no more than half of the first month's rent, and a pet damage deposit no more than another half; once the landlord has the tenant's forwarding address it has 15 days to return the deposits with interest, it can keep them only with the tenant's written permission or a Residential Tenancy Branch order, and if it does nothing in that time it may be ordered to pay double.
For the cap in past years see the British Columbia rental market page; the BC tenant rights guide covers repairs, entry and ending a tenancy, rent increase rules by province compares provinces, and how to get a security deposit back covers the deposit.
Related pages
- Vancouver Rental Market: Metro Vancouver zones and rents
- British Columbia Rental Market: Nanaimo and the other BC centres
- Victoria Housing Market: home prices for a rent-or-buy comparison
- Income in Victoria: household income in the Victoria CMA
Sources
- CMHC Rental Market Report data tables, Victoria workbook: vacancy, rent and units by zone
- CMHC Rental Market Report data tables, Canada workbook: CMAs and provinces, turnover rents, rented condominiums
- CMHC 2025 Rental Market Report: Victoria commentary
- Statistics Canada table 34-10-0133 and 34-10-0127: rents and vacancy, apartment structures of six units and over
- Statistics Canada table 46-10-0092: asking rents
- Statistics Canada table 98-10-0061: census household income