What below-market rent actually costs in BC (by city)

What below-market means for the rent you pay

Below-market rent is a fixed discount below the local average, not rent set at 30% of your income. Rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing works differently and uses Housing Income Limits (HILs) instead of a market discount.

Common published discounts in BC:

• About 10% below CMHC average: used by several city below-market options, including Richmond below-market rentals and City of North Vancouver mid-market rentals
• About 15% below CMHC average: used by some older Vancouver middle-income rental buildings that are still leasing
• About 20% below CMHC average: the BC Builds target for middle-income rentals

Your rent in these homes does not usually rise and fall with each paycheque the way RGI rent does, because it follows the building's below-market rate instead.

One-bedroom examples: market rent vs below-market

These are estimates using CMHC averages from across BC that are publicly available, they are not quotes from a specific building.

Vancouver area (CMHC average one-bedroom: $1,807)

• 10% below market: about $1,626 a month
• 15% below market: about $1,536 a month
• 20% below market: about $1,446 a month
• Annual savings at 20% below market vs the CMHC average: about $4,332

Victoria area (CMHC average one-bedroom: $1,624)

• 10% below market: about $1,462 a month
• 20% below market: about $1,299 a month
• Annual savings at 20% below market: about $3,900

Kelowna area (CMHC average one-bedroom: $1,597)

• 10% below market: about $1,437 a month
• 20% below market: about $1,278 a month
• Annual savings at 20% below market: about $3,828

Nanaimo area (CMHC average one-bedroom: $1,527)

• 10% below market: about $1,374 a month
• 20% below market: about $1,222 a month
• Annual savings at 20% below market: about $3,660

Kamloops area (CMHC average one-bedroom: $1,345)

• 10% below market: about $1,211 a month
• 20% below market: about $1,076 a month
• Annual savings at 20% below market: about $3,228

Abbotsford-Mission area (CMHC average one-bedroom: $1,278)

• 10% below market: about $1,150 a month
• 20% below market: about $1,022 a month
• Annual savings at 20% below market: about $3,072

Studio averages are lower and two-bedroom averages are higher in every market. In the Vancouver area, the October 2025 CMHC studio average was $1,667 and the two-bedroom average was $2,364, so a 20% below-market studio would be near $1,334 and a 20% below-market two-bedroom near $1,891.

Income limits that go with those rents

A lower rent only helps if your income fits the rules attached to that home. Here is how the main published income limits line up for a studio or one-bedroom need.

Community Housing Fund below-market homes

• Upper income limit: $84,780 for a studio or one-bedroom
• Often for households above local RGI limits and below BC Builds
• Browse non-profit below-market options ->

BC Builds

• Income range: $84,780 to $143,900 for a studio or one-bedroom (2026)
• Target rent: about 20% below the local CMHC average
• Working income required
• Browse BC Builds homes ->

City one-bedroom income examples using Vancouver-area rent data

• Richmond below-market rentals: about $46,080 to $73,728
• North Vancouver mid-market rentals: about $48,780 to $78,048
• Vancouver middle-income rentals in existing buildings: about $73,728 to $92,160

For comparison, the Vancouver-area HIL for RGI on a one-bedroom home is $58,000. That is why many households paying close to $1,800 a month at market are "too much" for Registry RGI and still inside a below-market or BC Builds income range.

Browse below-market rental options in BC ->.

What this looks like on a paycheque

Take a single adult or couple earning $95,000 gross in the Vancouver area and needing a one-bedroom home.

• Market CMHC average: $1,807 a month, or about 23% of gross monthly income before tax
• BC Builds-style 20% below market: about $1,446 a month, or about 18% of gross monthly income before tax
• Difference: about $361 a month

That household is above the Vancouver HIL and above the Community Housing Fund one-bedroom upper limit, and inside the BC Builds one-bedroom range. The discount only becomes real if they find a building that is leasing and they meet the other rules, but the dollar gap is why these homes exist.

How to use these numbers

1. Find your city's CMHC average for the bedroom size you need.
2. Apply a 10% or 20% discount to estimate below-market rent.
3. Check whether your gross household income is inside Community Housing Fund below-market limits, a city income range, or BC Builds.
4. Take the Rentable eligibility quiz -> to match options to your income and cities.
5. Sign up for listing alerts -> so you hear when homes become available, because below-market and BC Builds vacancies are usually filled building by building.

You can also open your city page, such as Vancouver ->, Victoria ->, Kelowna ->, Nanaimo ->, or Kamloops ->, and browse all published options ->.

Take the Rentable quiz to see which below-market options fit your income ->

Data sources: CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2025. BC Builds income limits and below-market rent targeting, effective January 2026. Community Housing Fund below-market income limits, BC government backgrounder, 2024, re-verified May 2026. BC Housing Housing Income Limits, effective December 2025. City discount and income-band rules in Rentable data, re-verified 2026. Estimated below-market rents are calculated from CMHC averages and published discount targets. Actual asking rents vary by building. Eligibility is confirmed at the time of application. Rules and income limits change. Check before applying.