Sell and Rent, or Sell and Buy Smaller? What Renting Means for a BC Homeowner Over 55

Some owners who are tired of repairs plan to sell the house, put the money in the bank and rent their next home. This guide is for a BC owner aged 55 or older who has not rented in decades. It covers a renter's costs and rights, what you give up, and how to compare renting with owning a smaller home.

One fact about us comes first. The FRIVE team earns money when a home is sold or bought, and nothing when you sign a rental contract. Weigh our opinions with that in mind. Each rule and figure is linked to its source.

What does renting give you, and what do you still pay?

A renter pays for the use of a home. The owner pays for the building. Four things change.

Repairs become the landlord's job. The Province of BC says landlords are "responsible for most repairs to a rental unit", including major repairs such as heating and plumbing issues. A tenant does minor repairs.

Large bills go to the owner: the property tax and, in a strata, the strata fee and any special levy. A strata is the owners' group that runs a condo or townhouse complex. A special levy is a one-time bill it sends its owners for a large repair.

You can leave on short notice. In a month-to-month tenancy, which is a rental with no end date, the Province says a tenant ends the tenancy with written notice that the landlord receives at least one month before it takes effect, and before the day rent is due.

The sale money is yours to use. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says you do not have to pay tax on the gain if the property was your principal residence for every year you owned it. A principal residence is the tax term for the home you own and live in. You still report the sale. Our post on tax when you sell your home explains the rule.

What a renter still pays

• Rent. The Province says the landlord and tenant negotiate the rent amount before a tenancy.
• A security deposit of up to half of one month's rent, and the same again as a pet damage deposit if you have a pet.
• Utilities. The Province says the tenancy agreement, which is the rental contract, "should clearly say how utilities will be paid and who will pay them".
• Tenant insurance. An agreement can require it, and the Province says tenants should consider it to protect their belongings.

How much can rent rise, and when can a landlord end your tenancy?

An owner with no mortgage has neither of these risks. BC law limits both for a renter.

Rent can rise once a year, up to a limit

The Province's rent increases page, last updated August 27, 2026, gives three rules. A landlord can raise the rent once every 12 months. The landlord must give at least three full months of written notice. The increase must be within the yearly limit, which is 2.3% for 2026 and 2.2% for 2027. Since 2003 the limit has been as low as 0%, in 2021, and as high as 4.6%, in 2004.

The limit covers an existing tenancy. A new tenancy starts at the rent you and the landlord agree on, so if you have to move, you pay the rent landlords are asking that year.

When the owner sells, or wants to live in your home

A tenancy continues through a sale. The Province says that once a rental property is sold, "the buyer becomes the new landlord and tenancies continue under the same terms".

A tenancy can end so that the landlord, a buyer, or a close family member such as a spouse, parent or child can live in the home. The Province's types of evictions page, last updated April 28, 2026, and its page on selling a rental property give these rules:

• The landlord gives a three month notice, generated through the Residential Tenancy Branch, the provincial office for renters and landlords.
• You have 21 days to dispute the notice.
• The person who moves in must live in the home for at least 12 months.
• The landlord pays you an amount equal to one month's rent, or you pay no rent for the last month.
• If the home is not used for the stated purpose within a reasonable period, the landlord may have to pay the tenant 12 months' worth of rent.

These rules changed in 2024 and 2025, so confirm the current rule with the Residential Tenancy Branch if you receive a notice.

One more rule matters when you choose a building. The same page says landlords are prohibited from ending a tenancy for personal occupancy if the unit is in a building that contains 5 or more rental units, and the building is not strata-titled, or is strata-titled with 5 or more rental units owned by the same owner. A strata-titled building is divided into units that are owned separately.

So we sort rentals into two kinds, in our own words. The first is a building that one company owns and only rents out, known in real estate as purpose-built rental. With 5 or more rental units, the rule above applies to it. The second is a single condo, townhouse, house or suite owned by a person, who may later sell it or move in. Other notices exist for every building, such as a four month notice for demolition.

Fixed term or month-to-month

A tenancy agreement is month-to-month or for a fixed term, and the Province says fixed terms are usually for one year. A tenant who leaves during the term may owe the landlord money. When the term ends, the tenancy becomes month-to-month unless you both agree to another term. An agreement can require you to leave at the end of the term in two cases only: a sublet, or a landlord or close family member who plans to move in.

What help with rent exists, and what does the sale money change?

Most help for renters depends on income, and one program counts assets. Money from a house sale affects both.

Two programs that depend on income

Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) is a monthly payment toward rent from BC Housing, the provincial housing agency. BC Housing's page, current as of September 22, 2026, says you may be eligible if you are age 60 or older, your gross income is less than $40,000 a year, you file a tax return every year, you have lived in BC for 12 months, and you pay more than 30% of your gross monthly household income toward rent. Citizenship requirements also apply.

The page gives a maximum rent ceiling of $1,150, as of April 2025, for singles and couples, and a minimum payment of $50 a month. You reapply each year. We cannot predict whether you would qualify.

A second program is the Province's renter's tax credit of up to $400 a year. For the 2026 tax year, it is reduced when adjusted income is above $66,189 and is zero at $86,189.

Interest on the sale money is income

The interest your sale money earns is income. The CRA says interest and other investment income "form part of your total income and must be reported on your return". For each 1 percentage point of yearly interest, $100,000 on deposit earns $100,000 × 0.01 = $1,000 a year.

BC Housing uses last year's tax information as proof of income for SAFER. Interest can also reduce Old Age Security. The Government of Canada says that above an income threshold you repay part or all of the pension. For income earned in 2026 the threshold is $95,323, and the repayment is 15% of the income above it. Ask Service Canada or an accountant about your own benefits before you sell.

Subsidized and supportive housing

Subsidized housing is rental housing where the rent is set from your income. BC Housing says demand "far exceeds the available supply". For buildings it manages, household assets must be less than $100,000, counting cash, term deposits and real estate equity.

BC Housing's Seniors' Supportive Housing program offers low-income people aged 55 or older an adapted apartment with a daily meal and weekly light housekeeping.

Two owner programs end

The home owner grant lowers the property tax on a home you own and live in, and the property tax deferment program lets an owner aged 55 or older delay it. Both end with the sale, and deferred tax is repaid from the sale money. See our post on property tax deferment and the seniors grant.

How do you compare a year of renting with a year of owning?

Compare the yearly cost of each choice, and the money a purchase would use.

Start with rent figures from CMHC

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the federal housing agency, surveys rents each October. Its 2025 Rental Market Report, published December 11, 2025, has the latest figures: monthly average rents for apartments in October 2025.

Source: CMHC Rental Market Survey data tables, October 2025, tables 1.1.2 and 1.1.9. Surrey, Langley, and Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are zones of the Vancouver area.

CMHC's survey method targets "privately initiated structures with at least 3 rental units", and leaves out social and affordable housing. The first two columns average every unit, occupied or vacant. The last column is the average for vacant units, which CMHC calls the "asking" rent. It is higher in every row, and a person looking for a home is offered asking rents. Check current listings as well.

A rented condo can cost more. Across the Vancouver metropolitan area in October 2025, CMHC's two-bedroom average was $2,900 for rented condos and $2,363 in purpose-built rental buildings.

List the yearly costs side by side

Source: FRIVE team worksheet. Every amount is your own bill or quote.

A rent of $1,592 a month is $1,592 × 12 = $19,104 a year. For the owner column, the Province says the home owner grant for 2027 is $570, or $845 for an owner aged 65 or older. Our post on strata fees on a fixed income explains how to read a strata's budget.

Count the money a purchase would use

A buyer pays the price and the property transfer tax, a provincial tax on a purchase. Take the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) benchmark price of an apartment in September 2026, which was $461,800. A benchmark price is the board's price for a typical home of one type. The Province's tax rates are 1% of the first $200,000 and 2% from $200,000 to $2,000,000. The tax is 1% × $200,000 = $2,000, plus 2% × $261,800 = $5,236, a total of $7,236. The purchase uses $461,800 + $7,236 = $469,036, before legal fees. A renter pays no property transfer tax, so buyer exemptions, such as the one for newly built homes, do not apply.

For a renter, that $469,036 stays in the bank. For each 1 percentage point of yearly interest it earns $469,036 × 0.01 = $4,690.36 a year, before income tax. For an owner, it has been spent on a home whose price can rise or fall. FVREB's apartment benchmark in September 2026 was 9.3% lower than a year earlier, and its detached house benchmark was 41.9% higher than ten years earlier. An owner takes the gain or the loss. A renter takes neither, and the sale money has to pay the rent for as long as you need a home.

Our downsizing calculator works for both choices: its purchase price field accepts 0 for a reader who will rent. For a child or grandchild comparing rent with a first purchase, see our post on renting or buying as a first-time buyer.

Should you rent for a year before you decide?

Some owners sell, rent for a year, and then decide whether to buy. The plan gives you time. You know the exact amount from your sale, and you can try a new city or an apartment building before you buy in one.

The plan has three costs: two moves, a year of rent, and home prices that can change in either direction during that year.

A one-year fixed term fits this plan. Our post on selling first or buying first compares the two orders. It also covers a seller who rents the same house back from the buyer for a set time, and what BC Financial Services Authority tells real estate agents to put in that contract.

What should you ask before you sign a tenancy agreement?

• Who owns the building or unit, and for how long: a company that only rents, or one person? Ask how many rental units the building has, whether it is strata-titled, and whether it is for sale.
• Is the agreement month-to-month or for a fixed term? Does a clause require you to leave when the term ends? What does the rent include?
• Is there an elevator? The Province gives the example of a tenant who chose a unit for its elevator and could negotiate a term that requires a working elevator.
• Can the unit be adapted? BC Housing says tenants and landlords may apply for its accessible home adaptations rebate if the tenant has a disability or permanent loss of physical ability and all other requirements are met.
• What happens if you need care? The Province says a tenant assessed as needing long-term care may end a fixed term with one month's notice and a signed form.
• Are pets allowed, and does the agreement require tenant insurance?

Which choice do we suggest for your situation?

The table below is the FRIVE team's opinion.

Source: FRIVE team opinion. General guidance.

This guide is general information about published rules and figures. Confirm tax questions with your own accountant and legal questions with your own lawyer before you sell or sign.

Next step

Both choices start from one number: what your house would sell for. Ask us for a free home value, and a BC-licensed REALTOR® will email you a price range based on recent sales of homes like yours. Enter it in the downsizing calculator, with a purchase price of 0 if you plan to rent. You do not have to sell with us. Our downsizing checklist puts the steps in order, and our downsizing guide covers the rest.