As of March 2026, the average rent in Canada has reached a 35-month low and Victoria is no different as rentals continue to decrease in cost.
According to the most recent national rent report from Rentals.ca, the cost of rent in Victoria has dropped by 5.6% for one-bedroom units since this time last year, and by 4.3% for two-bedroom units.
On average, a one-bedroom unit in Victoria is going for $1,975 per month, whereas a two-bedroom unit is costing $2,584.
This represents a 2.4% decrease for one-bedrooms since last month’s rent report and a 0.9% decrease for two-bedrooms’ rent.
Though in January, Victoria was sitting in the 20th spot for most expensive Canadian cities to rent in, BC’s capital has recently climbed the ladder to 16th most expensive.
Nanaimo is the only other Vancouver Island community to make the top 60 list at 28th.
There, one-bedrooms are going for around $1,843 per month and two-bedrooms for $2,299.
The most expensive city to live in across Canada is North Vancouver, with one-bedrooms costing $2,462 per month and two-bedrooms costing $3,358.
Though these figures may seem high, they have actually decreased respectively by 7.7% and 3.3% since this time last year.
Conversely, the cheapest of the top 60 cities is St. John’s, Newfoundland, where a one-bedroom will cost around $1,079 per month—around $900 cheaper than Victoria—and a two-bedroom goes for around $1,253.
According to the report, the average asking rent in Canada has dropped for the 16th straight month, represented by a 31-month low of $2,057.
Furthermore, the report found that asking rents for apartments throughout BC are down by 12.2% from their peak in August 2023.
“As we head into spring, renters will continue to see the effects of our hard work, policies and partnerships as asking rent prices fall, making life more affordable for people in British Columbia,” said Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs.
“British Columbia continues to lead Canada when it comes to falling rent prices for apartments, and we understand that we need to redouble our efforts to ensure we can reduce the cost to deliver more homes for people across this province to see these trends continue.”
The Province attributes the steady decrease in rent costs to the increase in new, purpose-built rental units being built in municipalities that have been targeted to increase their rental supply.
Victoria was among the first communities targeted because the city’s vacancy rate was determined to be below the minimum threshold.
Between October 1st, 2024 and September 30th, 2025, Victoria managed to see 882 new units built to completion.
In this timeline, the City’s target was set at just 766 by the Province, meaning the Victoria was able to surpass their goal by 116 units.
Victoria’s quota for the first year of housing targets was set at 659 new units, and during that time, 1,477 net new units were completed.
Victoria has managed to build 48% of the 4,902 new units required in just two-of-five years.
According to the BC government, Greater Victoria’s vacancy rate has been determined to have reached 3.3% by the end of 2025. In October 2022, the vacancy rate was as low as 1.4%.
