Is SQRFT a rental platform, or does it also list homes for sale?

SQRFT is a rental-only platform. Searches like "condos for sale Burnaby" or "townhomes for sale Metrotown" describe buying a home, which is a different market with different listings, financing, and legal process than renting. Every listing on SQRFT is a rental unit. If you're looking to buy, you'll need a real estate agent and a separate resale listing service.

What's typically included in Burnaby rent?

It varies by building type. Older purpose-built rental apartments in North Burnaby often include heat and hot water in the rent, with tenants paying their own electricity (BC Hydro) and internet. Newer high-rise condo rentals around Metrotown and Brentwood are more mixed: some landlords absorb strata heating/water charges, others pass everything through. Always confirm which utilities are included in writing before you sign.

What is BC's rent increase cap for 2026 and 2027?

British Columbia sets an annual maximum rent increase for existing tenancies. The cap is 2.3 percent for 2026 and 2.2 percent for 2027 (effective January 1, 2027), tied to inflation under the province's rent-increase formula. It applies once per 12-month period with proper written notice, and landlords cannot raise rent above the cap without a Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) order for specific, limited circumstances (such as major capital expenditures). The cap does not apply to a new tenancy's opening rent, only to increases on an existing tenancy.

How does a security deposit work in Burnaby?

BC landlords can collect a security deposit of up to half a month's rent, separate and refundable, unlike Ontario's last-month-rent model. On top of that, if you have a pet, a landlord can also collect a separate pet damage deposit, also capped at half a month's rent. Both deposits must be returned within 15 days after the tenancy ends and the landlord receives your forwarding address, or the landlord must apply to the RTB to keep some or all of it. A written condition inspection report at move-in and move-out is the record the RTB relies on if a deposit dispute arises.

How do I dispute my landlord at BC's Residential Tenancy Branch?

The Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) is BC's tribunal for residential tenancy disputes, covering everything from illegal rent increases and repairs to eviction applications and deposit disputes. Most disputes go through the Dispute Resolution process, which can be a written hearing or a phone/video hearing depending on the issue. Bring your tenancy agreement, all written correspondence with your landlord, photos or your condition inspection report, and any notices you received or served. For deposit deductions specifically, BC landlords are required to use a specific RTB form; without one, their position is weak.

Can my landlord enter without notice?

No, with narrow exceptions. BC's Residential Tenancy Act requires landlords to give at least 24 hours' written notice before entering for a reasonable purpose (repairs, inspections, showings to prospective tenants or buyers), and the notice must specify the reason and the time of entry. Emergencies (fire, flood, gas leak, and similar) are the main exception where notice is not required. Repeated no-notice entries can be raised with the RTB as a breach of the tenancy.

What if my landlord wants to end my tenancy to sell or move in?

A sale alone does not end your tenancy; the new owner takes over the existing agreement on the same terms. If the landlord or a close family member intends to personally occupy the unit, or if the property is being sold and the purchaser wants to move in, the landlord can serve a notice to end tenancy for landlord's use, generally with two months' written notice and, in most cases, compensation equal to one month's rent. Fixed-term tenancies in Burnaby typically require 30 days' notice to end at the term's expiry, shorter than Alberta's 60-day standard, so check your specific notice type and deadline carefully.

Burnaby, British Columbia Canada

Rentals Burnaby: Renting in Burnaby in 2026

Real neighborhoods, real answers. The complete SQRFT guide for renters and landlords in Metro Vancouver's third-largest city, home to SFU and BCIT.

Browse Burnaby rentals

Population

299,682

StatCan, Jul 2025

Universities

SFU & BCIT

~79,000 combined students

SkyTrain lines

Expo & Millennium Line

Metrotown

BC's largest mall

Metropolis at Metrotown

FFrancis, SQRFT TeamCanadian Rental Market Analysts, SQRFT Editorial Team Updated September 20, 2026 9 min read

Section 1

What we know (and don't) about Burnaby rents

Burnaby does not currently appear on its own in Rentals.ca and Urbanation's National Rent Report (September 2026 edition), nor does CMHC's Fall 2025 Rental Market Report break out a Burnaby-specific figure. CMHC does publish detailed numbers for the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), but that figure is metro-wide, covering Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, and every other municipality in the region together, not Burnaby on its own. Rather than present that metro-wide number as if it were a Burnaby rent, we're telling you plainly: there is currently no verified, Burnaby-specific average-rent or vacancy-rate figure we can cite from either primary source.

The practical read

For a real sense of current asking rents, browse live SQRFT listings in Burnaby directly. Expect the tightest competition around Metrotown and Brentwood, both SkyTrain-anchored town centres seeing heavy new high-rise supply, and near SFU and BCIT as the fall semester approaches.

Section 2

Where Burnaby renters live: the area guide

Burnaby splits broadly into three areas: North Burnaby, South Burnaby, and the high-rise Metrotown / Central Burnaby core.

North Burnaby

Burnaby Heights, Brentwood Park, Capitol Hill, Lochdale, Willingdon Heights, Parkcrest - older residential neighbourhoods and the fast-densifying Brentwood Town Centre.

South Burnaby

Edmonds, South Slope, Big Bend, Maywood - more industrial/light-commercial mix along the Fraser River, with growing SkyTrain-oriented density at Edmonds.

Metrotown / Central Burnaby

Home to Metropolis at Metrotown (BC's largest mall), Central Park, Swangard Stadium, and Burnaby's high-rise residential core.

Burnaby

Big Bend

Renting in Big Bend, Burnaby.

Brentwood Park

Renting in Brentwood Park, Burnaby.

Burnaby Heights

Renting in Burnaby Heights, Burnaby.

Capitol Hill

Renting in Capitol Hill, Burnaby.

Edmonds

Renting in Edmonds, Burnaby.

Lochdale

Renting in Lochdale, Burnaby.

Marlborough

Renting in Marlborough, Burnaby.

Maywood

Renting in Maywood, Burnaby.

Montecito

Renting in Montecito, Burnaby.

North Burnaby

Renting in North Burnaby, Burnaby.

Parkcrest

Renting in Parkcrest, Burnaby.

South Slope

Renting in South Slope, Burnaby.

Sullivan Heights

Renting in Sullivan Heights, Burnaby.

UniverCity

Renting in UniverCity, Burnaby.

Westridge

Renting in Westridge, Burnaby.

Willingdon Heights

Renting in Willingdon Heights, Burnaby.

Metrotown

Renting in Metrotown, Burnaby.

Lougheed

Renting in Lougheed, Burnaby.

Deer Lake

Renting in Deer Lake, Burnaby.

Section 3

Burnaby schools and school boards

Where you live decides which public school your kids attend. This is one of the biggest reasons families move within Burnaby.

The public board

Burnaby School District 41

SD41

Serves families across the City of Burnaby with designated catchment schools plus alternative and specialized programs.

How to find a school for your address

1
Use the board's school locator first.Enter the address on the Burnaby School District 41 site and it returns the designated school for each grade level.
2
Check whether the school is capped.Fast-growing, high-density areas like Brentwood Park and Metrotown can see designated schools close to non-catchment students.
3
Look up program options.French immersion and other specialized programs often draw from wider catchment zones with their own application process.
4
Confirm before you sign the lease.Burnaby rentals move fast, and school-driven address decisions do not have a rewind button.

Public vs private

•
Public (SD41):free, catchment-based, Burnaby's single public school board.
•
Private and independent schools:a smaller presence than Vancouver's West Side, spread across North and South Burnaby.
•
French-language board:Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique operates French-first-language schools serving Francophone families across Metro Vancouver, including Burnaby.

Section 4

Burnaby universities and post-secondary

Burnaby is home to two of BC's largest post-secondary institutions, and student housing demand shapes the rental market around both campuses.

Simon Fraser University

~30,000 students

SFU

Students concentrate in neighborhoods within walking or short-transit distance of the SFU campus.

British Columbia Institute of Technology

~49,000 students

BCIT

Students concentrate in neighborhoods within walking or short-transit distance of the BCIT campus.

Timing tip

Rentals near SFU's Burnaby Mountain campus and BCIT's Burnaby campus typically hit peak demand in August and early September as students sign leases for the fall semester. If you are a landlord targeting students, list early. If you are a student looking for the best selection, start hunting by July.

Section 5

Getting around Burnaby

Burnaby sits directly on two SkyTrain lines, and its town centres were planned around the stations.

The essentials

•
SkyTrain Expo Line crosses south Burnaby along Kingsway
•
SkyTrain Millennium Line follows the Lougheed Highway corridor
•
Metrotown Station is among the busiest in the SkyTrain network

Car-optional zones

If you value a car-optional lifestyle, look at Metrotown, Brentwood Park, and anywhere directly on the Expo or Millennium Line. South Burnaby's Big Bend and Maywood areas, further from a SkyTrain station, are more car-dependent.

Section 6

What it costs to live in Burnaby in 2026

Rent is the biggest line, but not the only one. Here's how Burnaby's fixed costs stack up.

Where Burnaby wins

•
Two SkyTrain lines.Many Burnaby renters skip car ownership entirely thanks to direct SkyTrain access into Downtown Vancouver and out to Surrey and Coquitlam (see Section 5).
•
A milder micro-climate than expected.Burnaby's higher-elevation weather station (Burnaby Mountain) records cooler summers than nearby Vancouver, with mild winters overall.
•
A separate, refundable security deposit.BC law allows a refundable deposit capped at half a month's rent, plus a separate pet deposit if applicable, unlike Ontario's last-month-rent-only model.

Where Burnaby is expensive

•
Metro Vancouver rent levels generally.Burnaby sits inside one of Canada's most expensive metro rental markets, even without its own published city figure (see Section 1).
•
New high-rise supply pricing.Newer towers around Metrotown and Brentwood, the fastest-densifying town centres, tend to command a premium over older North Burnaby walk-ups.
•
GST only, no provincial sales tax on most goods.BC charges 5 percent GST versus Ontario's combined 13 percent HST, a partial offset to the higher cost of housing.

For live monthly cost-of-living data, Statistics Canada's Consumer Price Index release publishes the Vancouver CMA component broken down by category.

Section 7

Burnaby events, culture, and why people love it here

The last section before we get to the practical answers. If you're deciding whether to move to Burnaby in the first place, this is what tips the scale.

Burnaby pairs Metro Vancouver's biggest shopping destination with sizeable green space at Central Park and Deer Lake, plus a growing tech and life-sciences employment base anchored by companies like Ballard Power Systems and Electronic Arts' Vancouver studio.

Major annual events

Hats Off Day

June, Burnaby Heights

A signature Burnaby event drawing large crowds citywide.

Burnaby's climate

Temperate oceanic climate. Mild winters (January average low around 1.4°C) and cooler summers (July average high 21.2°C) than nearby Vancouver, reflecting its higher-elevation Burnaby Mountain weather station.

Burnaby's professional sports

Vancouver Rise FC (Northern Super League, plays at Swangard Stadium)

A professional sports franchise playing home matches in Burnaby.

Section 8

Renting in Burnaby: BC tenancy law essentials

These rules apply to every Burnaby rental, set out in BC's Residential Tenancy Act and enforced by the Residential Tenancy Branch. Bookmark this section.

The common rule of thumb is 30 percent of gross monthly income on housing (rent plus utilities). Neither CMHC's Fall 2025 Rental Market Report nor Rentals.ca's September 2026 National Rent Report publishes a standalone average-rent figure for Burnaby specifically; CMHC's Vancouver CMA numbers are metro-wide and cover the whole region, not Burnaby on its own, so we won't present them as a Burnaby figure. Check live listings on SQRFT for current asking rents in the neighborhood you're targeting, and use our affordability calculator once you have a real number to test.

Try the free rent affordability calculator →

Section 9

Live Burnaby rentals on SQRFT

Browse listings across Burnaby neighborhoods. All listings verified. Free to list.

Browse Burnaby listings

Pricing

What should Burnaby rent cost?

Get a free rent estimate

SQRFT Rent Estimator

See a data-driven rent range for your Burnaby property based on our Canadian rental market model.

Sources