📋 Finding housing in Victoria

Victoria is like a tightly-knit village when it comes to finding housing. It’s about who you know and who your friends/colleagues/family members know to find an apartment or house.

“Island Time” is real in Victoria. You may email about a rental listing, and not receive a response back from the landlord or agent until a week later. This is still normal here.

📋 Renting checklist

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Needed when you look at apartments:

  1. References. Have 3 character references. Have their phone numbers or email addresses ready to give to the landlord. These can be former roommates, coworkers, employers, teammates, church friends, etc… but typically not a family member.

  2. Pet references (optional). If you have a cat or a dog, have 3 references. Specifically, people who can attest to your dog or cat’s quietness, training, etc… These can be old roommates, neighbours, a vet, the place you trained your dog at, etc…

  3. Your address history: You may be asked to write your last 1 to 2 home addresses on the rental application.

  4. Your employer’s name (company) & phone number. In Canada, landlords are very hesitant to rent to you if you are unemployed. If you are, they may ask you to pay the first 3 or 6 months’ rent upfront when you sign the rental lease. Be wary of these pre-pay agreements if not in writing in the rental lease.

Needed to sign the rental lease:

  1. Deposit payment: Due on lease signing. Also called a security deposit or a bond in other countries. In BC a deposit cannot be more than 1/2 of the monthly rent.

    • For example: if the apartment is $1300/month, the deposit can only be up to $650.

  2. 1st-month rent payment: Due on lease signing.

  3. Pet damage deposit payment (optional): Due on lease signing. In BC a pet deposit cannot be more than 1/2 of the monthly rent, regardless of the number of pets allowed.

    • For example: If the apartment is $1300/month, the pet deposit can only be up to $650. That will be in addition to the security deposit for the apartment, which can also be up to $650. Total deposit = $1300 max.

  4. How to pay: You may need to pay your first month with a paper cheque - some landlords still require that. Otherwise, you will probably pay your rent using Interac.

💻 Rental websites

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  • Moving here for a job? Ask your new coworkers or HR department if they know of apartment vacancies. Seriously. Email them.

  • UsedVictoria: Weird name, but the most used website in Victoria for finding apartments. Like Craigslist. usedvictoria.com

  • Facebook Groups: These are where the great apartments are. Victoria, BC Community House Network is one of the biggest and most active.

  • Facebook Marketplace: It’s easy to message potential landlords through the linked Facebook Messenger app (if you are moving here from another country, we tend to use Facebook Messenger still instead of WhatsApp). facebook.com/marketplace

  • Craigslist: Still a popular website for rentals in Victoria. craigslist.org

  • Padmapper: padmapper.com

  • Kijiji: Not used at all in Victoria, but very popular in Alberta and Ontario. Many new residents moving from other parts of Canada ask why there aren’t more listings on here. Sorry. We don’t have a good answer for you. kijiji.ca

Never give your SIN number to anyone for a rental contract. In Canada, you should not give anyone this number, except your employer, your bank and the Canadian Revenue Agency (taxes).

If a potential landlord asks you to write your SIN number on a rental application or rental lease, don't give it to them. A landlord can run a credit check using your first name, last name and date of birth.

✅ How to rent in Victoria: tips

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  • 🇬🇧 If you are moving from the UK: In Canada, we do not have a nationwide deposit system. In Canada, we pay our security deposit directly to the landlord or the property management company. They hold the money and are responsible for returning it to you when you move out. They can keep some or all of your deposit if they claim the property was damaged or needs extra cleaning. Make sure you document everything before you move in.

  • References: This is very common in Victoria. A potential landlord may ask you to provide one to three character references, with their name and phone number. These could be former coworkers, friends, teammates, etc… Family members usually cannot be references. The potential landlord will most likely call, so make sure your references know to expect a call from a Canadian phone number (usually a 250-xxx-xxxx or 778-xxx-xxxx number).

  • What questions will a landlord ask my reference when they call?

    • Are you a polite/nice person?

    • How long have they known you?

    • (If they lived with you) Did you pay your rent on time?

    • (If they lived with you) Did you cause damage, excessive noise, or other problems with them or with other tenants?

    • (If they lived with you) Did you smoke in the house?

    • (If they lived with you) Did you have pets?

  • Lease Terms: Usually apartments are leased for 1 year only, then automatically roll over to a month-to-month lease after that. Month-to-month apartments are hard to find. If you need a short-term lease, consider subletting or an Airbnb.

  • Subletting: Very popular in Victoria as we have many seasonal workers. It can be risky. Make sure you sign a lease as a subletter and take precautions to research your landlord, your rights as a subletter and the rental property. Note: Airbnbs or “long term stay” hotel rooms are not sublets - they’re essentially a hotel room. A sublet is a legal thing in BC, and you sign a sublet lease.

  • Payment: Most landlords prefer Interac (an electronic transfer) for receiving rent payments, which is used across all Canadian banks. Some will ask for paper cheques. Don’t pay cash. We’ve covered paper cheques and other kinds of payment we use in the banking section.

  • When is rent due? We pay our rent once a month, typically due on the 1st day of the month (i.e. May 1)

  • Ok, how often will my employer pay me? Employers typically transfer your paycheck twice a month. Very few employers pay you once a month (getting paid once a month is common in Europe and the UK).

  • Landlords: Your landlord, by law, cannot enter your apartment any time they want. Once you sign the lease, they must give you notice in writing at least 24 hours in advance. This includes inspecting the unit, any maintenance or showing the unit to someone else.

  • Know your rights: You have rights as a tenant in British Columbia, even as a foreigner or temporary resident. Check the official BC Government guide here: gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/residential-tenancies

🧳 Short term rentals housing

Where to find furnished or unfurnished short term rental housing in Victoria.

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🏠 Property management companies in Victoria

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🐶 Apartments that accept dogs in Victoria

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👩‍👧‍👦 Renting: what if I have children?

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  • If you have children, a landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because you have children. They can in some cases limit the number of people living in a rental.

👩‍💼 Leasing Agents, Brokers, Realtors

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In many cities around the 🌏 world, it’s common to use a “Leasing Agent”, “Broker” or “Realtor” to find a rental apartment for you. This is more common in New York, Toronto, and even Vancouver. It’s not really a thing in Victoria.

It’s mainly up to you to look for listings online, arrange a meeting with a potential landlord to view the apartment and make sure your lease is legal before signing it.

❗Rental scams: what to do if you think you’re getting scammed

  • Call the Victoria Police on their non-emergency line at 250-995-7654. If this is outside the City of Victoria (for example in Saanich, Sidney, Langford, Colwood, etc…) call the RCMP on their non-emergency line at 250-474-2264. They take rental scams seriously, as this is a potential crime and will investigate it.

  • Save any text messages, emails, phone numbers or other communications you have with the potential scammer for the police. Screenshots are especially helpful.

🚩 Rental scams in BC

These are common rental scams that the RCMP and Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre have asked the public to be aware of and watch out for. Again, if you run into this, report this to the RCMP or Victoria Police.

  • A landlord pressures you to give them money without both of you signing a lease first, either on paper or electronically. Do not hand over any money until a lease is signed by both parties.

  • If you are not sure if the landlord is who they say they are, ask to see photo identification. If they refuse, be suspicious of this person.

  • Never pay in cash. Pay using a personal cheque, interact transfer, credit/debit card, money order, bank draft or certified cheque.

  • Never pay in gift cards or bitcoin if someone asks you to.

  • If at all possible, do not rent without visiting the property in person. If you cannot visit, have a trusted friend, coworker or even the HR person at your new job visit for you.

  • Conduct an online search of any photos of the rental or the address to see if it has been associated with scams in the past. Use Google’s “reverse image search” to upload a photo from the ad to see if it’s on other ads/scams.

  • Ask to see previous utility bills for the address to confirm the person is indeed the landlord.