camel80

Hello,

I'm currently trying to work out the full costs of renting a property in Vancouver.

I was wondering, as a renting tenant, if you are responsible for council tax (rates) and water and sewerage or does the landlord or rental agency pay these?

Also, are electricity and gas prices similar to the UK or much less? Are there any other additional/hidden costs that also need to be paid by a tennant?

Many thanks

terese677

Hi
We are renting and depending on whether utilities are included in the price, we just pay our rent and pay for gas and electric (hydro) phone and cable/internet. The landlord pays the others.
I don't know figures through the year but our last electric was $48 this month.
Terese

camel80

Many thanks Terese,

How do you find North Vancouver? I was looking at this area so i could get the ferry across to the city. My office is on Pender Street West.

Thanks again,
Jon

Frank'n Sense

Hi,

We have a couple of furnished rentals in Lower Lonsdale. The area is perfect as a base for initial arrival in Vancouver. The seabus makes going downtown easy (we use it ourselves too). The area there has a lot of amenities in walking distance - Marketplace IGA, Shoppers Drugmart, restaurants, movie theatre, coffee bars (2 starbucks), pubs and the Lonsdale Quay market.

Our two bed apartment is available just now. The one bed will be available again at the end of the year.

Even if you rent further out - like Lynn Valley say - you can still get a bus down to Lonsdale and take the seabus. We have several clients who do that - having bought in North Vancouver.

Warmly,

Frank

Butch Cassidy

Surely a reason to avoid the area

bazzz

If you're working on Pender, then you'd save a lot of time by renting in either the West End or Coal Harbour; you'll be able to walk to work. Properties might be slightly more expensive than North Van, but it'd be a lot more convenient for you. Do you have a budget in mind? We currently pay $1500 a month for a one bed, plus about $40 for Hydro (electric) and $150 for phone/cable/internet.

ClareBC

It really depends on the agreement with the owners. We rented one half of a house (the top floor) and shared the hydro (electric) bill. We paid for our own internet. The property tax was paid for by the landlord.

Clare

terese677

I love this area, lots of things to do nearby, beautiful scenery and only a short bus ride/drive to Lonsdale Quay and the seabus runs every 15 minutes to Vancouver if you work there.
Terese

Rob_999

I agree with Bazz. The seabus is all very well but living downtown would be way better, and not really much more expensive. Walk to work, stanley park etc.

We used to rent in coal harbour - $1350/mth + $60 for parking. $40/mth for hydro, and around $130/mth for phone/highspeed internet & cable TV.

camel80

Thanks Guys,

I'll look up the West End and Coal Harbour. I originally thought North Vancouver would be good to get away from the city center while only being a short trip via ferry away. We'd probably choose to live in a townhouse rather than a flat if we could so i'm not sure if the West End or Coal Harbour has these readily available. I'll investigate.

Internet seems expensive (130 - 150). Do you have to have cable TV to get the internet/phone? If not, what would the typical monthly costs be? Also, if you rent do you have to pay council/city rates? From the posts so far i'm not fully sure.

Thanks again,
Jon

snowboardboy

Hey Camel if you rent then council tax is paid for you. I asked the same question earlier and was told that if council tax isnt paid in Canada then the house is sold at auction to recover the money

So the landlords dont leave it up to the tenant to pay the tax!

camel80

Spot on Loki. Many thanks for clearing that up.

snowboardboy

No problem also I dont know if it has been mentioned but this http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/ is a great site for finding a rental and or even just getting an average price for the area. I found my rental on there.

startwin

That figure of $130 - $140 is your bundled telephone/cable TV/internet costs. If you did all 3 seperately it would cost more. I have my phone with Telus, but my cable TV and internet with Shaw and combined cost per month is $170.

camel80

Wow, those costs seem very expensive to me. In the UK and Australia i paid less than half that for phone and internet. TV must be expensive.

Looking at Shaw i can get a phone and internet for $45/month which would suit me fine.

Thanks for the replies.