Kelowna rents jump almost 5% despite provincial rent freeze

Rents in Kelowna are about five per cent higher than this time last year, despite the provincial government freeze on rent increases.

A one-bedroom apartment cost $1,490 a month to rent in March, up 4.9 per cent from last year and up 0.7 per cent from February, according to PadMapper.com.

A two-bedroom suite cost $1,790 a month, up 5.3 per cent from last year and up 2.3 per cent from February.

While tenants cannot be charged higher rents under COVID rules, apartments can be rented at an increased rate if they become vacant and newer rental units coming on stream can be higher priced.

Those rates make Kelowna the sixth most expensive city in which to rent in Canada.

Vancouver tops the list at $1,900 for a one-bedroom unit, which is actually down 11.6 per cent from last year, while a two-bedroom apartment costs $2,600, down 13.3 per cent from 2020.

PadMapper.com posts the median asking rental rate for 24 Canadian cities each month. Kelowna is the only Interior city to make the list.

See the full list here.

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