Understanding Vancouver Property Management Fees

Posted on 15/10/2025

Rental property management fees pay for more than just finding a tenant and collecting rent. They can save you money, manage risk, and ensure peace of mind.

But they should also be fair and transparent. Here’s what rental property owners need to know about property management fees.

As a rental property owner, you’ve probably spent considerable time thinking about your real estate investment, and your returns. But what you may soon discover is that being a landlord entails more work than you anticipated, and you might consider hiring a property manager–which leads to the question:

What are the average property management fees in Vancouver, and what services should you expect?

To answer, we break down the role of the property manager and the typical property management fee structure.

The definition and duties of a rental property manager:

A licensed Rental Property Manager in the Province of British Columbia is governed by the British Columbia Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) under the Real Estate Services Act (RESA). To obtain a license, a property manager must complete the Rental Property Managing Licensing Course.

To handle the complexities of the residential property management landscape, property managers must keep up-to-date with changes to the BC Residential Tenancy Act, applicable provincial and municipal vacancy tax rules, and, industry best practices.

In general, a property manager:

Understands and monitors the local market and determines the rental rate to maximize your long-term income and investment returns,
Advertises your rental property with professional photography and an attractive website,
Sources a reliable tenant(s) with credit and reference checks,
Finalizes the residential tenancy agreement,
Organizes the move-in and move-out and abides by the rules,
Maintains a regular inspection schedule,
Collects rent on your behalf,
Handles all repairs and routine maintenance to protect your investment, and
Provides monthly and annual statements.

A skilled property manager understands your unique set circumstances as a rental property owner, and can also offer specialty services, like non-resident tax remittance.

Advantages of hiring a property manager:

Time and money savings
A property manager maintains strong and regular trade relationships and can often consolidate high volume repairs and maintenance work—saving you both time and money.
Multi-faceted Experience
A property manager acts as a buffer between the tenant and owner, and maintains strong communication and relationships with both parties—making it easier to handle any tenancy and building issues, or even emergencies, that may arise.
Local Expertise
A property manager keeps up-to-date with the ever-changing rental rules and market trends, and determines a rental rate that will maximize your investment and minimize vacancy periods.
Pool of pre-qualified tenants and shorter vacancy periods
A property manager supports a network of relocation specialists and HR professionals (often from actively recruiting companies like Amazon and Microsoft) to compile a database of desirable candidates.
Streamlined rent collection and disbursement
A property manager ensures rent collection (and rent deposit to your account) on a monthly basis, without delay.
Peace of mind
Most of all, a property manager provides peace of mind—he/she takes care of everything, so you don’t have to. This is especially true for an out-of-town owner who cannot inspect their property on a regular basis.

Interested in speaking directly to a property manager? Call 604.260.9955 and connect with a licensed professional today.

Average property management fees in Greater Vancouver:

A typical property management fee structure involves paying a monthly Management Fee that is a percentage of rental income, and a Placement Fee each time there is a new tenant.

While the monthly management percentage varies widely among rental property management companies—anywhere from 6 % to 12%—many local rental agents charge for an additional number of services they deem to be “extras,” such as a set-up fee, marketing costs, and inspections.

At Birds Nest Properties, we believe in a transparent all-inclusive fee structure that is easy to understand. Our fee structure is:

Management Fee: 8.33% of Monthly Rent + GST, charged monthly
Placement Fee: 1/2 of First Month’s Rent + GST, charged each time we find a long-term tenant for your rental property
Non-Resident Tax Filing Fee (for Canadian non-residents only): 2% of Monthly Rent + GST If you are a Canadian non-resident property owner and require us to manage your non-resident withholding tax remittance and accounting
Onboarding Fee (for tenanted properties only): 25% of One-Month’s Rent + GST, charged one-time. While we generally only manage properties where we are finding and recommending the tenant, when we do take on properties with an existing tenant, we will interview the existing tenant as well as review existing Residential Tenancy Agreement, addendum and Condition Inspection Report before we take on management of that property. For this additional due diligence, we charge a one-time onboarding fee.

Although the Management Fee and Placement Fee are most easily comparable property management companies may charge additional fees beyond so it’s important to review the clauses in a rental agent’s Management Agreement.

At Birds Nest properties, there are no additional fees of any kind:

No set-up fees, advertising costs, or inspections charges
All repairs and maintenance are billed at cost (no mark-up)
And we don’t earn fees during vacancy periods—we are paid only when you are paid (after all, it’s our job to find you a tenant)

What to do before you hire a property management company:

Before you hire a property management company, consider the following questions:

How many years have they been in business?
Are they well-staffed or are their property managers over-worked?
Can they speak to a comprehensive vetting process to secure qualified tenants?
How do they deal with potentially difficult tenant situations and/or repairs?
Is the fee structure transparent and easy to understand?
How positive are the Google reviews by their customers?

An experienced and trusted property management company will help save you headaches and protect your investment for the long-term.

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