Langley asking rents fell to $2,216 a month in October, the 19th highest in Canada

Asking rents in Langley fell to an average of $2,216 a month in October 2026, down from $2,346 a year earlier, according to the November 2026 National Rental Report by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, as reported by the Langley Advance Times on November 8.

The drop of $130 a month over 12 months puts Langley at 19th on the list of most expensive rental markets in Canada. A year ago, Langley sat at 16th. Its position has moved down through summer and fall 2026 as local asking rents declined while other cities held steady or rose.

What the numbers show

The Rentals.ca and Urbanation report breaks the Langley figures down by unit size. A one-bedroom apartment averaged $1,828 a month in asking rent, down 5.9 per cent from the same month a year ago. A two-bedroom averaged $2,409, down 0.5 per cent year-over-year.

Asking rent is the price a new tenant would pay for a vacant unit. Someone who has lived in the same apartment for years may pay less, because BC's Residential Tenancy Act caps how much a landlord can raise rent for a tenant who stays. The Rentals.ca figures measure only what a new renter would face.

Condo rentals have been falling faster than purpose-built rental apartments across Canada. Nationally, the report found condo rents down 5.5 per cent year-over-year and purpose-built rentals down 2.1 per cent. Condos are individually owned units rented out by their owners; purpose-built units are built and held by companies specifically for renting. The Langley Advance Times article does not break out those two types separately for Langley.

How Langley compares to other cities

The pattern in Langley runs against what is happening in Vancouver and Toronto. Both cities posted their first annual rent increase in more than two and a half years in October 2026, the Langley Advance Times reported from the same Rentals.ca data. Across Canada, the overall annual direction is still downward, but the pace is slowing. National rents were up 0.1 per cent from September to October, the report found, even as the year-over-year figure remained negative.

The gap between Langley and Vancouver matters for people who work in Vancouver but rent in Langley. A two-bedroom in Langley averaged $2,409 a month in October, while CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report found the Vancouver CMA average for a two-bedroom purpose-built unit at $2,363. The CMHC figure is from the fall 2025 survey of occupied units; the Rentals.ca figure covers asking rents in October 2026 on vacant units. The two measures count different things and should not be added together, but each shows the range of what renters face in the region.

CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report found that the purpose-built rental vacancy rate across the Vancouver census metropolitan area, which includes Langley, reached 3.7 per cent in fall 2025, the highest in more than 30 years, that report said. The condo rental vacancy rate was 1.5 per cent. CMHC surveys vacant and occupied units in October of each year; its 2026 report will be published later this year.

Why rents fall

Rising vacancy is one reason rents drop. When more units sit empty, landlords compete for tenants by holding or lowering prices. CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report found the Vancouver CMA vacancy rate at 3.7 per cent, the highest in more than 30 years, which the report described as vacancies surpassing even pandemic-era levels. Langley Township has seen construction in Willoughby and Brookswood over recent years, adding apartments to the rental stock.

Another factor is affordability pressure. When asking rents stay above what local incomes can support, units stay vacant longer and asking prices fall. The Rentals.ca report does not give income data for Langley, so that connection is not in the numbers published.

What Council has promised on housing

Mayor Jay Lundgren and the Langley Strong majority on Township Council campaigned on a promise to champion housing options that young families can afford and to speed up development approvals. The Langley Strong platform, as the campaign described it, also committed to moving the Township's housing society and the $177 million of debt behind it to a non-profit provider once its buildings are finished and occupied, and to end what the platform called an exemption that lets the Township and its housing society avoid the Township's own tenant protection bylaw.

Neither housing commitment has moved to a Council vote yet. The first vote by the new Council, at a special meeting on November 4, 2026, was to order a forensic audit of Township finances covering late 2022 to the present.

The promise to champion affordable housing for young families, and the separate commitment on senior housing, are listed at the Langley Township promise tracker, where each one carries the source of the pledge and its current status.

What comes next

Rentals.ca publishes a new National Rental Report each month, so the December 2026 edition will show whether October's drop continued or reversed in November. CMHC publishes its annual Rental Market Report with fall survey data, covering vacancy rates and occupied-unit rents; its 2026 edition has not yet been published as of November 9.

Residents looking for a rental in Langley can compare asking prices on Rentals.ca, which lists current advertised units. Those looking for non-market or subsidised housing can contact BC Housing, whose waitlist information is at bchousing.org.

Anyone who wants to follow what Council decides on housing approvals and the housing society can attend Council meetings at the Township of Langley's council chambers or watch recordings on the Township's website, and can follow the promise tracker for each commitment made during the campaign.