Langley City and Township have less available rental housing than they did a year ago, according to figures released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) on Monday.
But the "Rental Market Report" shows the Langleys are still a better deal than the average Metro Vancouver municipality, offering higher vacancy rates and lower rents.
The combined private apartment vacancy rate for Langley City and Township was 1.1 per cent in October, 2016, compared to 1.5 per cent in October of 2015.
That is still better than the Metro Vancouver average, which fell from 0.8 to 0.7 per cent over the same period.
The Westside/Kerrisdale area of Vancouver had the highest vacancy rate, rising from 1.6 per cent to 2.0 per cent, while Delta and the University Endowment lands in Vancouver had the lowest vacancy rates — zero.
In the Langleys, the average price for all types of rentals, from bachelors to three-bedroom units, rose from $895 to $1,002, while the Metro average went from $1,144 to $1,223.
The most expensive rents were in West Vancouver, where the average has risen from $1,673 to $1,746.
The least expensive average rents were in Surrey, which rose from $874 to $940.
The vacancy rate for all of B.C. rose to 1.3 per cent this year, up from 1.2 per cent which is more than two percentage points below the national rate of 3.4 per cent.
The average monthly rent across the province hit $1,099, up five per cent.
The highest bumps in rent were recorded in Williams Lake at 9.6 per cent, Chilliwack at 6.7 per cent and Vancouver at 6.4 per cent.
The report notes the Vancouver increases were well in excess of the allowable rent increase for 2016 of 2.9 per cent set by the provincial Residential Tenancy Branch.
It suggests landlords are using "significant building upgrades and renovations" to get tenants to sign new leases that exceed the limits.
– with files from Black Press