{"id":25259,"date":"2025-02-05T15:15:51","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T23:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/?p=25259"},"modified":"2025-02-04T13:29:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T21:29:25","slug":"what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When it comes to purchasing real estate in Metro Vancouver, you may be weighing your options between a leasehold and a freehold agreement.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">No matter which option you choose, it\u2019s important to know what kind of terms you\u2019re agreeing to and what it ultimately means for your living situation and finances.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Daily Hive Urbanized spoke with Vancouver realtor David Hutchinson with Sutton Group-West Coast Realty to learn more about leasehold and freehold agreements and what you should know.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>What is Leasehold vs Freehold?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Let\u2019s start with some basic definitions and information about leasehold and freehold arrangements.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A leasehold is a type of property interest where the leasehold owner has the right to occupy the property for a fixed period, typically over 20 years and under 99 years. However, that does not give them ownership of the land the property sits on.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hutchinson adds that if you buy a leasehold that has already been leased, \u201cit doesn\u2019t automatically become 99 years again. You just get the remainder of the 99 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leaseholds can apply to homes, buildings, apartment units, or lots. The leases can be pre-paid or non-pre-paid agreements.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWith the leasehold, you basically are just owning the unit itself\u2026 whatever square footage you have and not the land below it,\u201d said Hutchinson, adding that leaseholders are essentially \u201cglorified renter[s].\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cYou\u2019re kind of just leasing back from the actual owners of the land,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leaseholds that have terms longer than 20 years are not covered by the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA). Therefore entering a leasehold is different than being a tenant because you\u2019re not renting the property but occupying it for a set time period.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the RTA would apply if a long-term tenant rents the unit to another tenant.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moreover, strata legislation (the Strata Property Act) does not apply to long-term residential leases. It only applies to strata lots or leasehold strata lots, according to the province.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A freehold means the owner has the title to the land and property and does not have a time limit on it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cBasically, you own it forever, and you own the unit itself and the land beneath the strata unit,\u201d said Hutchinson.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Freeholds are the more popular and common choice for many property owners, noted the realtor.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In BC, leasehold properties can be owned by different entities like universities, Indigenous groups, governments (municipal, provincial, or federal), or a private group.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For example, you\u2019d likely see leasehold properties near campuses like SFU and UBC or on First Nations lands.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are also leaseholds held by the City of Vancouver along South East Marine Drive and Champlain Heights and various corporations have leaseholds in the West End.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hutchinson noted that First Nations leaseholds are \u201cdefinitely something we\u2019re going to see more of in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The upcoming Heather Lands and Jericho Lands projects are also examples of these upcoming leasehold projects spearheaded by First Nations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Leasehold Payments and Uncertainty<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leaseholds are usually considered the cheaper option compared to freehold properties because they do not include land ownership. This means their value doesn\u2019t tend appreciate that much.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s also important to note key differences between pre-paid and non-pre-paid leaseholds.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pre-paid is when the rent on the land has been paid at the start of the lease\u2019s term, while non-pre-paid leaseholds require you to pay a monthly or annual fee.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Leaseholds also involve uncertainty. When a lease on a unit is nearing expiration, the land owner is not guaranteed to renew it, and you may have to renegotiate your terms. The owner might also choose to renew it at a higher cost because the value of the land tends to go up.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Therefore, it\u2019s safer to purchase a leasehold with a longer lease period.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a leasehold nears the end of its term, its property value may decrease, making it harder to find a buyer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As for financing a leasehold, that can be \u201ctricky,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cApparently a few different lenders [finance leasehold] but the issue is, and it\u2019s not written in stone, that the rate might be a little bit higher. You might have to put down more of a down payment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cIt\u2019s more difficult to qualify but [leasehold] are cheaper so that\u2019s the rub , right? You get it cheaper, so you can actually maybe scrabble together 35% down on a $300,000 leasehold compared to a $600,000 freehold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hutchinson notes that while leasehold may have advantages, most folks \u201cwant to own something with perpetuity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cBut for some people, [they\u2019re] saving so much money [with a leasehold], and the numbers make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hutchinson advises to speak with a professional realtor before deciding on a leasehold or freehold agreement.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyhive.com\/vancouver\/leasehold-freehold-metro-vancouver\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Here&#8217;s What to Know About Leasehold and Freehold Properties in Metro Vancouver<\/a> by Simran Singh | Urbanized | DH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to purchasing real estate in Metro Vancouver, you may be weighing your options between a leasehold and a freehold agreement. No matter which option you choose, it\u2019s &hellip; [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/\">read more<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homeselling-homebuying","category-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver? &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver? &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"When it comes to purchasing real estate in Metro Vancouver, you may be weighing your options between a leasehold and a freehold agreement. No matter which option you choose, it\u2019s &hellip; [read more]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@RoryClipsham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RoryClipsham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rory Clipsham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rory Clipsham\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7\"},\"headline\":\"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-05T23:15:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":809,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Homeselling | Homebuying\",\"Real Estate\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\\\/\",\"name\":\"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver? &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-05T23:15:51+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty\",\"description\":\"Rory C Real Estate Updates | Home Selling &amp; Buying\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7\",\"name\":\"Rory Clipsham\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg\",\"width\":504,\"height\":504,\"caption\":\"Rory Clipsham\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.roryc.ca\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/pg\\\/BurnabyandCoquitlamHomes\\\/about\\\/?ref=page_internal\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/roryclipshamhomes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/RoryClipsham\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver? &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver? &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty","twitter_description":"When it comes to purchasing real estate in Metro Vancouver, you may be weighing your options between a leasehold and a freehold agreement. No matter which option you choose, it\u2019s &hellip; [read more]","twitter_creator":"@RoryClipsham","twitter_site":"@RoryClipsham","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rory Clipsham","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/"},"author":{"name":"Rory Clipsham","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7"},"headline":"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver?","datePublished":"2025-02-05T23:15:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/"},"wordCount":809,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7"},"articleSection":["Homeselling | Homebuying","Real Estate"],"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/","url":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/","name":"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver? &#8226; Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-02-05T23:15:51+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/2025\/02\/what-is-leasehold-vs-freehold-in-metro-vancouver\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is Leasehold vs Freehold in Metro Vancouver?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/","name":"Rory C Real Estate | Oakwyn Realty","description":"Rory C Real Estate Updates | Home Selling &amp; Buying","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0672b9777e67473b9bd9247df49499c7","name":"Rory Clipsham","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg","width":504,"height":504,"caption":"Rory Clipsham"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/RoryC-white-w-tagline.jpg"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pg\/BurnabyandCoquitlamHomes\/about\/?ref=page_internal","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/roryclipshamhomes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/RoryClipsham"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25260,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25259\/revisions\/25260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.roryc.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}