Vacancy cost calculator for commercial property in Vancouver

What is an empty commercial unit costing me?

For a typical 3,000 sq ft retail unit in Vancouver at the live median asking rate of about $45 per sq ft, a vacancy costs roughly $11,300 a month in lost base rent plus $2,000–3,000 in property tax, insurance and strata or CAM that the owner keeps paying. Those figures come from asking rates on more than 1,000 live listings and our default carrying-cost assumptions; the calculator replaces them with yours.

Why carrying costs matter as much as lost rent

Owners tend to count the rent they are not receiving and forget the cheques they are still writing. Property tax on a Class 6 (business) property in the City of Vancouver was roughly 1.05% of assessed value in 2025 (check the current mill rate); on a $2 million assessment that is about $1,750 a month with no tenant to recover it from. Insurance, strata fees, base utilities to keep the heat on, monitoring for an empty building and a mortgage payment all continue. In a net lease those first three would normally be recovered from the tenant as additional rent, so a vacancy costs you the base rent and the recoveries.

The trade-off owners get wrong

The most common reason a unit sits is an asking rate set 10% above what the space will sign at, held on the theory that the right tenant will come. The scenario cards show why that rarely pays. A 5% cut on a five-year lease costs 5% of the term's base rent. Two extra months of vacancy cost 2/60ths of the term's rent (3.3%) plus two months of carrying costs, plus the risk that the market moves against you while you wait. On most Metro Vancouver units the cut wins, and it wins by more when carrying costs are high or the term is short. The exception is a long term with unusually low carrying costs, where the tool will tell you so.

The same logic applies to the leasing fee. Leasing commissions in Metro Vancouver are commonly 4–6% of total lease value or about one month's rent per year of term (published rate cards from Metro Vancouver managers, 2025–26). On a five-year lease that is close to three months of rent, which is the same as three months of vacancy without the carrying costs. If professional leasing shortens the vacancy by more than about three months, it has paid for itself before you count the better tenant covenant or the cleaner lease document. David's leasing fee is typically the first and last months' rent on the lease, and ongoing management is quoted per property; see commercial property management fees in Vancouver and our commercial leasing services.

How long it takes to fill a commercial vacancy in Vancouver

Correctly priced and properly marketed, a commercial unit in Metro Vancouver typically signs in 60–120 days, then needs a fixturing period of one to three months before rent starts. Industrial is quickest: brokerage market reports (Avison Young, CBRE, 2025) put availability around 3–4%. Second-floor office and off-transit retail take longest. Note the fixturing period in your planning: a lease signed today often does not pay rent for another 60 days.

Vancouver specifics

• No vacancy relief on property tax. BC does not reduce Class 6 taxes for empty space. Your assessment is set by BC Assessment each January; appeal deadlines are early in the year.
• Empty-building rules. Several municipalities require vacant commercial buildings to be secured and monitored, and insurers often require inspections every 72 hours or coverage lapses. Budget for it in the security line.
• The Commercial Tenancy Act (RSBC 1996 c.57) governs commercial tenancies in BC. There is no Residential Tenancy Branch for commercial disputes, so a good lease document matters more than in residential.

Once you know the number, fix the cause. Run the listing audit to see why inquiries are not coming, check the lease rate estimator against your asking rate, and read how to find a tenant for your commercial property in Vancouver. If the vacancy has you weighing a sale instead, sell or tenant lays out both paths; sale advisory is executed by Lawrence Siccia (Engel & Völkers). Our portfolio shows the space we lease and manage.

General information, not accounting or legal advice. Carrying-cost defaults are estimates; replace them with your actual bills. Confirm tax treatment of vacant property with your accountant (CRA rules on rental property expenses apply).