Apartment Hunting in Kitsilano

Every month, we receive emails from readers who are looking for an apartment in Kits.

Apartment hunting in Kitsilano is both exciting and frustrating. Kitsilano is a covetable place to live and you may get your hands on the perfect ocean view. On the other hand, there are the often awkward issues arising from giving notice and finding your ideal new home within a limited time frame. Or the disappointment that arises when ads show one thing and offer another. With that in mind, the more quality Kitsilano rental apartment listings you have, the better.

Where do we turn when we’re looking for an apartment to rent in Kits? Here are the four best ways to find a rental apartment in Kitsilano neighbourhood.

How To Find an Apartment in Kitsilano

1) Walk the hood. This is the most effective apartment hunting method. In Kits, landlords like dusting off their vacancy signs whenever possible. We speculate that it makes them feel like real estate agents in a hot market. If you know where you want to live, you can focus on a certain radius, walk the neighbourhood and you’ll see a dozen signs on the Saturday/Sunday right after everyone gives notice. You may even stumble upon an open house and meet your future landlord on the spot.

2) Web/online classifieds. Yeah, you’ve probably checked Craigslist during your lunch break. But have you used the new player, Kijiji, which is currently ranked the #1 classifieds site in Canada? With a new ad posted on Kijiji every 0.7 seconds, you’ve got a pretty good shot at finding an apartment you’ll want to go visit in Kitsilano.

3) Newspaper classifieds. Check out the Vancouver Sun and The Province newspaper classifieds (hard copy or online). Kitsilano has many old fashioned landlords that call the newspaper as soon as they receives a tenant’s notice. I recently had a landlord like that. His anti digital age stance was partially responsible for my family’s decision to give up our ocean views. Darn. Now I won’t get to call the mayor neighbour.

4) UBC AMS Rentsline. Kitsilano is the home to a lot of UBC students and they move in and out of Kits like migratory birds. The UBC Rentsline database is made for students looking for off-campus housing and is searchable by rent, which makes it a little easier to find a place if you’re on a budget.

More practical advice? Like dating, in apartment hunting it’s often more effective to get introduced to a great apartment by a friend who lives in/near the building. So rely on intel from people you trust. You may also want to check cafe noticeboards. While Kitsilano isn’t as small town as other Vancouver boroughs such as Commercial Drive, you’ll still find a few (often quirkier ads) in local coffee shops.

Good luck! If you’ve got any tips, please post them in the comments.

 

Last modified: May 14, 2017