The 2027 number, in one sentence
The 2027 allowable rent increase for a manufactured home site in BC is 2.2%, plus a proportional amount for changes in local government levies and regulated utility fees, with three full months' written notice on the approved form. [Source: Province of BC, Rent increases for manufactured homes.]
The rest of this post turns that rule into the two things buyers and owners care about: cash flow over the hold, and the cap rate the market will pay.
How the formula works
The flat percentage
For 2027 the flat percentage is 2.2%. The province sets a new number each year from BC inflation, using the 12-month average change in the BC Consumer Price Index ending in July, under section 32 of the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Regulation.
The pass-through
On top of the 2.2%, a landlord can add a proportional share of the increase in local government levies (property tax, and fees the municipality bills on the park parcel) and regulated utility fees, divided across the number of sites in the park.
So if the park's combined property tax and water levy went up $3,000 in the year, and the park has 30 sites, each tenant's rent can also rise by $3,000 ÷ 30 ÷ 12, or about $8.33 a month, on top of the 2.2%.
The forms
There are two approved forms. RTB-45 is for the 2.2% on its own. RTB-11a is for an increase that includes the proportional amount, and it does the arithmetic for you. An increase served on the wrong form does not comply, and under section 36(5) of the Act the tenant can deduct it from rent.
Why this matters to a buyer
Buyers underwrite future cash flow, and in a BC park the rent line grows no faster than the annual limit plus the proportional amount. In the model, that means:
- Rent growth is capped at the annual limit, 2.2% for 2027, before any expense growth offsets it.
- If your operating expenses grow at 4%, your net margin compresses slightly each year unless you are also taking the levies pass-through.
- Cap rate at exit needs to be assumed at least flat, sometimes wider, because the next buyer is doing the same arithmetic.
Take the example park from How to value a mobile home park in BC: 30 pads at $550, $198,000 of gross potential rent and $62,700 of normalized expenses. A 2.2% increase adds about $4,356 of gross potential rent next year. After expense growth at 3%, that is about $2,475 of incremental NOI, which at a 6% exit cap is about $41,000 of value from one year's increase. That is about 2% of what the park is worth, and worth taking every year.
Why this matters to an owner
Take the increase every year, on every site. I see parks where the owner gave one tenant a "favour" five years ago and now that site sits permanently below market. Assignment of tenancy does not reset rent, so the favour carries into every future increase.
Collect the levies pass-through as well. It is real money that many owners never collect. A 30-site park that skips a $4,000 levy increase gives up $4,000 of income every year after, and at a 6% cap that is about $67,000 of value.
Why "market rent on turnover" almost never happens in BC
A common pitch you will hear from an out-of-province buyer or a syndicator's underwriting model: "We will bring the rents to market on turnover." In a typical apartment rental, turnover means a new tenant and a new lease, with a fresh rent number.
A BC mobile home park works differently. When a tenant sells their manufactured home, the buyer takes over the existing tenancy and the rent does not reset. Pad rent travels with the pad, not with the tenant.
Pad rent resets to market only when a new pad is created and tenanted for the first time, when a pad is vacated entirely (the home is removed) and a new tenant moves in under a fresh tenancy, or when the park is closed and redeveloped. None of those happen in normal turnover, and none happen every year. That is why I underwrite from in-place rent.
How it shows up in cap rates
BC's rent limit is one reason stabilized parks here trade at the cap rates they do. A buyer cannot underwrite pad rent growing faster than the annual limit plus the proportional amount.
If you are looking at a BC park priced at a 5.5% cap, part of what you are paying for is the BC tenancy framework, including this limit. The trade-off, in my experience, is lower vacancy and a deeper buyer pool than in markets where pad rent can swing.
What to do if you are buying
- Confirm the rent roll matches what is being paid. Ask for 12 months of bank deposits.
- Confirm the seller has taken every available rent increase. A skipped or partial year cannot be made up later, so your model starts from the rent in place.
- Confirm the right form was used for each increase: RTB-11a where it included the levies pass-through, RTB-45 for the 2.2% alone. If it was not, the increase may not be enforceable.
- Read my MHPTA guide for buyers for the rest of the tenancy rules you take on.
What to do if you are an owner
- Set a calendar reminder for late August. The province sets the next year's limit from July inflation data, and the 2027 figure came out on 27 August 2026.
- Use RTB-11a every year you claim the levies pass-through, and RTB-45 when you do not. Serve it at least three full months before the increase takes effect.
- Keep a spreadsheet of every tenant's last increase date, current rent and next eligible date. Buyers ask for it.