Gross vs Net Rental Income on a Burnaby Property (2026)

A client called me last month with a number in his head: $2,400 a month in rent on a condo he was about to offer on, times twelve, and he was already calling it his "return." I had to walk him back. That number is gross rent, and it tells you almost nothing about what actually lands in his pocket, because it counts none of the costs of owning the place.

This confusion trips up more Burnaby buyers than almost any other piece of investment math. Here is what gross rent is, every expense that eats the gap between gross and net, a worked example with the assumptions labeled, and why net is the only number worth underwriting a purchase on.

Gross rent is the number sellers advertise

Gross rental income is the rent a tenant pays you, added up for the year, with nothing subtracted. A listing that says "rents for $2,400/month, that's $28,800 a year" has given you the flattering number and stopped there. It is also the figure that shows up first in most investor conversations, mine included, before anyone asks what it costs to actually run the place.

Net operating income, or NOI, is what is left after you subtract the real costs of operating the property, before your mortgage payment. NOI is the number a serious buyer underwrites a purchase on, because it reflects what the property actually generates.

Every expense that eats the gap

None of these look large alone. Stacked together, they usually take a third or more of your gross rent before you have paid a cent of mortgage.

Strata fee. Roughly $400 to $700 a month on a typical two-bedroom Burnaby condo, covering building insurance, shared utilities, landscaping, and the reserve fund. It tends to rise most years.

Property tax. Burnaby's 2026 residential mill rate is 0.2978%, or $2.978 per $1,000 of assessed value, among the lowest in Metro Vancouver. On a property assessed at $750,000, that is roughly $2,234 a year. Full calculation in Burnaby's 2026 property tax explained.

Landlord insurance. The strata's master policy covers the building, not your interior finishes, appliances, or your liability as a landlord. Budget roughly $40 to $75 a month for a policy that does.

Maintenance and repair reserve. Things inside your unit break even when the strata covers the building envelope. A modest reserve, commonly a few percent of gross rent, keeps a $300 repair from becoming a surprise.

Vacancy allowance. No unit rents every month of every year. Metro Vancouver's vacancy rate hit 3.7% in 2025, the highest in more than three decades, per CMHC. Build that in as a percentage of gross rent, not full occupancy.

Property management. A manager typically charges 8% to 10% of gross rent for tenant screening, rent collection, and maintenance calls. Skip this line if you self-manage, but be honest about the hours that takes.

Speculation and vacancy tax, if it applies. Burnaby has no municipal empty-home tax like Vancouver's. What touches a Burnaby owner is the provincial BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax, and a genuinely rented property is exempt from paying it. The catch: every owner in the designated area still has to file a declaration each year to claim that exemption, or the province can assess the tax as if the unit sat empty. More on all four vacancy and flipping taxes in empty-home and flipping taxes explained. For a rented unit, budget $0 for the tax and calendar the filing instead.

Your mortgage payment and capital costs like a roof special levy do not belong in this list. They matter to your overall return, but they are financing and capital decisions, not day-to-day operating costs.

A worked example

The numbers below are illustrative, built on round figures to show the method, not to price any specific unit. Swap in the real strata fee, assessment, and a rent figure grounded in comparable listings before relying on this for an actual purchase.

Assumptions: the $750,000 price and $2,400 monthly rent are illustrative, chosen to show the method, not to quote a listing. Property tax uses Burnaby's real 2026 mill rate, 0.2978%, applied to the illustrative assessment. The 3.7% vacancy allowance is the real Metro Vancouver rate CMHC reported for 2025. Strata fee, insurance, maintenance reserve, and management fee use typical ranges, and vary building to building, so run your own numbers before making an offer.

Roughly $10,600 of that $28,800 in gross rent, before management, went to costs that never show up in a listing. That is the difference between a 3.8% headline and a 2.4% real return, and it lines up with what I see across Burnaby condos generally: gross yields of roughly 3 to 4%, net running roughly 2 to 2.5%, a range I cover in more depth in cap rate and rental yield on a Burnaby condo.

Why net is the number that matters

Gross rent tells you what a tenant pays. Net operating income tells you what the property actually generates once you have paid to run it, and that number determines whether the investment supports itself and how it compares against another building or property type.

Two units with identical gross rent can post very different net numbers if one carries a higher strata fee or tax bill relative to its price. Comparing gross figures can make a worse deal look better. Net figures do not lie the same way, because the real cost differences are already baked in.

Net is also the honest starting point before you add debt. Once you know NOI, you layer your mortgage on top to see real cash flow, and for most Burnaby condo buyers today that lands at breakeven or slightly negative in year one, with mortgage paydown and appreciation doing the real work over time. A multiplex built to current zoning can post a meaningfully higher net yield, though it carries construction risk and a longer runway. Location matters too: a transit-hub address like Metrotown commands strong rent, but the purchase price runs high enough that net yield often lands at or below the citywide average.

None of this is a reason to avoid rental property in Burnaby. It is a reason to underwrite it on the number that reflects what you will actually earn.

Key Takeaways

• Gross rental income is rent collected, nothing subtracted. Net operating income subtracts real operating costs before your mortgage payment, and it is the number that matters.
• The gap between gross and net comes from strata fees, property tax, insurance, maintenance, vacancy, and, if you use one, a property manager.
• Burnaby's 2026 tax rate is 0.2978% ($2.978 per $1,000 assessed). Metro Vancouver's vacancy rate was 3.7% in 2025, per CMHC.
• A rented Burnaby unit is typically exempt from paying the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax, but every owner still must file the annual declaration.
• In the worked example, gross yield came out to 3.8% and net to 2.1 to 2.4%, in line with the roughly 3 to 4% gross and 2 to 2.5% net range typical for Burnaby condos.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between gross and net rental income?

Gross rental income is the rent a tenant pays you, added up for the year, nothing subtracted. Net operating income subtracts real operating costs, strata fee, property tax, insurance, maintenance, and vacancy allowance, before your mortgage payment. Net is the number that reflects what the property actually generates.

Does net operating income include the mortgage payment?

No. NOI measures the property's performance before financing, as if bought in cash. Your mortgage payment is layered on top of NOI to determine actual cash flow, not an operating cost that reduces NOI itself.

Do I have to pay the Speculation and Vacancy Tax on a rented Burnaby condo?

Usually not. A genuinely rented property is exempt from actually paying the tax. But every owner in the designated area, which includes Burnaby, must still file a declaration each year to claim that exemption, or risk being assessed as if the unit sat vacant.

What is a realistic net yield on a Burnaby rental property in 2026?

Roughly 2 to 2.5% net is typical for a Burnaby condo, against a gross yield of roughly 3 to 4% before expenses. A property showing a much higher net number usually has an unrealistic rent assumption or a missing expense line, most often vacancy or management.

This article is one leg of the Burnaby investment property guide. For rent and yield data by neighbourhood, see rental income and cap rates by neighbourhood.

Sources

• City of Burnaby, Property taxes (2026 mill rate): 0.2978% residential rate, $2.978 per $1,000 of assessed value.
• CMHC: 2025 Rental Market Report: Metro Vancouver vacancy rate of 3.7%, the highest in more than 30 years.
• Province of BC, Speculation and Vacancy Tax: designated area rules, annual declaration requirement, exemption for rented property.

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If you are weighing a Burnaby property as a rental, I will run the real numbers on any unit you are considering: the actual strata fee, the actual tax bill, and a rent estimate grounded in comparable rentals, not a guess. Start with a free property valuation if you are pricing a purchase or an exit, or reach out directly to talk it through. You can also call or text me at 778-991-0051.

Jersey Li, The Apartment Guy® · Medallion Club Member (Top 10% REALTOR®, 2024 & 2025) · Jersey Li Personal Real Estate Corporation, Sutton Group - 1st West Realty.