Vancouver-based Chard Development now sees purpose-built rental development as essential to its portfolio and not a temporary response to a challenging condo pre-sale market. 

In a recent interview with RENX, Chard Development president and CEO Byron Chard said the firm is diversifying its approach to development and is working on several rental projects in the Lower Mainland and Victoria as it moves away from condos, for now. 

"We see rental housing as essential infrastructure," Chard said. "It's not a temporary response to market conditions.

"We saw a strong opportunity to differentiate Chard in the marketplace, to not only offer the development construction, but also offer asset management and property management."

3,000 rental homes completed or being built

"We have just over 3000 rental homes completed or under construction currently," Chard said. "We also have two hotel properties and so we are fully focused on these two asset classes."

Among those rental projects is Earles in East Vancouver, a 131-home rental project under construction that had initially been designed and marketed as a condo project on Earles Street. 

Chard is also:

• leasing Haro in downtown Vancouver (160 homes);
• leasing The Royals on St. Georges Ave in Vancouver (256 homes);
• building The Cascades in southwest Vancouver (580) homes; and
• building 1050 Yates in Victoria with 481 homes, among others that are being built or leased. 

Chard said another key to managing through the condo downturn is to partner with not-for-profits on housing projects, including with BC Housing. "This has also become a core function."

The strategy doesn't mean a total shutdown on condos, however. “I’d say, for us right now, it is an unstable political environment, and... that means that we need to focus on stable asset classes and ultimately provide stable communities."

He said serving as rental building managers is also equipping the company with valuable information about renters and their buildings that is helping to shape the design and amenity packages as they move forward.

"We get to then reassess our decisions that we made and be held accountable to them and so we can improve the next asset, the next building, and have that continuous improvement."

Rental projects surge across region

Chard is hardly the only developer pivoting heavily toward rental in a Metro Vancouver market that is seeing rental rates coming down, vacancies rise and population flat — or even declining — in some parts of the region.

In Vancouver, purpose-built rental market vacancy reached the highest level in 30 years in 2025, according to the CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report. At the time of the report, vacancy had reached 3.7 per cent with average two-bedroom rent up by 2.2 per cent to $2,363. 

Last year, the completion of new rental units outpaced the five-year average of completions, CMHC said. 

Chard said tenants have more options now in Vancouver. "They're exploring more places, so they are shopping, and this market is really good for the tenants.

"We really pay attention to our leasing funnel," he added. "That means, how many inquiries are we getting on the website or lead generation? How many tours are we doing at the asset level? And then how many tours are converting into applications?"

That requires offering a better product, while working hard to retain tenants in its buildings by providing what they want and need.

Learning about what residents value

Chard said the firm has learned that fast, convenient elevators which properly service residents, maintenance and moving has proven to be important to renters. "We view elevators as a true amenity to the building. It's not just a requirement. That's (considered an) amenity if you can offer really good elevator speed and service."

He said clean, functional, accessible garbage and recycling areas are also important to residents. 

Security and safety features are now fundamental, he said. "How do we make sure that our tenants’ security... is always top of mind for us so that's never something our tenants need to worry about?"

Feedback shows renters also want amenities that reduce their costs outside of the home. That means having high-quality fitness spaces in the building and spaces within homes that are convenient and professional for working at home.

Moreover, integrated coffee shops within the building are another desired amenity. "We're going to have a partnership with Forecast coffee connected right into the lobby (at Cascades) that our tenants are going to be able to enjoy."

A fresh look at condo strategy

Big picture, getting back into the condo market will require some adjustments in the market. Chard is tracking a few key factors that will guide the overall approach to housing.

"No. 1 is immigration numbers, and No. 2 is... job creation," Chard said, explaining he keeps a close eye on overall economic activity and monitors which industries are advancing in the region as part of provincial GDP growth. 

Homes service that growth, he said. More jobs mean more people will come and they'll need places to live. 

Chard said the company's view on condo development is also shifting. That could mean smaller buildings.

“Maybe for concrete, that's 80 to 100 units where we don't necessarily need the pre-sales that we previously required,” he said. “We could be proceeding on an equity basis and really delivering (condos as) end-user product."