Short answer: a vending machine for a condo or rental building works best as a small corner store, not a snack machine. When residents are asked, they want household basics first (laundry pods, toiletries, batteries, a charger, something for a headache) and snacks and drinks second. In British Columbia, three rules shape the list: only unscheduled medicines can be sold outside a pharmacy, non-food essentials carry PST, and in a strata, a machine on common property may need a 3/4 vote. Tobacco, vapes and cannabis can't go in at all.
This guide is for strata councils, strata managers and rental property managers across BC who are adding a machine as a resident amenity, or rethinking one that sits half-empty.
What residents actually ask for
When a property manager asked what "actually useful things" to put in a machine at a duplex community far from a store, residents' requests were laundry soap, household essentials and ramen, plus a pointed "please don't charge $5 a pop like the laundromats". In another thread, apartment residents doubted a grocery machine would be "reasonably priced". In a 6-plex thread (46 points, 47 comments), the top reply (83 points) described an essentials machine in a college-town rental.
The pattern: in a residential building, the machine competes with the nearest store at 10 p.m., not with a cafeteria.
A menu that works
| Row | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Laundry | Detergent pods, dryer sheets | Most useful when the machine is near the laundry room |
| Personal care | Toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, menstrual products | Travel sizes fit the coils |
| Household | Batteries, light bulbs, phone chargers and cables | Small, high value, rarely perishable |
| Health | Unscheduled pain relievers and antacids in small packs, bandages | See the drug rule below |
| Food | Instant noodles, snacks, breakfast bars | Shelf-stable only |
| Drinks | Water, juice, pop | One soda puts PST on every drink |
Residents should choose it: a short survey or a sign-up sheet in the lobby does the job, and the list can change after the first month's sales.
The rules behind the list
Medicines: unscheduled only. BC's Drug Schedules Regulation says drugs in Schedules I, IA, II and III "must be sold from licensed pharmacies", and "unscheduled drugs may be sold from non-pharmacy outlets" (s.2). A vending machine in a lobby is a non-pharmacy outlet, so anything scheduled is out. The operator should confirm the schedule of each product before it goes in.
Tobacco, vapes and cannabis: no. The federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act restricts selling tobacco products through a vending device where the public has access (s.12), and BC's Cannabis Control and Licensing Act bars selling cannabis through a dispensing device (s.48). Leave them out of any residential machine.
Food: shelf-stable. BC's Food Premises Regulation doesn't apply to premises that sell only prepackaged, non-potentially hazardous food (s.2). Instant noodles and bars qualify; sandwiches and milk don't, and would bring in the health authority.
Tax: essentials carry PST. BC exempts food for human consumption from PST, but not soda: Ministry of Finance Notice 2021-002 took soda out of that exemption and says PST applies to every beverage from a machine that dispenses any soda. Laundry, personal-care and household items are generally taxable goods too, and a business selling taxable goods in BC must register to collect PST. That's the operator's registration and paperwork, not the building's, but it's why an essentials row is priced with tax.
Who approves it
Rental building: the property manager, for the owner.
Strata (condo): a machine usually sits on common property. Under the Strata Property Act, the strata corporation "must not make a significant change in the use or appearance of common property" without a 3/4 vote at an annual or special general meeting (s.71). Whether one machine in the lobby or laundry room is significant depends on the building, so check your bylaws and ask your strata manager. Our apartments and strata guide covers the approval steps and contract terms in more detail.
Is the building big enough?
Operators often cite about 150–200 units with a common area residents pass daily. Smaller buildings can work if the machine sits by the laundry room or mailboxes and carries essentials rather than only snacks. Our site-fit scorer counts about 1.5 residents per unit when it scores a residential building.
Price and service
Residents' biggest worry is price. Ask the operator for the price list before install, and post it. Then service: a machine with an empty laundry row is worse than none. With VendFynd, residents choose the menu, prices are agreed before install, and the building has one contact who replies within 1 business day, and if a problem isn't fixed promptly, we swap the operator or remove the machine at no cost. Placement is $0 to the building: the operator covers the machine, install, stocking, service and removal, and you provide the spot and an outlet (about $15–20 a month in power for a drink machine). It starts with a 30-day trial, then runs month to month, with 30 days' notice and no-cost removal, under our host terms. See if your building qualifies.
General information about BC rules, not legal advice.
Sources
- Drug Schedules Regulation, B.C. Reg. 9/98, s.2: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/9_98, accessed 2026-09-29
- Strata Property Act, Part 5, s.71: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/98043_05, accessed 2026-09-26
- BC Ministry of Finance, Notice 2021-002: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/taxes/sales-taxes/publications/notice-2021-002-sellers-soda-beverages.pdf, accessed 2026-09-29
- Government of BC, "Register to collect PST": https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/sales-taxes/pst/register, accessed 2026-09-29
- Food Premises Regulation, B.C. Reg. 210/99: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/11_210_99
- Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, s.12: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/T-11.5/page-2.html
- Cannabis Control and Licensing Act, s.48: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/18029
- r/PropertyManagement, "What are some actually useful things to put in a vending machine", January 2025: https://www.reddit.com/r/PropertyManagement/comments/1i9y3nq/what_are_some_actually_useful_things_to_put_in_a/
- r/realestateinvesting, "Vending machine in 6-plex", December 2024: https://www.reddit.com/r/realestateinvesting/comments/1h5zm5s/vending_machine_in_6_plex/
- r/Apartmentliving, "Amenities", January 2026: https://www.reddit.com/r/Apartmentliving/comments/1q5s0kq/amenities/