Short answer: do apartments have vending machines? The bigger ones often do, or could. A machine or smart cooler works in a building with roughly 150 to 200 or more units and one shared room residents pass every day: the lobby, mailroom, gym or laundry. For a property manager the useful question isn't one building but the whole list: which sites clear the bar, who approves each one, and how to put one set of terms across all of them.
This guide is for property managers and asset managers in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia and across the province who run several rental or strata buildings and want a straight way to sort them.
How many of your buildings are big enough
CMHC's October 2025 Rental Market Survey shows how Metro Vancouver's rental stock is spread. Of 127,091 purpose-built rental apartment units in the region, 54% are in buildings of 50 or more units and 7.7% in buildings of 200 or more. So most portfolios have a few large sites and a long tail of mid-size and small ones. Our CMHC building-size report breaks this down by city.
Sort the list into three groups first:
| Group | Units | Shared space | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 150+ | One room everyone uses (lobby, mailroom, gym, laundry) | A standard snack or drink machine, or a smart cooler in larger towers |
| Maybe | 80–149 | A busy room on the main floor | A compact machine or a smart cooler; say the unit count up front |
| Not now | Under 80, or no shared room | Entrances spread out, no common room | Usually not worth an operator's restocking visit |
These bands are the size rule in our own site-fit scorer: 150+ units scores full marks for size, 80+ scores partial. Occupancy matters as much as unit count. A 220-unit tower at half occupancy behaves like a 110-unit building until it fills.
Who approves, building by building
- Purpose-built rental: the owner, through you. Some owners want each amenity signed off at head office; agree that route once.
- Strata: council acts for the strata corporation. Under s.71 of the Strata Property Act, a "significant change in the use or appearance of common property" needs a 3/4 vote at a general meeting. Section 76 lets a strata give sole use of common property only to an owner or tenant and for at most a year, so it isn't the tool for an outside operator. Section 82 needs owner approval to buy personal property above $1,000 if the bylaws are silent, which an operator-owned machine normally doesn't trigger.
- Non-market and seniors' housing: the operator society decides, often with a funder's input. In the City of Vancouver's inventory, 24 completed non-market projects have 150 or more units, and 11 of those house mostly seniors, where a quieter menu and an easy card reader matter.
One set of terms for the portfolio
Write the terms once, then add buildings to a schedule. Cover:
- Exit: month to month, a fixed notice period and removal at the operator's cost.
- Service: restocking frequency, a repair response time and a phone number on the machine so residents don't call your office.
- Insurance: the operator's liability certificate, naming the owner or strata if the insurer asks.
- Access: who holds a fob, the restocking window and what happens if a fob is lost.
- Power and money: who pays the electricity and whether there's any commission, in writing.
Our agreement checklist compares up to three offers line by line.
Power is the one running cost
A lobby machine usually plugs into a common-area circuit. BC Hydro lists energy used "in common areas of multiple occupancy buildings" as eligible for its General Service (business) rate. On Small General Service (14.06¢ per kWh), a refrigerated drink machine using 3.71–3.99 kWh a day costs about $16–17 a month before GST. The power cost calculator does it for your meter and machine count.
Machine, cooler or both
For mid-size buildings, a classic machine is simplest. For large towers, a smart cooler carries more variety. The type chooser walks through people, hours, space and fresh food, and our smart cooler vs vending machine comparison covers the lobby trade-offs.
How VendFynd works for a portfolio
Built by a vending locator with years of experience placing machines across the Lower Mainland. You send the list; we say which buildings qualify and match each with an operator who serves that city. Each site is $0 to the building: you provide the spot and an outlet (about $15–20 a month in power). Residents choose the menu, we reply within 1 business day, and every placement is month to month with 30 days' notice and no-cost removal under our host terms. Most buildings receive a commission, set per building and agreed in writing before install. See which of your buildings qualify.
About this data
- Building sizes: CMHC Rental Market Survey, October 2025, table 2.1.28 (purpose-built rental apartment units by structure size, Vancouver CMA). Social housing and rented condos aren't in the survey.
- Non-market projects: City of Vancouver non-market housing inventory (modified 2026-09-01), completed projects, units summed per project. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
- Rules and rates: Strata Property Act and BC Hydro business rates as linked below, checked 2026-10-12. General information, not legal advice.
Sources
- CMHC, Universe by Structure Size by Census Subdivision, Vancouver CMA, October 2025: https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmip-pimh/en/TableMapChart/Table?TableId=2.1.28.4&GeographyId=2410&GeographyTypeId=3&DisplayAs=Table&BreakdownGeographyTypeId=4
- CMHC, Rental Market Survey methodology: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-research/surveys/methods/methodology-rental-market-survey
- Strata Property Act, Part 5: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/98043_05
- BC Hydro, Business rates: https://app.bchydro.com/accounts-billing/rates-energy-use/electricity-rates/business-rates.html
- City of Vancouver, Non-market housing (open data): https://opendata.vancouver.ca/explore/dataset/non-market-housing/