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Listings, map and statistics cover condos and townhomes marked as allowing cats or dogs on Vancouver Island north of the Malahat and the nearby Gulf Islands, as listed through the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. For Greater Victoria, see Greater Victoria pet-friendly condos.
Condos, townhouses and patio homes whose strata allows cats or dogs, from Nanaimo and Parksville to the Comox Valley, Campbell River, the Cowichan Valley and the west coast.
Browse current Vancouver Island pet-friendly condos and townhomes: apartment condos, townhouses and single-level patio homes whose listings say the strata allows cats, dogs or both, from downtown Nanaimo and the Oceanside beach towns to Courtenay, Comox, Campbell River, Duncan, Port Alberni and Ucluelet.
A pet-friendly label is a starting point, not a promise. Every strata corporation in BC writes its own pet bylaws, and the limits on the number, size and kind of animal can change from one complex to the next on the same street.
This guide explains how strata pet bylaws work under the Strata Property Act, how guide and service dogs are protected and which documents to read before you write an offer. It then looks at the off-leash parks, beach closures and trail rules that shape daily life with a dog in each part of the Island.
Vancouver Island Pet-Friendly Condos and Townhomes for Sale
This page shows every condo and townhome listed through the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board where the listing records that cats or dogs are allowed. The group runs from older walk-up buildings and two-storey family townhouses to newer elevator condos, patio homes in bare-land stratas, condos at Fairwinds in Nanoose Bay and resort units at Mount Washington, which list under Courtenay.
The pets field is filled in by the seller’s brokerage and usually says no more than “cats OK” or “dogs OK”. It does not say how many animals are allowed, how big a dog can be or whether the owners are about to vote on a change, so use it as a filter and confirm the details in the strata’s own documents. For all apartment-style homes, see Vancouver Island condos for sale; for townhouses with or without pet rules, see Vancouver Island townhomes for sale.
Almost every condo and townhome on the Island is a strata, governed by the BC Strata Property Act. Pets are controlled by the strata’s bylaws, which the owners pass, and by rules the strata council can make about the use of common property.
The Standard Bylaws Limit
A strata that has never filed its own pet bylaw is governed by the Standard Bylaws, which allow a reasonable number of fish or other small aquarium animals, a reasonable number of small caged mammals, up to two caged birds, and one dog or one cat. Animals must be leashed or otherwise secured on common property. Many stratas replace this with a bylaw of their own: some allow two pets, some cap a dog’s weight, some require every pet to be registered with council and some ban dogs or all pets.
New Pet Bylaws and Existing Pets
A bylaw change needs a three-quarters vote of owners at a general meeting and has no effect until it is filed in the Land Title Office. Under section 123 of the Act, a new bylaw that bans or limits pets does not apply to a pet already living in a strata lot when the bylaw passes, as long as that pet was not breaking an earlier bylaw and continues to live there. The protection belongs to the animal, not the household: when it dies or moves away, any replacement must meet the new bylaw.
Council rules work differently. A rule about pets on common property, such as leashing in a courtyard or a ban on dogs in the pool area, takes effect when council makes it but lapses at the next annual general meeting unless owners ratify it, and a rule that conflicts with a bylaw cannot be enforced.
Guide Dogs, Service Dogs and Other Assistance Animals
Pet bans and limits do not apply to a guide dog or service dog certified under BC’s Guide Dog and Service Dog Act, or to a retired dog that stays with its handler. Dogs from schools accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation or Assistance Dogs International are treated as certified, and other teams can qualify by passing the Province’s public safety assessment. Therapy and emotional support animals cannot be certified under the Act, but a strata still has a duty under the BC Human Rights Code to accommodate a disability, which can extend to an animal.
What to Read Before You Buy
Ask for the registered bylaws, the rules and at least two years of council and general meeting minutes. The minutes show pet complaints, fines and any proposed bylaw change, while the Form B Information Certificate attaches the current rules with the budget and depreciation report. If you plan to rent the unit out, a strata can no longer ban long-term rentals, but tenants are bound by the same pet bylaws, and under the Residential Tenancy Act a landlord can take a pet damage deposit of up to half a month’s rent. Strata disputes over pets usually go to the Civil Resolution Tribunal. For the purchase process as a whole, see buying a home.
Nanaimo Pet-Friendly Condos and Townhomes
Nanaimo has the largest supply of pet-friendly strata homes north of the Malahat, from older apartment buildings in central and south Nanaimo to townhouse complexes and newer condos around Departure Bay, Hammond Bay and the north end of the city.
The City designates a dozen off-leash areas, among them the fenced dog park at Beban Park, which has a separate side for small dogs, the upper dam trail at Colliery Dam Park, the power-line corridor at Westwood Lake and the Cable Bay Trail. Everywhere else dogs must be leashed, and every dog in city limits must be licensed. Two seasonal bans matter to anyone buying near the water: no dogs at Pipers Lagoon from April 1 to October 31, and none on Departure Bay Beach from May 1 to September 30. Local listings, including Ladysmith and Chemainus, are on the Nanaimo and Parksville pet-friendly condos and townhomes page.
Parksville, Qualicum Beach and Nanoose Bay
Oceanside’s pet-friendly listings include townhomes and patio homes, many in 55+ stratas, along with condos near the Parksville waterfront and in Qualicum Beach village. Where a strata is also age-restricted, the age bylaw and the pet bylaw both apply, so read them together and see the Vancouver Island 55+ properties page for how age bylaws work.
The long beaches here are shared with migrating Brant geese each spring. Dogs are not allowed on the Parksville or Rathtrevor beaches during the March and April migration, even on a leash, and the Qualicum Beach public beach is closed to dogs from March 1 to April 30. At Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, leashed dogs may use the north beach beside the campground from May 1 to February 14 but never the sandy day-use area. For off-leash time, Parksville has a dog park on Despard Avenue near Springwood Park, and Qualicum Beach has off-leash trails and a fenced area in its Community Park plus a second off-leash park off Garden Road East near the airport.
Comox Valley Pet-Friendly Strata Homes
In Courtenay and Comox, pet-friendly listings range from older condos near downtown Courtenay and the Comox waterfront to townhouse complexes in east Courtenay, with resort condos at Mount Washington adding a mountain option.
Outside designated off-leash areas, dogs must be leashed in City of Courtenay and Town of Comox parks. Comox runs a fenced off-leash park, with a small-dog area, on the former Comox Elementary School site at Rodello Street and Fairbairn Avenue. In the regional parks, leashes are required on all Seal Bay trails in April, May and June and on its waterside trails all year, at Goose Spit during the Brant migration from March 1 to May 20, and on the Royston Seaside Trail, while dogs under control can go off-leash in many other regional community parks. Search the valley on the Comox Valley and Campbell River pet-friendly condos and townhomes page.
Campbell River Pet-Friendly Condos and Townhomes
Campbell River’s pet-friendly listings are mostly townhomes and low-rise condos in the central area and in Willow Point, with some buildings close to the Discovery Passage waterfront. The City’s Penfield Dog Park is a designated off-leash site, and Doggie Point at McIvor Lake is a lakeside spot where dogs must be kept under control. Provincial parks around the city, such as Elk Falls, require dogs to be leashed.
Cowichan Valley Pet-Friendly Condos and Townhomes
In the Cowichan Valley, pet-friendly strata homes are concentrated in Duncan and North Cowichan, with smaller numbers in Ladysmith, Chemainus and Lake Cowichan. North Cowichan maintains off-leash dog parks at Chemainus Lake Park and at Somenos Creek Dog Park in the south end, and expects pets to be leashed in its other parks unless signs say otherwise.
Alberni Valley and West Coast Pet-Friendly Homes
Port Alberni has a modest condo and townhome market, and Ucluelet and Tofino add a small number of condos, where short-term rental bylaws and pet bylaws should be read side by side.
On the coast, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve requires dogs to be leashed at all times where they are allowed and bans them from the West Coast Trail and the Broken Group Islands. Parts of the Long Beach Unit have also been closed to dogs, partly because of encounters with wolves and partly to protect migrating shorebirds. Those closures change with little notice, so check Parks Canada’s bulletins before counting on a daily beach walk near a west coast purchase.
Vancouver Island Pet-Friendly Buyer Note
Before buying a strata home with a pet, read the registered pet bylaws and the council rules, check two years of minutes for complaints or proposed changes, get the limits on number, size and breed in writing, ask whether pets must be registered with council, and check the leash rules and seasonal beach closures where you plan to walk.
Search Vancouver Island Pet-Friendly MLS® Listings
The listings and map at the top of this page show current Vancouver Island pet-friendly condos, townhouses and patio homes from Nanaimo to Campbell River and the west coast. To compare every property type, return to the Vancouver Island real estate listings, and for Island-wide asking prices and market times, open the Vancouver Island Pet-Friendly Market Report.
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