55+ communities on central Vancouver Island
Seventy age-restricted communities between Ladysmith and Bowser advertise a minimum age, and 61 of them set it at 55 or older. The label is the easy part. What it does not tell you is which of three quite different properties you are buying into, and the three look alike from the street.
The difference shows up in three places: who you send money to every month, which statute protects you, and what you own if the land underneath changes hands. This page sorts the three apart first, then lists every community found in Nanaimo, Oceanside and the Cowichan Valley.
Rented pad: you own the home, you rent the ground
In a rented-pad park you own the manufactured home and rent the site under it from the park owner, under the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act. This is the most common of the three on the mid-Island, covering 45 of the 70 communities below.
- Who you pay. The park owner, monthly, as pad rent.
- What protects you. The Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act and its regulation, administered by the Residential Tenancy Branch. Rent increases are capped annually by the Province.
- What you own. The home. The land stays the park owner's throughout.
- If the owner sells. A sale alone does not end a tenancy, because the tenancy runs with the site. A closure or change of use is a separate matter and triggers notice and compensation requirements under the Act. Closing a park does not require a rezoning, so no public planning process is triggered either.
Strata-titled manufactured home park: you own the lot
A strata-titled manufactured home park sells you freehold title to the lot under your home, so you pay a strata fee to the strata corporation and no pad rent to anybody. Aurora Estates at 129 Meridian Way in Parksville is the worked example: 26 lots on strata plan VIS1064, manufactured homes throughout, and every owner holds title to their own piece of ground.
These are indistinguishable from a rented-pad park at the kerb. Same homes, same streets, same look. The difference is entirely in the title and the paperwork, which is why it gets missed. If you are viewing a manufactured home in a park setting, ask which one you are standing in before anything else.
- Who you pay. The strata corporation, monthly, as a strata fee.
- What protects you. The Strata Property Act. The Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act does not apply here at all, so none of its rent caps or park-closure protections reach you.
- What you own. The lot, plus a share of the common property.
- If the owner sells. There is no park owner to sell it. Nobody can sell the land out from under you because you own your piece of it. A strata can be wound up under the Act, which is a different process with a different vote threshold.
Conventional strata: condo, townhouse or patio home
A conventional strata is a condominium, townhouse or patio home complex under the Strata Property Act, where you own the strata lot and pay a monthly strata fee set by the owners. Twenty-five of the communities below are this type, and all but one of those sits in Nanaimo or Parksville.
- Who you pay. The strata corporation, monthly.
- What protects you. The Strata Property Act, the strata's registered bylaws, and the disclosure documents you are entitled to before completion.
- What you own. The strata lot, plus a share of the common property.
- If the owner sells. Same as above. There is no landowner above you.
The document package, the depreciation report, the contingency reserve and the bylaws all work the same way here as in any BC strata. Those are covered in full on buying a strata in BC.
Which age restrictions are enforceable
Since 24 November 2022 a BC strata may set only one age floor, 55 and older, and that amendment reached the Strata Property Act alone. It did not touch manufactured home park tenancies, which is the single most misunderstood point on this subject.
A park's age rule is a term of the tenancy rather than a registered bylaw, so it sits under different legislation. The exemption that permits age-restricted rental housing in British Columbia is written into the Human Rights Code, and it names one age: a site reserved for a tenant who has reached 55, or for two or more tenants at least one of whom has reached 55. That wording is also what a second occupant under the limit rests on, and the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Regulation hangs its assignment and consent rules on the same phrase.
Some parks in this region advertise a minimum age below 55. This page records what each community advertises and takes no position on any of them. If you are considering a community whose advertised age sits below 55, get legal advice on where you would stand before you commit, because the exemption in the Human Rights Code names 55 and no other number.
For the strata half of this, including what replaced the bylaws that were struck down and what a strata can still restrict, see buying a strata in BC.
What it costs
The 2026 ceiling on a pad rent increase is 2.3 per cent plus a proportional amount for changes in local government levies and regulated utility fees, set under the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act. That figure is worth more to you than any advertised rent, because it governs what happens after you move in rather than on the day you arrive.
Pad rent across the three regions ran roughly $500 to $650 a month when this page was researched on 31 August 2026. No per-community rent appears anywhere on this page. Rents are negotiated site by site, they drift, and a figure attached to a named park would be stale within a year while still looking current.
No strata fee appears on this page for any community, and that is deliberate. Strata fees for these complexes are published only through MLS and VIREB listing feeds. No public source states them, so none is listed here rather than quoting a number that cannot be checked. Ask the seller for the current fee, the depreciation report and the last two years of minutes, all of which you are entitled to.
Every community found, by region
Seventy-one communities across three regions, grouped by tenure inside each region so the comparison above stays usable. Age restrictions are recorded exactly as each community advertises them. Counts name their source, because a count from a municipal address layer and a count from a brochure are not the same fact.
Fifty-seven of the seventy-one carry a count. The fourteen that do not are marked with the reason. Three municipalities in the Cowichan Valley and one in Oceanside publish no open address service, and the Municipality of North Cowichan's map server has been offline on an expired certificate, which blocks every count in Chemainus, Crofton and the Duncan fringe. Naming the gap is more useful than a blank cell.
Pins are coloured by tenure. Sixty-two of the seventy-one have a confirmed civic address and carry a pin. The other nine appear in the map's own list and in the table below, and carry no pin, because a coordinate was not invented for them. The table says the same thing in text.
Nanaimo, including Cedar, Cassidy and Lantzville
| Community | Address | Homes | Count from | Age as advertised | Second occupant under the age limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deerwood Place Estates | Deerwood Blvd and nearby streets | 287 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Sea Breeze | 25 Maki Road | 146 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Timberlands | 3560 Hallberg Road and 1736 Timberlands Road | 144 | RDN address data | Half the park 55+, half unrestricted | Ask the operator |
| Sharman Park | 6325 Metral Drive | 142 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Woodgrove Estates | 5854 Turner Road | 115 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Willow Park | 1177 Morrell Circle | 112 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Crest Estates II | 6204 Dunbar Road and nearby streets | 106 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Valley Oak Estates | 1888 Valley Oak Drive and nearby streets | 104 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 45+, one owner minimum | Ask the operator |
| Petroglyph | 1000 Chase River Road | 74 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 19+ | Ask the operator |
| Crest Estates I | 6245 Metral Drive | 71 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Cassidy | 1572 Seabird Road | 69 | RDN address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Wish-Sha | 2301 Arbot Road | 68 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Brookdale | 61 Twelfth Street | 50 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Sunnyslope | 1359 Cranberry Avenue | 48 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Dogwood Village | 2501 Labieux Road | 45 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Ed's | Honey Drive | 44 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Parkland | 6820 Parklands Place | 30 | RDN address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Rondalyn Resort | 1350 Timberlands Road | 26 | RDN address data | Adult-oriented, no age published | Ask the operator |
| Maple Glen | 7071 Lantzville Road | 24 | RDN address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Cedar Ridge | 2161 Walsh Road | 22 | RDN address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Pleasant Valley | 5931 Island Highway N | 21 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Chase River | 1074 Old Victoria Road | 14 | City of Nanaimo parcel data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Shoregrove | 6990 Dickinson Road | 7 | RDN address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Mountain View | 80 Fifth Street | Not published | no count published by any open source | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Community | Address | Homes | Count from | Age as advertised | Second occupant under the age limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Terraces | Redonda Pl and nearby streets | 89 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ (at least one resident) | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| The Highlands | Arbour Lane and Arbour Cres | 78 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Edgewood | Edgewood Dr and nearby streets | 76 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ (plus spouse) | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Regency Vista | 6728 and 6738 Dickinson Rd | 70 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ (at least one spouse) | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Parkwood Village | Bellflower Way and Rosecroft Place | 63 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ (one person min.) | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Ocean Walk Villas | Ocean Walk Drive | 52 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ (one spouse can be under) | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Village on the Green | Keighley Rd, Bunker Hill Dr, Mulligan Way | 52 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Lakeside Villa | 4969 Wills Rd | 48 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | Renters must be 55+ | Ask the strata |
| Uplands Village | Primrose Dr and Remi Ln | 44 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Harbour Towers | 33 Mount Benson St | 30 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Lakewood Village Estates | 2465 Oriole Dr | 26 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Uplands Estates | 4750 and 4752 Uplands Dr | 26 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Rocklands at Rutherford | Garnet Place | 25 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Winchelsea Estates | 6595 Groveland Dr | 20 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Oakwood Manor | 100 Dawes St | 18 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Royal Vista | 375 Newcastle Ave | 18 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Ashlar Place | 103 Ashlar Ave | 16 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ (plus a spouse) | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Mallard Place | 2197 Duggan Rd | 14 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Castilla Place | 1623 Caspers Way | 9 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| The Reef | 145 Newcastle Ave | 7 | Complex directory, researched 2023 | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
Oceanside
| Community | Address | Homes | Count from | Age as advertised | Second occupant under the age limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schooner Bay Manor | 2465 Apollo Drive | 100 | RDN address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Parksville Mobile Home Park | 1247 Arbutus Road | 73 | City of Parksville address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Island Park Estates | 1391 and 1401 Price Road | 40 | RDN address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Qualicum Bay Seniors Development | 280 Lions Way | 21 | RDN address data | Not published | Ask the operator |
| Vacation Village | 3475 Lioness Blvd | 12 | RDN address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Golden Dawn | 150 Corfield Street | Not published | no count published; the pads at this site are not individually addressed | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Shellybrook | 450 Stanford Avenue E | Not published | no count published; the pads at this site are not individually addressed | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Vila Sol Estates | 386 Craig Street | Not published | no count published; the pads at this site are not individually addressed | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Community | Address | Homes | Count from | Age as advertised | Second occupant under the age limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora Estates | 129 Meridian Way | 26 | City of Parksville strata data | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Community | Address | Homes | Count from | Age as advertised | Second occupant under the age limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millstream Haven Modular Home Cooperative | 575 Arbutus Street | 35 | Town of Qualicum Beach address data | 45+ and 55+ both advertised, sources disagree | Ask the operator |
| Meridian Gardens Co-operative Association | 394 Craig Street | Not published | no count published; the pads at this site are not individually addressed | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Community | Address | Homes | Count from | Age as advertised | Second occupant under the age limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wembley Place | 533 Hampstead St | 61 | City of Parksville strata data | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| The Pacific Grande | 399 Wembley Rd | 34 | City of Parksville strata data | 45+ | Ask the strata |
| Oceanwood Gardens | 631 Blenkin Ave | 28 | City of Parksville strata data | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
| Bayside Village | 450 Bay Ave | 24 | City of Parksville strata data | 55+ | Spouse, child and caregiver exemptions apply |
Cowichan Valley, including Ladysmith
| Community | Address | Homes | Count from | Age as advertised | Second occupant under the age limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springwood Park | 3640 Trans-Canada Highway | 53 | CVRD address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Lambourn | 1265 Cherry Point Road | 51 | CVRD address data | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Terrace Place | 1260 Fisher Road | 33 | CVRD address data | 50+ | Ask the operator |
| Alderlea Estates (formerly Silver Park) | 2885 Boys Road | Not published | no count published; the Municipality of North Cowichan map server is offline on an expired certificate | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Chemainus Gardens | 3042 River Road | Not published | no count published; the Municipality of North Cowichan map server is offline on an expired certificate | Adult community, no age published by the operator | Ask the operator |
| Clover Acres Villa | 5150 Christie Road | Not published | no count published; the pads at this site are not individually addressed | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Edgewater Terrace | 4544 Lanes Road | Not published | no count published; the pads at this site are not individually addressed | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Evergreen Place | 3497 Gibbins Road | Not published | no count published; the Municipality of North Cowichan map server is offline on an expired certificate | Active 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Parkside Estates | 541 Jim Cram Drive | Not published | no count published; this municipality publishes no open address service | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Rocky Creek Village | 658 Alderwood Drive | Not published | no count published; this municipality publishes no open address service | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Town & Country | 10980 Westdowne Road | Not published | no count published; this municipality publishes no open address service | 55+ | Statute permits one occupant under 55 |
| Community | Address | Homes | Count from | Age as advertised | Second occupant under the age limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Ridge Villas | Chemainus, address not confirmed | Not published | no count published; no confirmed address for this community | 55+ | Ask the strata |
Cedar Ridge Villas in Chemainus is the one conventional strata listed for the valley, and two research passes could not confirm a street address for it. It is published with that gap named rather than left out, which is also why it carries no pin. Whether the valley holds others is not established either way.
Every community above, with the source behind each count, is also published as a plain CSV of all 71 communities for anyone who would rather sort or check it themselves.
Four communities left off this list
Resort on the Lake in Nanaimo, Parkstone Place at 2100 Errington Road, Pinewood Village at 2130 Errington Road, and Whiskey Creek Estates on Melrose Road are all strata-titled manufactured home parks in this region. None of them publishes an age restriction, so none belongs on a page about age-restricted communities. They are named here so nobody has to research them twice.
Common questions
What is the difference between a 55+ manufactured home park and a 55+ strata?
In a 55+ manufactured home park you own the home and rent the site under it, so you pay pad rent to a park owner and the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act governs the arrangement. In a 55+ strata you own the strata lot itself, pay a strata fee to the strata corporation, and the Strata Property Act governs it. A third form sits between them: a strata-titled manufactured home park, where the home is manufactured but the lot is owned outright.
Can my younger spouse live with me in a 55+ community?
In a 55+ manufactured home park the exemption in the Human Rights Code covers a site reserved for a tenant who has reached 55, or for two or more tenants at least one of whom has reached 55, so a younger second occupant is contemplated by the statute itself. In a 55+ strata the Strata Property Act carries its own exemptions for a younger spouse, for a child the resident is or was caregiver to, and for a live-in caregiver. Read the actual bylaws or tenancy agreement, because the wording varies from one community to the next.
What is pad rent, and how is it different from a strata fee?
Pad rent is monthly rent paid to a park owner for the site your manufactured home sits on, and it is capped each year by the Province. The 2026 ceiling is 2.3 per cent plus a proportional amount for changes in local government levies and regulated utility fees. A strata fee is not rent at all. It is your share of the strata corporation's operating budget and contingency reserve, set by the owners at an annual general meeting, and no provincial cap applies to it.
What do you actually own when you buy a manufactured home in a park?
You own the home and you hold a tenancy of the ground beneath it. The land belongs to the park owner throughout. That is what separates a park from every other form of home ownership on this page, and it is why the tenancy agreement and the park rules matter as much as the home inspection.
What happens if a manufactured home park is sold or redeveloped?
A sale on its own does not end anybody's tenancy, because the tenancy runs with the site rather than with the owner. A closure or a change of use is different and triggers notice and compensation requirements under the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act. Worth knowing before you buy: closing a park does not require a rezoning, so there is no public planning process to watch for.
Where to go next
- Buying a strata in BC, for the bylaws, documents and fees side of any strata purchase.
- Moving to Nanaimo, for the city that holds 44 of the seventy communities above.
- The Oceanside neighbourhood guide, for Parksville, Qualicum Beach and the communities between them.
- The Cowichan Valley, for Duncan, Ladysmith, Chemainus and Cobble Hill.
- Community counts: City of Nanaimo, Regional District of Nanaimo, Cowichan Valley Regional District, Town of Qualicum Beach and City of Parksville open address and parcel data, read 31 August 2026.
- Strata unit counts in Nanaimo: published complex directory, researched 2023.
- Pad rent increase ceiling: Province of British Columbia, rent increases for manufactured homes, read 31 August 2026.
- Age restriction rules: Strata Property Act, Strata Property Regulation and the Human Rights Code of British Columbia, read 31 August 2026.
Researched and published 31 August 2026 by Travis Bach and Kiel Bach, RE/MAX Professionals.