Land-lease homes often show up in a search as some of the most affordable 55+ options in the Okanagan — and then the question hits: if it's this much cheaper, what's the catch? There's no catch exactly, but there is a real, important difference that deserves a straight explanation before you make an offer.
The core idea
In a land-lease (also called leasehold) community, you own your home outright, but you lease the land underneath it from the landowner — usually a developer, First Nations band, or land-holding company — for a fixed term, commonly 99 years in BC. You pay a monthly or annual lease payment on top of your regular strata/maintenance fees, in exchange for a meaningfully lower purchase price than an equivalent freehold home.
A real local example
Solstice at Tower Ranch in Kelowna is a genuine land-lease 55+ community, developed by Parkbridge on a long-term (roughly 99-year) lease. It's a legitimate, well-established option — we mention it here because it's easier to understand land-lease with a real example in front of you than in the abstract.
What's genuinely different from freehold or strata ownership
- Lower purchase price: Because you're not buying the land, the upfront cost is typically well below a comparable freehold or standard strata property in the same area.
- An ongoing lease payment: Separate from strata fees, and it can increase over the term according to the lease agreement — read the actual escalation terms, not just the current number.
- A finite term: As the remaining lease term shortens, it can affect resale value and financing — a home with 95 years left on the lease is a very different proposition from one with 20 years left.
- Financing can be more particular: Not every lender treats land-lease properties the same as freehold — some require a larger down payment or have a minimum remaining-term requirement. Confirm with your specific lender early, before you fall for a listing.
- Appreciation works differently: Your home's value can still rise, but the land's appreciation belongs to the landowner, not you — a real structural difference from freehold ownership worth understanding going in.
Five questions to ask before buying any land-lease property: How many years are left on the lease? How is the lease payment calculated, and can it increase? What happens at the end of the term — renewal, extension, or reversion? Has your specific lender confirmed they'll finance this property, and on what terms? What's the resale track record for homes in this specific community?
Who land-lease tends to suit well
Downsizers looking to free up the maximum equity for retirement income or who don't plan on passing the specific property down as a long-term family asset often find land-lease makes excellent financial sense — you get the lifestyle and the community at a real discount, in exchange for not owning the underlying land. It's a legitimate, common structure across BC's 55+ market, not a red flag — but it's a different deal than freehold, and it's worth choosing deliberately rather than discovering the difference after you've already made an offer.
For the fuller picture of how land-lease compares to freehold, standard strata, bare land strata, and co-op ownership, see our ownership types guide.
We'll walk through the specific lease terms, financing considerations, and resale factors for any community you're looking at.