An Innovative Community Housing Solution: Preventing Homelessness in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
An Innovative Community Housing Solution
Preventing Homelessness in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
The most affordable housing we have is the housing we’ve already got.*
proposal
Acquisition, Protection, and Revitalization of Privately-Owned SROs in Vancouver
At The Arlington Hotel, the tenants look after each other – it’s a real community.
*quote on cover from the provincial Rental Protection Fund website
—Richard Schwab, Arlington Tenant + President of the DTES SRO Collaborative (right)
Jean-Guy, Tyrone, and Richard – tenants from The Arlington Hotel
Proposal Summary
Vancouver SRO MURA
With Federal and Provincial Government contributions of $200M, the City of Vancouver would create an SRO Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program (SRO MURA) to enable the Downtown Eastside (DTES) Community Land Trust (CLT ) and other qualifying groups to purchase and renovate 1000 privately-owned SRO units ($200,000 per unit).
Decolonized Holistic Housing Model
Property ownership by the DTES CLT supports its establishment of an innovative, decolonized, holistic housing model. In addition to preventing homelessness, this program addresses the legacies of colonization experienced by the DTES CLT’s community partners and the tenants they serve.
Preserving SROs + Independent Living
By preserving this crucial at-risk segment of the housing continuum, the very lowest-income tenants can live independently with light support through the proven, effective work of the Provincial Governmentsupported DTES SRO Collaborative
We acknowledge, with much gratitude, that our work takes place on the unceded territories of the Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish), xʷ
y
m (Musqueam), and səlilw
(Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples.
What is an SRO?
An SRO , or single-room occupancy hotel, is a type of housing in Vancouver that offers rooms for individuals with very low incomes, including seniors, people with disabilities, and formerly homeless people, 31% of whom are Indigenous. SROs are the last rental option for vulnerable residents before they become homeless.
Rooms are typically 100–200 square feet, all have shared bathrooms, and some have a basic cooking setup. Buildings typically range in size from 30 units to 100 units. There are 71 privately-owned hotels with 2,776 rooms in Vancouver.
The Problem
Vancouver is losing its low-income housing stock to market-driven gentrification faster than government supply programs can replace it. Low-income tenants are being displaced from SRO buildings in the DTES at an alarming rate due to rising rents and building closures. Unable to afford other housing, these vulnerable groups end up in shelters or sleeping outside, a trend identified in the City of Vancouver’s 2023 SRO Update Report as contributing to increased homelessness.
While new affordable self-contained housing is both needed and desirable to meet the needs in Vancouver, it will take many years to develop. Therefore, it is vital that the existing privately-owned SRO housing stock be preserved, truly rentprotected, and properly maintained (in a ‘state-of-good-repair’).
The SRO Intergovernmental Working Group has not yet taken the actions required to respond to this urgent problem. The BC Government is currently focused on replacing government-owned SROs with self-contained social housing units.
The BC Government replacement strategy will fail if the existing private SRO stock is not preserved while new units are being opened. As a result, the homeless population in the DTES will continue to increase and encampments will continue to exist and grow.
1994 to 2019
2,265 privately-owned SRO rooms lost to stabilize and purchase this important housing resource We risk losing this housing stock to predatory investors. currently no funding programs available for SROs
to conversions, demolitions, and room closures
since 2020
732 rooms lost as low-income housing as rents soar to $1000+/month and private landlords target international students
Innovative Strategy:
Preserve + Replace SROs and Implement
Tenant-based Initiatives
In Vancouver, the publicly-owned SROs (BC Housing and non-profits) are operated as supportive housing – this means that they have staff 24hrs/day and other supports in place. While high-supports housing models provide crucial services for high-needs tenants, it requires very high annual operating budgets. At the same time, many tenants do not want or need to live in supportive housing, indicating that it can feel too “institutional” and devoid of community and autonomy.
Through years of research conducted by the DTES SRO Collaborative (SRO-C ), as well as two years of Tenant Advisory Committee meetings conducted by the DTES CLT, we have identified that community-centred housing is a gap in the housing continuum currently available in the DTES. Through the work of the SRO-C, we know that tenant-led programming empowers residents, encourages community building, and nurtures the unique culture in each SRO.
Tenant-based initiatives foster the skills and leadership of tenants to help their neighbours and to create a community of support within their building and beyond. By establishing a decolonized governance structure that includes tenants, Indigenous Elders, community leaders, and committed professionals, the DTES CLT embeds equity into a community-led solution to housing precarity.
Federal and Provincial Government funding will be used to purchase a portfolio of SROs, including commercial spaces that generate positive cash flow. With no debt on the portfolio, the income from tenant rents and commercial leases will allow the portfolio to operate without substantial operating subsidies.
The Arlington Hotel (30 rooms)
Assess Condition of Fire Escape
Possible Addition of Plantings and Artwork in Light Wells
Upgrade Washroom for Wheel-in Shower and Single WC
Ensure Suite and Hallway Doors are providing the required fire ratings and install compliant door hardware and accessories like smoke seals.
+ The Building Operations Led by Tenants in SROs (BOLTS) worker takes on very basic repairs that would take longer (or not get done) if left to the private owners – e.g. could help fix a blocked sink or toilet, fix a creaking door, and other minor repairs.
+ The Double O is a resident that coordinates with the SRO-C staff to organize tenants who may want to take on some basic responsibilities in the building – e.g. checking on more senior residents, helping to organize a BBQ, getting people out to Tenant Meetings, and other social activities.
+ The Caretaker lives in the building and takes on general supervision, and helps to resolve any issues that arise.
Improve lighting in the Hallway spaces. Install LED lighting fixtures to brighten the spaces.
Tyrone’s Room BOLTS Worker
Community Kitchen/ Cooling Room
Make Repairs to Front Entry Stairs, to eliminate non-compliant riser heights
Jean-Guy’s Room Caretaker’s Unit
Richard’s Room Outreach Organizer (Double O)
Paint Building inside and out, clean and re-paint any masonry (which is typically in good condition)
The Rationale for the Vancouver SRO MURA Program
Precedence: In 2021 Canada’s largest city, Toronto, took the initiative to innovate a new funding program aimed at addressing the loss of that city’s ‘housing of last resort’ (Rooming Houses) and, explicitly, to preserve existing low-rent housing. Toronto was able to recognize the need and the solutions by working in partnership with a Community Land Trust. The result was the Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program: MURA
Vancouver must do the same because the most affordable housing we have is the housing we’ve already got. Preserving existing rental units is one of the fastest and most impactful ways to quickly and meaningfully address the housing crisis.
Our cities, through their municipal governance and local knowledge, increasingly play an important role in how Canada manages the intractable housing crisis. But it is widely recognized that our cities lack the revenue and revenue tools to fulfill their role. Vancouver, often said in the same breath as Toronto when the subject is the Housing Crisis, needs to mirror this program as soon as possible.
A $200M federal and provinctial contribution will enable the City of Vancouver, as a grant administrator, to oversee the strategic acquisition and rehabilitation of approximately 1,000 units of the private sector SRO stock and protect these 1000 tenants plus their roommates from homelessness. The portfolio will be owned and operated by a land trust or non-profit active in the DTES.
Concept Alignment: This proposal is consistent with the SRO Intergovernmental Working Group’s goal to stabilize private SROs until they are replaced and the BC Rental Protection Fund’s mandate to preserve and protect affordable rental stock.
Existing Program Limitations: The acquisition of SROs does not qualify for any current provincial or federal housing supply programs, including BC’s and the Federal Government’s Rental Protection Funds.
Local Leadership
For decades, the City of Vancouver has taken leadership through bylaws and land use policy to preserve, protect, and encourage the eventual replacement of the private SRO stock. This proposed program will support the work done by City to date. The strategy to replace this housing with new, self-contained units without causing homelessness depends on it.
Targeted Approach
The proposed program will target a specific segment of the SRO hotel inventory. There are approximately 3,670 SRO rooms that remain under private ownership, with approximately half of them (1,820) referred to as the ‘middle crunch’ – these rooms are in moderately good condition and are reasonably well-managed. Within this bucket of ‘middle crunch’ hotels, the CLT will use the Vancouver SRO MURA program to purchase a minimum of 1,000 rooms in 16 buildings (25% of the total stock) from motivated owners.
From Dan Fumano: Federal funds could make Vancouver’s SRO buy out plan possible
Federal Housing Minister (2021)
Ottawa wants municipalities to figure out the best way to address their individual housing challenges and bring those ideas to his department. The details, he said, will be “all up to the City of Vancouver.”
Homelessness increases, encampments, street disorder
SRO Trajectories. Source: City of Vancouver, Sept 2024.
“We want to be a partner and continue to be there for them, and I think this is the kind of project that would fit really nicely with” national housing plans. “We just want to see more ambition, and less NIMBY-ism.”
A housing initiative to acquire and eventually replace the DTES SRO stock is likely the only housing initiative aimed at low-income housing that would not generate NIMBY acrimony in all of Metro Vancouver. In today’s political landscape, this is an important characteristic for a major housing innovation.
Federal housing minister Ahmed Hussen (right) speaks at a press conference on housing at Vancouver city hall, while Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart (left) watches, on Nov. 15, 2021. Credit: Milos Tosic - CNW
Photo by Milos Tosic /PNG
Opportune Moment
• The City of Vancouver has the capacity to design and administer the Vancouver SRO MURA program (e.g. prepurchase due diligence, pre-qualify nonprofits and land trusts, ensure targeted approach and accountability).
• $11M was given by the Province of BC to the DTES SRO Collaborative (for tenant-based initiative programs to supplement operating costs in private SROs) and to the DTES Community Land Trust (for organizational start-up costs). The Premier has pledged continuous operating funds from BC Housing.
• Canada’s Reaching Home pledged $1 million towards acquisition of the DTES Community Land Trust’s first SRO: The Arlington Hotel (575 E. Pender Street, Vancouver).
Testimonial for MURA
“Parkdale’s Neighbourhood Land Trust has shown us all what’s possible when communities come together to save affordable housing and protect their neighbours from evictions and rent increases. The City of Toronto has followed the Land Trust’s lead in establishing and expanding our housing acquisition fund, and now the federal government has taken notice. I want to congratulate the Land Trust for their trailblazing work – taking a successful model in Parkdale to drive a national conversation and win a national program. I look forward to continuing our shared work of protecting renters and affordable homes.”
