Frequently asked questions

Secured rental housing means a development or part of a development, used only as rental housing. The rental housing is secured by a legal agreement registered against title restricting its use to rental housing for 60 years or the life of the building, whichever is longer.

We’re in a housing crisis and have an extremely low vacancy rate. There is an urgent need for secure rental housing to provide homes for people who rent (more than 50 per cent of households in Vancouver). The City has ambitious targets for new purpose-built rental housing as part of the Housing Vancouver Strategy. Purpose-built rental housing is typically more affordable than ownership housing, and it often becomes more affordable over time. This initiative would help increase rental housing options in Vancouver for decades to come.

Social housing is rental housing that meets three criteria: 

• At least 30% of the units are occupied by households with incomes below limits defined by the BC Housing Management Commission
• Owned by a non-profit or government body (e.g., the City, or the Province of BC)
• The registered owner of the land has a legal agreement with the City registered against the title.

There is a large unmet need of affordable and supportive housing for Vancouverites. Housing Vancouver’s goal is to build the right supply of housing, which includes 12,000 social and supportive homes and 20,000 secured market rental over the next 10 years. In order to achieve this, local areas across the City should have diversity of housing both in form and tenure, including ownership housing and condominiums, rental apartments, co-ops, and social housing.

In recent years, Granville Street has seen some challenges including vacant storefronts, a lack of daytime activity, and health and safety concerns. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exasperated many of these issues, creating a significant strain on local businesses. Staff are recommending to Council a comprehensive planning process for Granville Street that seeks to address the challenges. The Granville Street planning process would seek to develop a new vision for the area that builds on its cultural role, heritage character, and its function as a pedestrian priority retail high street and transit hub. The proposed planning process would consider land use (zoning regulations), development guidelines, cultural and heritage preservation and supports, and public realm and public life improvements. Should Council direct staff to undertake this comprehensive review, we anticipate the program to start in 2022.