Frequently asked questions

The DTES Plan was approved in 2014 with a 30-year goal to make the area more livable, safe, and supportive for all residents, particularly those facing systemic barriers. The DTES Plan sets out the policies, strategies, targets and actions needed to achieve the long-term vision that: “the neighbourhood will be made up of mixed-income communities with a range of affordable housing options, including social housing, for all residents, local serving commerce, social services and cultural activities where all feel welcome, valued and at home.”  

In November 2023 Council directed staff to explore how to deliver more social housing and to accelerate SRO replacement in the Downtown Eastside through the “Uplifting the Downtown Eastside motion". To do that, we’re proposing several strategies and changes, including

• Making it easier for non-profit housing providers to build more social housing, which includes changing the definition of social housing in the DTES to better align with Provincial funding programs, and allowing taller and larger social housing buildings, and making it easier to redevelop or renovate heritage buildings in the Downtown Eastside Oppenheimer District and Thornton Park sub-areas of the DTES, and 
• Introducing new tools so that private developers can build social housing and below-market rental housing replace private SROs through a new below-market rental policy and an updated inclusionary housing policy. This also means allowing significantly more market units to improve project viability, which will lead to a more mixed-income community. Tenant protections will ensure existing residents are able to remain in the neighbourhood in better housing.

The City is committed to protecting low-income residents and prioritizing their well-being. To address concerns about displacement, the City’s Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy would help ensure that those affected by redevelopment have the opportunity to either stay in the DTES in new, modern buildings or transition to other affordable housing options across the city. 

Proposed changes include:

• Offering tenants the right to return to the new building at their existing rent, or at a 50% discount from the city’s average market rents, whichever is lower. 
• Requiring landlords pay for all moving expenses rather than the current flat rate.

Social housing, also known as non-market housing, is for low- and moderate-income households. It includes supportive and co-operative housing. It is owned and operated by non-profit societies, co-operative associations or the government, and often gets government subsidies to keep rents below market rates. 

In the Downtown Eastside, social housing is defined as: 

• All units are owned by non-profits or the government  
• At least 33% of units must be affordable for people on income assistance (around $500/month for a one-bedroom). 
• Another 33% of units should be affordable for people earning up to the Housing Income Limits (HILs) (around $1,450/month for a one-bedroom). 

Below-market housing is rental housing offered at lower rates than market rentals, built by the private sector in exchange for increased density. Rents are secured below market rates permanently, even when tenants change. 

Below-market rental housing does not receive ongoing subsidies to maintain affordability, It relies on market rental units to subsidize the below-market ones.

Inclusionary social housing involves a private developer building a portion of a building as social housing for the City or a non-profit provider. The rest of the building is market housing owned by a private landlord. 

In the Downtown Eastside Oppenheimer District (DEOD), the plan requires 60% of units to be social housing and 40% market rental. However, this requirement has proven challenging as there are not enough market units to pay for the social housing. So far, only two buildings have been built under this policy.

Since 1989, Vancouver has protected certain views in the city’s downtown and central neighborhoods. These protected views help balance economic growth and housing needs with preserving important views for the future. Although some views have shifted over time, protecting views from public spaces remains a key part of the city’s planning.

A streetwall is a continuous row of buildings that line or frame a street. Streetwalls reduce sun on the street and may result in units with limited visibility from bedrooms and living spaces, but maintain the built form character of the DTES. 

 

Single Room Occupancy (SRO) buildings are 100 years old and have small rooms with shared bathrooms and cooking facilities. SROs provide affordable housing for low-income residents, especially in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Although many SROs are a last resort before homelessness, these buildings are deteriorating, not livable, and unsafe in the event of an earthquake. Rising maintenance costs and increasing rents mean we are also losing rooms that are affordable to low-income tenants.