UBC Graduate Research

Successful Preservation and Development of Single Room Occupancy Housing: Lessons for Vancouver Pearson, Holly R.

Abstract

In October 2003 the municipal government of Vancouver, British Columbia enacted a by-law to regulate demolitions and conversions to other uses of single room occupancy (SRO) hotels in the city’s downtown core. SRO housing (or simply “SROs”) refers to small residential units, usually consisting of one room, that lack private kitchen and bath facilities and/or share them with other units. SROs usually exist in the form of residential hotels or rooming/lodging houses built during the early 20th century; today they provide long-term or permanent housing for very low-income tenants and represent the cheapest accommodation available on the private rental market. Most of the SRO housing stock in North American cities was destroyed during the post-World War II urban renewal movement, and today preservation of remaining SROs has become an important policy objective for many large North American cities. Some city governments have also explored ways to stimulate the development of new SROs, or modern SRO variations, to house low-income renters. This report gives a brief history of SRO housing and its role and importance as “shelter of last resort” for many of society’s most vulnerable citizens. It then discusses the urgent need for low-income housing in Vancouver, where rapid population growth and high housing demand has created a very expensive rental market. Vancouver’s current policies and initiatives related to low-income housing are briefly described, as is the City’s new Single Room Accommodation By-law. The bulk of the report is dedicated to descriptive case studies and analysis of municipal policies and initiatives related to the preservation and new development of SRO housing in San Francisco, San Diego, New York City, and Toronto. The case studies provide insights into achievements, challenges, opportunities, lessons learned, and the overall effectiveness of the four cities’ SRO policies that can be applied to improving and enhancing future implementation efforts for the City of Vancouver’s SRA By-law. Specific policy implications for the City of Vancouver are presented.

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