Single Room Occupancy

• Fire crews tackle ‘suspicious’ 2-alarm SRO fire in Vancouver

  Crews arrived Thursday afternoon to find thick smoke billowing from the southeast side of the three-storey single-room occupancy (SRO) building. 

  Fire

  Sep 7, 2023
  
• $2,000 for 200 square feet: TikTok of Vancouver rental raises hackles

  A TikTok video advertising a $2,000 rental in a tiny single-room unit in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has sparked backlash, and conversation about the city's rental market.

  Canada

  Aug 16, 2023
  
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• B.C. funding $11M in skills training for SRO hotel residents

  The B.C. government says it's providing $11 million to a non-profit in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside aimed at training and empowering tenants of single-room occupancy hotels.

  Economy

  May 18, 2023
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• ‘We know it can be done’: Tenants protest after Vancouver supportive housing elevator broken for months

  B.C.'s Minister of Finance, Ravi Kahlon said the government has known there is 'an issue' at the Portland Hotel since late last year, and that the elevator fix is in the works.

  Economy

  Feb 6, 2023
• Vancouver council approves plan to improve fire safety in city’s SROs

  The proposal comes amid a troubling — and sometimes deadly — increase in fires and fire-related calls in the city's Downtown Eastside.

  Fire

  Jan 31, 2023
• BC NDP reviewing SRO maintenance model, BC Liberals say action needed now

  SROs house many of Vancouver's most vulnerable low-income people. Many were built in the early 1900s and have become notorious for poor living conditions.

  Politics

  Jan 6, 2023
• ‘Cleaner on the street’: Inside an SRO hotel in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

  "The bathrooms are in such a disgusting state, you wouldn't even want your dog to use them, to be honest. It's just gross."

  Health

  Jan 4, 2023
• Demolition of Vancouver’s notorious Balmoral hotel to begin in November

  The project could take up to a year, and will kick off with the safe removal of waste and hazardous materials before moving on to proper demolition next spring.

  Canada

  Nov 1, 2022
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• Coroner’s inquest ordered into deadly Winters Hotel fire in Gastown

  Mary Ann Garlow, 68, and Dennis Guay, 53, both died when the Winters Hotel, a single-room occupancy (SRO) hotel caught fire on April 11. 

  Fire

  Jul 21, 2022
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• Councillor wants to add ‘teeth’ to bylaw enforcing Vancouver building maintenance

  Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung wants to add "teeth" to the city's Standards of Maintenance By-Law, which ensures properties are free of hazards and meet health and fire codes. 

  Politics

  Feb 6, 2022