Unaffordable affordable homes: Rent at some single room occupancy units more than $1,000
CBC
Across downtown Vancouver, there are more than 160 single-room occupancy [SRO] buildings that contain small single rooms, usually with a shared kitchen and bathroom facilities.
The rental units serve as part of the city's affordable housing stock, typically offering a cheaper option than market rental apartments.
SRO housing is often seen "as the last stop before homelessness," according to the City of Vancouver's website.
But without any control measures in place, the price of rent at certain privately-owned SROs continues to climb, sometimes reaching more than $1,000 a month, which advocates say is creating financial barriers for the city's most vulnerable population.
Johnny Loudon has lived with his girlfriend at the Grand Union Hotel, an SRO on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, for the past two months.
The couple pays $1,300 a month to rent a single room with a couple of shelves and a sink. The building has shared bathrooms and kitchens.
Loudon says he has seen rats, cockroaches, and bed bugs in his unit. He says fights are common, and there are bullet holes in the walls that have been mudded over. In their unit, the couple says they often feel so cold they have to use a space heater.
"It feels disgusting. It feels like a slap in the face considering how much I'm paying," said Loudon.
The couple spends most of their welfare and disability income on their rent.
"It's worth it for me and my girlfriend because we just wanted to get off the streets and out of the shelters. It's just too much violence," he said, although he also says he still feels unsafe at the Grand Union.
CBC News reached out to the owner of the Grand Union hotel for an interview but did not get a response.
If he could leave the Downtown Eastside altogether, Loudon says he would but feels stuck in a cycle, unable to escape.
"Being in addiction and not having enough money for a better place because the rent is so high here, it feels like the barriers are insane."
Loudon's situation is just one example of a larger issue.
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