About 400 tenants at risk as private Downtown Eastside SROs face sale and foreclosure

The Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative Society says about 400 tenants could be at risk of displacement across a growing number of privately owned single-room occupancy hotels in Vancouver. It is asking governments to establish a permanent acquisition fund so non-profit housing providers and community land trusts can quickly buy financially troubled buildings.

The society identified the 98-room West Hotel at 488 Carrall St. as its most immediate concern, saying a new landlord has offered some tenants money to leave and that 57 rooms are vacant. It says the same owner recently acquired the 44-room United Rooms and the 76-room Empress Hotel, raising concern that their tenants could face similar pressure.

A June 2025 City of Vancouver memo said lenders had begun foreclosure proceedings against the West and Empress hotels, then owned by Christopher Wall. The memo noted that vacant possession had been listed as a possible remedy but had not been ordered, and warned tenancy protections could be limited if it were granted. City staff said the City could not intervene directly because it was not a party to the proceedings.

The province says it and BC Housing are monitoring ownership and possession changes involving several privately owned SROs. While the rooms do not meet long-term housing standards, the ministry said they cannot be eliminated before sufficient replacement purpose-built housing is available. The society says further losses would add pressure to Vancouver's homelessness crisis.