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Vancouver city Coun. Jean Swanson is raising concerns that the new St. Paul’s Hospital development at 1002 Station St. may lead to the displacement of low-income residents currently living in nearby Downtown Eastside SROs.

“The development of this hospital could lead to gentrification in the area,” said Swanson. “There will be hundreds of employees at the hospital who will want to live close to work, and that gives landlords the impetus to get rid of low-paying renters in favour of those that can pay higher rates.”

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Although SRO units are protected by the Single Room Accommodation (SRA) bylaw enacted in 2003 with the objective of discouraging investors and developers from buying affordable housing stock for the purpose of speculation, SRO housing stock continues to dwindle, Swanson said.

Developers can bypass the one-to-one replacement of SRO rooms for social housing by paying a $125,000 replacement fee per unit. In addition, said Swanson, developers find different ways to get rid of low-income tenants. Some of the strategies she has seen landlords try include changing locks and requiring residents to pay for expensive fobs, offering low-income tenants cash to move out or doing light renovations and then renting the rooms out as more expensive “micro-suites.”