A report released by an advocacy group says the average cost of rent in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has gone up just as homelessness in the neighbourhood has hit an all-time high.

The Carnegie Community Action Project says over one thousand people — equal to one in every 18 people in the neighbourhood — were homeless in 2016.

They say the lowest average rent at single-room occupancy hotels is up to $548, meaning people on social assistance are left with only $62 to pay for necessities after housing every month.

They say they found several hotels charging one thousand dollars per month, and so they're calling on the province to increase social assistance rates to be able to meet the cost of living and to build more low-income housing.