Skip to content
CMHC Home Canada Mortgage
and Housing Corporation
  • Sign In or Register
  • Français
  • MENU
MENU
× Français
  • Home
  • Professionals
    • Project funding and mortgage financing
      • Funding programs
        • Affordable Housing Fund
        • Affordable Housing Innovation Fund
        • Apartment Construction Loan Program
        • Canada Greener Affordable Housing
        • Community (social) housing
        • Federal Lands Initiative
        • Funding for Indigenous housing
        • Housing Supply Challenge
        • Innovation and research
        • National Housing Strategy Project Profiles
        • Rapid Housing Initiative
      • Mortgage Loan Insurance Products
        • Homeowner and Small Rental Mortgage Loan Insurance
          • CMHC Purchase
          • CMHC Improvement
          • CMHC Income Property
          • CMHC Refinance
          • CMHC Newcomers
          • CMHC Self-Employed
          • CMHC Portability
          • Eco Products for Lenders
        • Multi-Unit and Rental Housing
          • MLI Select
        • Default, claims and properties for sale
        • Underwriting centre
        • emili
        • NHA approved lenders
        • Calculating GDS / TDS
        • How to recognize and report mortgage fraud
        • Contact mortgage loan insurance
        • Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP)
      • Securitization
        • NHA Mortgage Backed Securities
        • Canada Mortgage Bonds
        • Canadian registered covered bonds
        • Blockchain in the housing industry
    • Housing markets, data and research
      • CMHC Reports Calendar
      • Housing markets
        • Housing market reports
        • Mortgage market and consumer reports
        • Fall 2024 Rental Market Report
      • Housing research
        • Consultations
          • Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act
            • Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act – Frequently asked questions
        • Housing research reports
        • Housing surveys
          • Mortgage consumer surveys
        • Research awards and scholarships
        • Understanding core housing need
        • Collaborative Housing Research Network
      • Housing data
        • Data tables
          • Household characteristics data
          • Housing market data
          • Mortgage and debt data
          • Rental market data
        • Housing market information portal
        • Residential Mortgage Industry Data Dashboard
        • CMHC licence agreement for the use of data
        • Housing Knowledge Centre
    • Industry innovation and leadership
      • Housing innovation
      • Our Partners
        • Partnerships
        • Federal, Provincial and Territorial Forum on Housing
      • Industry collaboration
        • Expert Community on Housing (ECoH)
      • Industry expertise
        • Affordable housing
        • Indigenous housing
        • Senior housing
        • Accessible and adaptable housing
        • Developing sustainable housing
        • Resources for mortgage professionals
        • CMHC newsletters
    • Events and speakers
      • Conferences
        • 2024 National Housing Conference
          • About
          • National Housing Conference - Agenda
          • Location
          • InnoZone
          • Details for participants
      • Speakers’ bureau
        • Kevin Hughes
  • Consumers
    • Buying a home
      • Homebuying calculators
        • Mortgage calculator
        • Affordability calculator
        • Debt service calculator
      • Buying guides
        • Homebuying step by step
        • CMHC's condominium buyer's guide
      • Mortgage loan insurance for consumers
        • What is CMHC mortgage loan insurance?
        • Do I qualify for mortgage loan insurance?
        • CMHC mortgage loan insurance costs
        • CMHC's Eco Products
          • CMHC’s Eco Improvement
          • CMHC Eco Plus
        • CMHC — home renovation financing options
        • FAQs — mortgage loan insurance
      • Incentives for homebuyers
      • Newcomers
      • The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive
    • Owning a home
      • Manage your mortgage
        • Mortgage fraud
        • Mortgage planning tips
        • Plan and manage your mortgage
        • Your credit report
        • Your home value
      • Aging in place
        • Housing options for Seniors
        • Housing and finance tips
        • Mortgage financing options for people 55+
        • Preventing fraud and financial abuse
    • Renting a home
      • I want to rent
        • Things to consider before renting
        • Types of housing for rent in Canada
        • Finding or advertising a rental property
        • Visiting the rental property
        • Lease and rental agreements
        • Signing the lease
        • Credit checks and bad credit
        • Rental payments and deposits
        • Roommates and pets
      • I am renting
        • Moving day
        • Landlord/Tenant responsibilities
        • Inspections
        • Maintenance and repairs
        • Complaints and evictions
        • Rent increases
        • When you can't pay rent
        • Renewing or terminating the lease
        • Moving out
      • One-Time Top-Up to the Canada Housing Benefit
      • COVID‑19: eviction bans and suspensions to support renters
  • About CMHC
    • CMHC’s goals, values and commitment to housing
    • Discover Life at CMHC
    • Management and governance
      • Speakers’ bureau
      • CMHC's Annual Public Meeting
      • CMHC’s board of directors and committees
      • Our management committee
      • Pension governance
        • Pension overview
        • Key roles and responsibilities
        • Annual reports
    • Corporate reporting
      • CMHC’s 2023 Annual Report
      • Program evaluation
      • Quarterly financial reports
      • Joint auditors special examination report to CMHC board 2018
      • CMHC’s Insured Mortgage Deferral
      • Corporate Plan Summary
      • Transparency
        • Access to information and privacy protection
        • Accessibility at CMHC
        • Accessibility feedback process
        • Briefing materials
        • Procurement
          • Vendor Diversity Program
        • Travel, hospitality and conference expenditures
    • Contact us
      • Contact mortgage loan insurance
      • Regional offices
      • Granville lsland
      • Indigenous and the North Housing Solutions
      • National office
      • Holiday service hours
  • Media Newsroom
  • National Housing Strategy
    • What is the strategy?
      • About the initiatives
      • How to apply
      • Help and resources
      • Priority areas for action
      • The National Housing Strategy Glossary of Common Terms
      • The Strategy in Action
    • Federal/Provincial/Territorial housing agreements
    • Other funding and financing opportunities
  • The Housing Observer
  • Canada’s Housing Podcast
  • Careers
  • Housing Knowledge Centre
 
  • Home
  • National Housing Strategy
  • National Housing Strategy Project Profiles
  • The Vancouver Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust
  • Save
  • Share

The Vancouver Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust

Creating tenant-centred, affordable housing in one Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood has needed more safe, stable and affordable supportive housing for decades. Recently, rising rents, stagnant income assistance and intense property speculation have led to a homelessness epidemic. This crisis is made worse by the neighbourhood’s other intersecting crises, including unsafe drug supply and the poor condition of housing. While the neighbourhood faces many complex challenges, it also has advantages for low-income residents such as being close to health and social services.

The Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust demonstration project will use a community land trust to help address those challenges. A land trust could acquire property for permanent use as deeply affordable housing and public space for DTES residents. First, however, the project will establish the land trust’s framework, vision and goals. This includes establishing tenant-centered, non-hierarchical governance and outlining a holistic housing model that is determined by and for the DTES community.

3 Key Innovations

  • ✔

    The project will use a decolonized governance model and is co-led by Indigenous peoples and people working first-hand with DTES residents.

  • ✔

    Its services, which are aimed at supporting single room occupancy residents, are designed and implemented by people with lived experience.

  • ✔

    The program’s tenant-led programming will empower residents, encourage community building and create a culture that is unique to each building.

Project scope and expected outcomes

Establishing the foundation of a community land trust in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood

Vancouver’s single room occupancy (SRO) buildings have historically housed the city’s low-income residents, but rents are continuously rising. This makes them unaffordable to residents in the city’s DTES neighbourhood, most of whom receive income assistance. Many SROs are poorly maintained, leaving residents to deal with vermin and frequent outages of water, heat or electricity.

This project will establish a guiding vision and core values for a DTES community land trust. Land trusts are non-profit corporations created to acquire and hold land for a community. The land is perpetually held in trust to provide access for community use, such as affordable housing. Land trusts are membership-based organizations, governed by an elected board of directors, and often made of community members and non-profit organizations.

The Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust would acquire property for permanent use as deeply affordable community-owned housing. This would protect the property from changes in the real-estate market that can cause rents to increase. It would also ensure the property remains available for community use and enable community-specific housing, such as urban Indigenous housing.

Implementing a holistic, tenant-centred housing model

With support from the National Housing Strategy Demonstrations Initiative, the Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust will implement a holistic, resident-centred housing model. It will be non-hierarchical and decolonized. This means that members will be equals and activities will centre around community member input and participation. The demonstration will work to bring them together to collaboratively design and implement strategies and governance for the land trust.

Each SRO acquired by the community land trust will feature tenant-led and tenant-directed programming. These programs will empower residents, encourage community-building and provide additional income to low-income tenants. They also will give buildings unique cultures that reflect their residents, rather than a one-size-fits-all supportive housing approach.

The housing model will be holistic, incorporating food supports, health and harm reduction and community living. This will help address many of the intersecting crises within the DTES neighbourhood and build a healthy community. This includes cultural programming for urban Indigenous populations and Indigenous-led housing.

Community consultation with tenants and people experiencing homelessness and lived experience

Community consultation with National Housing Strategy priority groups is central to the demonstration. These groups are overrepresented in precariously housed and SRO residents in the DTES: an estimated 33% of SRO residents are Indigenous. The project begins with consultations with local non-profit organizations and community groups before moving to widespread consultation with DTES residents. These wider consultations will determine the land trust’s community vision, core values and strategic direction.

The community consultation will work with tenants and people experiencing homelessness and lived experience. Participation will be as accessible as possible, with flexible scheduling, creative activities and personal follow-up. Participants will receive fair compensation for their time and expertise. Indigenous leaders and knowledge keepers will also be consulted on decolonized governance structures.

Following the priority building and community design, the project will work towards developing and implementing a strategy for the land trust. his will cover the next 5 years. The trust will be formed once the governance, priorities and bylaws are approved by tenant leaders and community supporters.

A community land trust model for holistic housing that will have a positive impact on affordable housing

A tenant-led land trust that uses a holistic housing model will have a deep impact on affordable housing in the DTES. Over the short term, it will gather data about immediate housing and support needs for low-income and marginalized people. Over the longer term, it will increase the amount of affordable supportive housing by acquiring properties. It will also empower tenants through programs and initiatives that they design and lead.

While the project’s specifics will be adapted to the DTES community, its methodology used can be repeated across Canada. Engagement activities and research tools will be carefully documented, as will Indigenous insight into governance and holistic housing models. These will be released through a series of publications throughout the project.

These findings could provide a blueprint for other decision-makers on how to return land and community control to communities. It could also provide important guidance on how to implement meaningful collaboration with communities that have been traditionally marginalized and overlooked.

Program: National Housing Strategy Demonstrations Initiative

Demonstration Title: The Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Get more information:
Email Innovation-Research@cmhc.ca or visit our website to learn more about the initiatives under the National Housing Strategy.

Interested in learning more about community land trust solutions for affordable housing? Join the Expert Community on Housing (ECOH) CLT/Land assembly virtual community of practice!

Feeling inspired?

See how you can apply for a Demonstrations Initiative grant.

Date Published: June 3, 2022
Save Icon

SAVE TO MY FOLDER

The Vancouver Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust

SAVE
Close this Window   |   Manage my Folder
Save Icon

SAVE TO MY FOLDER

The Vancouver Downtown Eastside Community Land Trust

Done Done!
Close this Window   |   Manage my Folder
Share icon

Share via

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
  • print
  • CopyLink

SuccessCopyLinkVersionLink copied

Share icon

Share via

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
  • print
  • CopyLink

SuccessCopyLinkVersionLink copied

share icon

Mail-blue Share via Email

Did You Know?

You can include an email signature?

Register | Sign In

×
Google Captcha Loader
share icon

Mail-blue Share via Email

Done Done!
Close this window

By Topic

  • Professionals
    • Project funding and mortgage financing
    • Housing markets data and research
    • Industry innovation and leadership
    • Events and speakers
  • Consumers
    • Home buying
    • Owning a home
    • Renting a home

About Us

  • CMHC's Story
  • Management and Governance
  • Our Partners
  • Corporate Reporting
  • Contact Us
  • Careers

More

  • CMHC Newsletters
  • CMHC Library
  • Housing Observer
  • Media Newsroom
  • CMHC and Accessible Housing
  • CMHC on Twitter
  • CMHC on LinkedIn
  • CMHC on Facebook
  • CMHC on Instagram
  • CMHC on YouTube
Privacy Policy    |    Terms and Conditions    |    Transparency    |    Accessibility Plan    |    Accessibility Feedback     Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) ©2025 
Canada
loader icon