New Data Exposes Nearly 1,900 Government-Funded Housing Units Are Empty While Over 2,200 People Remain Unsheltered in Greater Vancouver and Victoria
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
For Immediate Release
VANCOUVER, BC - Analysis of new data obtained through a Freedom of Information request to BC Housing revealed a significant gap between the number of government-funded housing units and their active utilization. As of March 31, 2025, there were 1,885 units documented as unoccupied for extended periods in the Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria regions. This represented over 21% of the 8,923 funded units.
Unoccupied Units Had Capacity to House Vast Majority of People Who Were Unsheltered
In March, 2025, in the Greater Vancouver area, 1,694 housing units were reported vacant or unavailable. That same month, the Greater Vancouver homeless count noted 1,893 people were living without shelter.
The combined 1,694 vacant and unavailable units in Greater Vancouver accounted for enough space to house 90% of the region’s unsheltered individuals. If the unavailable or unverified units are excluded, the confirmed vacant units alone would have been able to house at least 34% of the unsheltered Greater Vancouver population.
In the Greater Victoria region (Capital Regional District), the homeless count in that same month found 318 unsheltered individuals. The region’s 100 vacant units and 91 unavailable units could have housed between 31% and up to 60% of the unsheltered individuals.
The Greater Vancouver SRO Crisis Was Particularly Acute
The data revealed a severe situation within the Single Room Occupancy (SRO) stock, a critical form of low-barrier housing. Of the 2,826 government-funded Greater Vancouver SRO units in the data from BC Housing:
- 37.9% of Greater Vancouver SRO units were unoccupied.
- This is representative of a 14.4% confirmed vacancy rate (407 units), and 23.5% that were listed as unavailable (663 units).
This data indicated that more than one in three SRO rooms, an essential stepping stone in the housing continuum, were not occupied.
Units Had Been Vacant for Nearly Two Years on Average
The data indicated that vacancies were not a short-term issue. Vacant units across both regions had been empty for an average of 20.7 months before the March 31, 2025 snapshot.
Regional and Municipal Breakdown Showed Uneven Performance
A community-level breakdown highlighted specific areas of concern and success.
- Greater Vancouver:
- The City of Vancouver had the largest number of unoccupied units at 1,542, or 24.3% of their funded units.
- New Westminster was the community with the highest unoccupied rate at 25.9%.
- Meanwhile, Burnaby showed a 2.4% unoccupied rate, demonstrating that higher occupancy is possible.
- Greater Victoria:
- The City of Victoria had 185 vacant or unavailable units, representing 16.9% of its local stock.
- Whereas Saanich had the lowest unoccupied rate in the region, at only 1.1%.
This data points to a critical, but fixable, gap in housing opportunities. While all levels of government are currently pursuing new construction to resolve the housing crisis, maximizing the use of existing units is an essential and immediate component of the solution that warrants significant and urgent attention from municipal, provincial, and federal governments.
We need an immediate, transparent, and accountable process to return these units to their vital purpose: sheltering people. Ensuring these existing homes are occupied is the most immediate and important step we can take to save lives and reduce unsheltered homelessness.
Media Contact:
Ashley Shapiro
Chairperson
British Columbia Housing Action Coalition
admin@bchac.org
Data Sources: