City of Vancouver · Special regime
SRA and other specialised Vancouver rentals
Single Room Accommodation is a designation, not a description. If a building is in the by-law's inventory, the tenancy rules still come from the Residential Tenancy Act, but conversion, demolition and rent between tenancies are controlled by the city. This page helps you recognise the designation and find the official references; it never infers it.
≤ 320 sq ft
Rooms in residential hotels, SRO hotels, rooming houses and other non-market housing covered by the by-law.
Schedule A
The designation is a list. A building is SRA because it's in the inventory, not because of its room count.
Permit
Altering, converting or demolishing SRA rooms needs an SRA conversion or demolition permit.
Designation check
Is your building designated?
Answer what you can establish from records. The result says what to look up, not whether the by-law applies.
- Is the building listed in Schedule A of the SRA By-law (the inventory) or on the city's SRA map?
- Are the units rooms of 320 sq ft or less, in a residential hotel, rooming house or non-market building?
- Are you planning to alter, convert or demolish rooms?
Designation not established. Check Schedule A of the by-law or the city's SRA map before relying on either set of rules.
What changes if it is
| Area | Ordinary rental | Designated SRA |
|---|---|---|
| Tenancy rules | Residential Tenancy Act | Residential Tenancy Act, unchanged |
| Rent between tenancies | No control | SRA Vacancy Control Policy limits increases between tenancies |
| Renovation or conversion | Building permit | SRA conversion permit, in addition |
| Demolition | Demolition permit | SRA demolition permit; replacement and relocation conditions |
| Hub tools | Use | Use for the tenancy; not for conversion, demolition or rent between tenancies |