Below Market Lease – Affordable Housing Societies Street Homes
Motion 27 · Council Meeting, July 28, 2026
Summary
- Council authorized an extension of the below-market ground lease with Affordable Housing Societies (AHS) for seven duplex properties known as the Street Homes, located in the Strathcona neighbourhood, through August 30, 2035.
- The Street Homes consist of 14 non-market residential units that provide housing for low- to moderate-income households, with rents ranging from $1,495 to $2,470 per month.
- The original 40-year lease commenced in 1985 and expired in August 2025; the properties have been in overhold since then, making this extension an urgent priority.
- Ground rent for the extension period will be set at 50% of projected annual operating surpluses, consistent with the City's Non-Profit Lease Renewal Framework; total estimated rent payments over the extension are approximately $882,000.
- The estimated fair market value of the below-market lease extension is approximately $1.64 million, which constitutes a grant requiring a two-thirds Council majority to approve under the Vancouver Charter.
- Any remaining operating surpluses after ground rent are to be split equally between the City and AHS, with AHS required to direct its share toward improving affordability or creating new social housing in Vancouver.
Vote
Public comments
Read all 5 statements
Transcript
8 segments
Okay. Item two. Item three, below market lease extension to affordable housing societies for the street homes. Before we begin this agenda item, does anybody have a conflict they need to declare? Seeing no one's hands up, this item does not have a team member presentation. Councillor Dominato, you held this item, so you have up to five minutes to ask questions of team members.
My mic on. My counselor is already on the queue. That is a holdover. Okay. Thank you.
Yes, Mayor, just in light of reviewing the report with interest, I was just curious if staff, given I was reading that the Affordable Housing Society operates quite a number of non-profit residential buildings in the city, and with quite a large number of units, I was just curious if staff could comment on their performance as a society, and just in a little bit more context.
It's Ryan Bigelow, Managing Director of Non-Market Housing Development. So Affordable Housing Society operates a number of buildings in Vancouver. They also, many of those are on leased land from the City of Vancouver. I would say they're an operator in good standing. They provide a great service to tenants. We have not had any compliance issues with our particular leases, and any feedback has historically been positive.
Okay, thank you. That's all my questions. I'm happy to move the report.
Thank you. Would someone like to second it? Councillor Claston, thank you very much. Council, is there any discussion? Seeing no one in the queue, I'm going to call the vote.
If we can please go to the voting panel.
Statement Watch
Yeah. Thanks very much. It's quite an honor for this to be marked. It's quite important for us to mark Emancipation Day as a community. I think it's wonderful that the City of Vancouver and the Mayor of Vancouver are marking Emancipation Day. I don't think we do enough in Canada to actually mark Emancipation Day. Juneteenth is very important for Americans, and we seem to latch on to some of that. But there's obviously a lot of work to be done. The history of the relationship between the city of Vancouver and the Black communities has been, at best, a complicated one. And we hope that there will be improvements. There's a reason why the United Nations decided to have another decade to mark black presence, black dignity, addressing anti-racism against black people. And some of this is reflected in the work that is done and hasn't been done in the city of Vancouver. So this is an important day. It's an important celebration. And we hope that the work does go with the words. Thank you.
Statement Watch
I'd like to say a few words. Good day. My name is Neville Thomas.
I would like to say thanks for having us here. The group has reduced considerably, but I'm happy to be here.
Also, the presence of Dr. Andrew Wright, nice meeting you. I would like to start by saying thanks to group for your contribution, participation over all these years. This occasion is a historic one.
And at the end of all year, 26, 27, I would like you to be assured that we, the members of the anti-racism group, greatly appreciate the contribution you have made, as well as the greater population. Thank you, and we look forward to continued relationships and your contribution as we move forward.
Statement Watch
First of all, I'd like to thank all the councillors in the city of Vancouver for recognizing the contributions of my father. He's quite humble, and he didn't even know about this. We just surprised him. He just found out right now. Yeah, so Connor's been very working with us on that end. But thank you very much, and I want to thank all the family members that are here today. You all mean a lot to my dad and us, and it's a great day for him. Thank you. I just told him he was coming for lunch at City Hall. And it would be a quick 15 minutes. And yeah, I don't know if he was playing along or if he actually knew, but I don't think he knew. Are you surprised? I think it is a great surprise for me. I would like to thank for recognizing me as the founder of the Punjabi market. So I'm very thankful for the city hall and all the city Councillors for recognizing my services for the senior society and as well as for the Punjabi market. Thank you.
Statement Watch
First of all, I'd like to thank all the councillors in the city of Vancouver for recognizing the contributions of my father. He's quite humble, and he didn't even know about this. We just surprised him. He just found out right now. Yeah, so Connor's been very working with us on that end. But thank you very much, and I want to thank all the family members that are here today. You all mean a lot to my dad and us, and it's a great day for him. Thank you. I just told him he was coming for lunch at City Hall. And it would be a quick 15 minutes. And yeah, I don't know if he was playing along or if he actually knew, but I don't think he knew. Are you surprised? I think it is a great surprise for me. I would like to thank for recognizing me as the founder of the Punjabi market. So I'm very thankful for the city hall and all the city Councillors for recognizing my services for the senior society and as well as for the Punjabi market. Thank you.
Statement Watch
Well done. Thank you.
Do we get, like, the group photo?
Yeah, for sure.
We've got one more. We've got somebody else who'd like to speak. Gentlemen, it's my pleasure to know Mr. Sutakale for a long time. And I found him such a nice person, so amicable, so friendly. And I have learned a lot from him. I have read some of his books. They were very inspiring. They reflect what the community is here. So it gives me inspiration as well as good guidance. And with his inspiration, I have also written two books. One is Life and Act of Art. and today I have another poetry in daily life. The first I have presented to your worship, Damir, and today I will again, if I meet him, I will present him the other book. So Mr. Suchas is still going well. He's so energetic, even, you know, all these, you know, health problems. So it is something which is working inside him, behind him, and of course, when we say behind him, Unfortunately, his better half is not there, but his family, it's a pillar for him. So I wish Mr. Sucha all the best in his life, and I wish all the best for the family. They must continue taking care of him. Thanks a lot.