Home > People and programs > Housing > Social- and market rental housing > Temporary modular housing

People and programs

View of modular home at 220 Terminal Ave

Temporary modular housing

Providing the right supply of housing, with the right supports for the City's lower income and homeless residents continues to be a top priority.

By using temporary modular housing, lower-income and homeless residents are placed directly into housing with supportive services until they can transition to longer-term housing solutions.

The Government of British Columbia announced a funding commitment of $66 million towards 600 units of temporary modular housing.

The new housing will be built on underused or vacant sites across Vancouver to address the immediate needs of housing for homeless residents.

What's happening

Tour a display unit

The temporary modular display unit will be open to the public at John Hendry Park.

Date: October 4 until October 15 (closed Monday, Oct 9)
Where: John Henry Park (Trout Lake), 3300 Victoria Dr, north parking lot
When: Monday to Friday, 11:30am to 6:00pm and Saturday and Sunday, 10:30am to 2:30pm

What is modular housing?

A modular home is a unit built inside a factory.

The finished units are covered and transported to new locations, where they are assembled into a building by professional builders. It is not a mobile home.

"The City is making big moves to get the right supply of housing that meets peoples’ needs and incomes.” - Mayor Robertson

Benefits of temporary modular housing

Provides a home for lower-income and homeless residents in approximately six months
Helps street homelessness by providing a home with the right supports until permanent, affordable housing is available
Designs are built to the City's building codes
Creates a sense of community
Reduced waste during manufacturing and installation
Delays are less likely to happen during construction in a controlled environment
Provides an opportunity for temporary housing for up to five years
Can relocate and reconfigure to fit different sites or future sites

220 Terminal Ave: Vancouver's first modular housing development

In 2016, Vancouver’s Affordable Housing Agency (VAHA) announced it was working to provide Vancouver’s first temporary modular housing development. Horizon North was selected from a shortlist to construct the project.

220 Terminal Ave was completed in February 2017. The development features 40 homes for low-income residents including:

A bathroom
A kitchen
Shared laundry
Communal indoor and outdoor amenity space

Four suites were designed to accommodate persons with accessibility requirements and featured customized layouts and a user-friendly adaptive design.

The City of Vancouver contributed undeveloped, City-owned land to VAHA for this project. Funding to support VAHA’s temporary modular housing development also came from the Government of Canada, Vancity, and a private donation.

VAHA continues to explore temporary modular housing projects on new sites to create even more below-market rental housing for Vancouver residents as there is an urgent need for both interim and permanent housing.