False Creek South leases on City land

Types of leases

There are 1,849 housing units on City land that are a mix of housing types. An additional 1,354 homes are on land owned by private owners or other levels of government.

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  Residential strata leasehold

  12 buildings/669 units

  Ownership and management:

  • Units organized into 12 strata corporations
  • Land leased to tenants at market rates, the great majority of these leases are prepaid
  • Some instances of leasehold lessees renting units to short-term and long-term sub-tenants

  Current lease end terms:

  • Building ownership is transferred to the City and City receives the buildings, in good condition
  • Lessees receive a leasehold interest in the strata lot (LISL) payment from the City

  Important note The leasehold interest in the strata lot (LISL) payment refers to a payment due to the strata leasehold lessees at lease expiry. This LISL payment is standard for strata leasehold properties, and is intended to compensate the tenant at lease-end for the fair market value of the improvements on the land at lease-end.

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  Commercial strata leasehold

  48 units

  Ownership and management:

  • Commercial retail and office units situated within four mixed-use buildings
  • Some strata leasehold lessees rent units to sub-tenants

  Current lease end terms:

  • Building ownership is transferred to the City and City receives the buildings, in good condition
  • Lessees receive a leasehold interest in the strata lot (LISL) payment from the City
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  Market rental

  Two buildings/150 units

  Ownership and management: 

  • Operated by a business on a for-profit basis

  Current lease end terms:

  • Building ownership is transferred to the City and City receives the buildings, in good condition, at no cost
     
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  Co-ops

  Seven buildings/517 units

  Ownership and management: 

  • Self-operated by each co-op

  Current lease end terms:

  • Building ownership is transferred to the City and City receives the buildings, in good condition, at no cost

  Important note Council approved the citywide co-op lease renewal framework in July 2021. 

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  Non-market rental and non-market seniors rental

  Four buildings/319 units

  Ownership and management: 

  • Operated by different non-profit operators

  Current lease end terms:

  • Building ownership is transferred to the City and City receives the buildings, in good condition, at no cost
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  Floating co-op

  One building/55 units

  Ownership and management:

  • 55 liveaboard homes within a single marina
  • Waterlot within which the docks reside is leased from the provincial government
  • One lease with the City for the associated parkade
  • Operated by co-op members

  Current lease end terms:

  • City receives the underground parking lot, in good condition, at no cost
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  Community care facilities

  Two buildings/140 units

  Ownership and management:

  • Operated by non-profit agencies that receive funding for their operating costs from the provincial government

  Current lease end terms:

  • Building ownership is transferred to the City and City receives the buildings, in good condition, at no cost
     

Next steps

We're considering how we can maintain affordable housing for diverse groups of people, including current residents. A new vision for False Creek South would be implemented slowly over time and our approach would be based on: 

• Retaining public ownership of the lands
• Treating tenants and leaseholders in False Creek South fairly
• Respecting the original vision for False Creek South as an affordable, diverse neighbourhood, that is home to a mix of housing types and income levels

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  Leasehold strata leases

  Leasehold strata leases are market units that can be bought and sold like a fee-simple interest. Under the lease agreements the City has the ability to renew the leases. Should those leases be extended, lessees would need to pay land rent to the City at the market rate. At this time no decision has been made to renew the leases.

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  Non-profit and co-op lease renewal frameworks

  There are five co-ops in False Creek South on City land and many of their land leases are due to expire over the next decade. Council approved the citywide co-op lease renewal framework in July 2021. Council also approved the citywide non-profit housing lease renewal framework in July 2018 PDF file (530 KB).

  Learn more about co-op lease renewals

Background

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  Protection for residents

  In 2018, Council approved the Resident Protection and Retention Plan (RPRP). The plan offers support and protection to existing False Creek South residents and helps ensure they can remain in the neighbourhood. The principles of the plan align with the existing Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP) and the False Creek South Engagement Principles.

  The principles are:

  • Minimizing displacement
  • Right to return
  • Affordability
  • Right to relocate
  • Mitigation of hardship
  • Advance notice and transparency
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  Past updates

  April 2017

  We started assessing the condition of all buildings on City land in False Creek South. The assessments help us as we work with False Creek South residents and the community to develop the future vision for False Creek South. A clear understanding of current building conditions is important for the upcoming work on planning, affordable options to stay in the neighbourhood, and issues related to expiring leases.

  Ameresco, an independent contractor, is assessing the buildings and providing us with a report.

  Learn what information is collected in the sample report PDF file (3.3 MB)

  Building managers or operators received information on the building condition assessments program. Ameresco arranged a time to assess each building. For questions, contact your building manager or operator, or our project team below.

  Summer and fall 2016

  We continued to work with the provincial government and consulted with False Creek South strata leaseholders to clarify how the fair market value of their interest in the strata lot would be calculated when the leases expire.

  We reported back to Council in fall 2016 with a timeline for negotiating the False Creek South co-op lease renewals, and how they fit in with the strategy for co-op leases on City land across Vancouver.

  Finally, we continued to evaluate the costs, benefits, and implications of various renewal, extension, and redevelopment options.

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  Documents

  • False Creek South Provisional Resident Protection and Retention Plan presentation (March 13, 2018) PDF file (1.3 MB)
  • False Creek South Provisional Resident Protection and Retention Plan report (March 13, 2018) PDF file (558 KB)
  • Framework Process for Resolution of Leasehold Strata End-of-Lease Issues, July 12, 2017 PDF file (770 KB)
  • Tenant Relocation And Protection Policy PDF file (789 KB)
  • False Creek South engagement principles PDF file (68 KB)
  • Strata leasehold delegate terms of reference PDF file (50 KB)