What downtown means on this page
The City of Vancouver divides itself into 22 local areas for planning. Two of them cover the downtown peninsula: one named Downtown and one named West End. Every count on this page uses those two boundaries as the City publishes them.
Gastown and Yaletown sit inside the Downtown local area. Each has one named boundary in the City's open data, drawn for its business improvement area, which is an association of property owners and business tenants in a commercial district. Coal Harbour and False Creek North have no boundary in that data, so each has a section further down this page.
We read the figures from the City's Open Data Portal on October 4, 2026. The City updates its permit data daily and its tax data weekly, so a count read on a later date can differ.
How many strata lots are downtown, and when they were built
The City's property tax report for 2026 holds 139,127 strata records for the whole city. One strata record is one strata lot, the unit an owner holds title to. The report carries no field for how a lot is used, so the count covers all types of strata lot, homes included.
The Downtown local area holds 42,221 of those lots, the highest count of the 22 local areas and 30.3 percent of the city. The West End holds 9,888, the fifth highest. Together the two areas hold 52,109 strata lots, which is 37.5 percent of the city's total.
BC Assessment assigns each record a year built. The two areas were built in different periods.
- Downtown, built before 1990: 2,274 strata lots, which is 5.4 percent of the area's 42,221.
- Downtown, built 1990 to 1999: 13,640. Built 2000 to 2009: 17,590. Built 2010 to 2019: 6,869.
- West End, built before 1990: 4,242 strata lots, which is 42.9 percent of the area's 9,888.
- West End, built 1990 to 1999: 3,141. Built 2000 to 2009: 962.
- City of Vancouver, built before 1990: 27,722 of 139,127 strata lots, which is 19.9 percent.
- Records with no year: 846 in Downtown and 772 in the West End. The newest year on any 2026 strata record is 2021.
Renovation permits the City has issued downtown
The City publishes every building permit it has issued since 2017. Between January 3, 2017 and October 2, 2026 it issued 25,846 permits with the type of work "Addition / Alteration", one of six types in the data.
The Downtown local area received 7,206 of them and the West End 2,364. Those are the two highest counts of the 22 local areas, and together they are 37.0 percent of the city's total. Downtown ranked first in every year from 2017 to 2026. In 2025, the last full year, the City issued 667 in Downtown and 227 in the West End.
Some permits list "Multiple Dwelling" as a use. Among Addition / Alteration permits that do, the West End has 1,361 and Downtown has 1,079, the two highest counts in the city, out of 5,479. The data leaves Multiple Dwelling undefined and has no field for strata or rental. The records we read include work inside one unit, such as a bathroom renovation, and work on a whole building, such as an elevator upgrade.
These figures count permits the City has already issued. They set no rule about which work needs a permit, so we confirm that with the City for your scope of work before we give a start date.
What renovating in a downtown building involves
Strata approval comes first. Under BC's Standard Bylaws, an owner needs the strata corporation's written approval before altering the parts of a unit listed in Bylaw 5(1), which include the original flooring, plumbing fixtures and electrical fixtures. The strata must not unreasonably withhold that approval.
Your building's own bylaws and rules come next. The Standard Bylaws apply unless a strata has filed different bylaws at the land title office, and each building sets its working hours, insurance documents, deposits and fees in its bylaws, rules or alteration agreement. Ask for all of them in writing before you plan dates.
Materials and waste travel by elevator. The Province of BC says the common property of a condominium typically includes hallways and elevators, and section 125 of the Strata Property Act lets a strata make rules for the use, safety and condition of common property. We read those rules before we plan a delivery.
An inspection for hazardous materials happens before work begins. Section 20.112 of BC's Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires the employers and the owner to ensure that a qualified person inspects the building for hazardous materials, asbestos included, before renovation starts. The written report must be available at the unit while work goes on.
Permits come from the City of Vancouver. Technical Safety BC lists the City of Vancouver among 10 municipalities that issue their own electrical and gas permits, and it states that owners of a strata must hire a licensed contractor for that work. For a building permit, the City confirms what your scope needs.
West End, Gastown and Yaletown
Three parts of the peninsula have enough City data of their own for a separate page. Each page uses a different boundary, named at the top of that page.
- West End: 9,888 strata lots, 4,242 of them built before 1990, and the city's highest count of alteration permits that list Multiple Dwelling.
- Gastown: a national historic site of Canada since 2009, where 115 of the 116 heritage register buildings inside the business improvement area carry a City heritage designation.
- Yaletown: 6,581 strata lots inside the business improvement area, 6,005 of them built between 1990 and 2009.
Coal Harbour
Coal Harbour has no boundary of its own in the City's open data. It is absent from the 22 local areas and from the business improvement areas, and a search of the data catalogue for the name returns no data set. The name appears on two records: Coal Harbour Park and the Coal Harbour community centre, both at 480 Broughton Street and both recorded in the Downtown local area.
A strata lot in a building that people place in Coal Harbour is counted in the figures above under the local area it stands in. For a renovation there, the same two sources apply as elsewhere on the peninsula: the building's own bylaws for approval and the City of Vancouver for permits.
False Creek North
False Creek North has a name in the City's open data and no shape. The City collects development cost levies from new development that needs a building permit, and its data set of levy areas lists "False Creek North ODP" as an exempt area, noted as excluded from the levy by-laws, with by-law number 6650 and an empty boundary field. No other data set carries the name.
With no boundary to count inside, the City's data gives no separate figure for strata lots or permits in False Creek North. A strata lot there is counted under the local area it stands in, and a renovation there depends on the building's bylaws and the City's permits, as it does anywhere downtown.
How we work in a downtown building
RealDream Contracting is based in North Vancouver. Downtown, we take on condo kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and full interiors, and we follow the same steps on each job.
- Before quoting, we visit the unit and read the building's bylaws, rules and any renovation form or alteration agreement.
- We check the year built and arrange the hazardous materials inspection before the price is fixed.
- We prepare the strata request with you, using the same scope of work as our contract, and we set the start date after the written approval arrives.
- We confirm with the City what permits the scope needs, and licensed contractors do the electrical and gas work under permits.
- We plan deliveries, waste removal and working days around the building's rules for hours, elevator use and protection of shared surfaces.
How a downtown condo renovation is priced
We price a condo renovation after a site visit and a read of the building's bylaws, and we publish no condo price list. For comparison, our published 2026 ranges for a North Shore house are $65,000 to $110,000 for a full kitchen replacement in the same layout and $28,000 to $48,000 for a full bathroom in the existing layout. Both are house figures.
A downtown quote adds what the building requires: its working hours, the handling of materials through the elevator, protection of shared surfaces, the hazardous materials inspection, and any fees or deposits in its bylaws or rules.
Sources
- City of Vancouver Open Data Portal, "Issued building permits" (read October 4, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Open Data Portal, "Property tax report" (read October 4, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Open Data Portal, "Property addresses" (read October 4, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Open Data Portal, "Local area boundary" (read October 4, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Open Data Portal, "Business improvement areas (BIA)" (read October 4, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Open Data Portal, "Heritage sites" (read October 4, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Open Data Portal, "Parks" (read October 4, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Open Data Portal, "Community centres" (read October 4, 2026)
- City of Vancouver Open Data Portal, "Development Cost Levy (DCL) areas" (read October 4, 2026)
- Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Vancouver
- Strata Property Act, Schedule of Standard Bylaws (BC Laws)
- Strata Property Act, SBC 1998, c. 43 (BC Laws)
- Province of BC, "Strata bylaws and rules explained"
- Province of BC, "Common property and limited common property"
- Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, B.C. Reg. 296/97, section 20.112 (BC Laws)
- WorkSafeBC, "A home renovation shouldn't actually take your breath away" (asbestos campaign page)
- Technical Safety BC, "Jurisdiction"
- Technical Safety BC, "Homeowner Electrical Permits"
- Vancouver Charter, Part XXVIII, Heritage Conservation, sections 582, 593 and 597 (BC Laws)
- Method: a strata lot is placed in a local area by matching the tax record's land coordinate to the same key in the property addresses data. 139,125 of 139,127 strata records matched.
Frequently asked questions
How many strata lots are there in downtown Vancouver?
Downtown Vancouver has 52,109 strata lots on the City's 2026 property tax roll, counting the two local areas that cover the peninsula: 42,221 in Downtown and 9,888 in the West End. Together that is 37.5 percent of the 139,127 strata lots in the City of Vancouver. The tax report has no field for use, so the count includes all types of strata lot, homes included.
When were most downtown Vancouver strata buildings built?
Most strata lots in the Downtown local area were built from 1990 to 2009. BC Assessment's year built, published in the City's 2026 property tax report, puts 13,640 of the area's 42,221 strata lots in the 1990s and 17,590 in the 2000s, which together is 74.0 percent. A further 2,274 were built before 1990, and 846 records carry no year.
How many alteration permits does the City issue in downtown Vancouver in a year?
In 2025 the City of Vancouver issued 667 Addition / Alteration building permits in the Downtown local area and 227 in the West End, according to its open data on issued building permits. Downtown had the highest count of the city's 22 local areas in every year from 2017 to 2026. The count covers every building use in the data, homes and businesses together, and was read on October 4, 2026.
Which part of Vancouver has the most alteration permits for multiple dwellings?
The West End has the most alteration permits for multiple dwellings. From January 3, 2017 to October 2, 2026 the City issued 1,361 Addition / Alteration permits there that list Multiple Dwelling as a use, ahead of 1,079 in Downtown and 787 in Fairview. The two downtown local areas hold 44.5 percent of the city's 5,479 such permits. The data leaves Multiple Dwelling undefined and has no field for strata or rental.
Does Coal Harbour or False Creek North have its own boundary in City of Vancouver data?
Coal Harbour and False Creek North have no boundary shape in the City's open data, as read on October 4, 2026. Coal Harbour appears as the name of a park and a community centre at 480 Broughton Street. False Creek North appears once, as an area excluded from the development cost levy by-laws, with an empty boundary field. Strata lots in both are counted under the local area they stand in.
Which downtown Vancouver neighbourhoods have an official boundary?
Downtown and the West End are two of the City of Vancouver's 22 local areas, each with a published boundary that the City describes as fixed. Gastown and Yaletown each have one named boundary in the open data, drawn for a business improvement area. The City says those boundaries tend to follow street or lane centrelines and are approximate. We use these four boundaries for every count on our downtown pages.
How many downtown Vancouver strata lots were built before 1990?
On the downtown peninsula, 6,516 strata lots have a year built before 1990 in the City's 2026 property tax report: 2,274 in the Downtown local area and 4,242 in the West End. WorkSafeBC says a home built before 1990 is likely to contain some asbestos that renovation work could release. BC's regulation requires a hazardous materials inspection before renovation in a building of any age.
How can I find the year my downtown Vancouver building was built?
The City of Vancouver's property tax report lists a year built for each property, assigned by BC Assessment from permit records, and the City publishes the report on its Open Data Portal. Some records are blank: 846 strata records in the Downtown local area and 772 in the West End carry no year for 2026. Where the field is blank, ask your strata council, which keeps the developer's building permit plans under sections 20 and 35 of the Strata Property Act.
Can the City's permit data tell me whether my condo renovation needs a permit?
The City's data on issued building permits records permits already issued and sets no rule about which work needs one. The 2026 West End records we read include a bathroom renovation inside one unit and an elevator upgrade for a whole building, so one category holds small and large work together. Confirm with the City of Vancouver what your own scope needs before any date is set.
How many heritage buildings are in downtown Vancouver?
The City's heritage sites data lists 409 heritage buildings in the Downtown local area and 135 in the West End, in an extract dated March 24, 2023. Of Downtown's 409, the data marks 275 as having a municipal designation. Under section 593 of the Vancouver Charter, a designated building's exterior and structure cannot be altered without a heritage alteration permit, so ask your strata whether your building is designated.
