Neighbourhood guide
Living in Dunbar-Southlands, Vancouver
A single storey village high street with a cinema, a butcher and a library on it, a forest at one end and horse paddocks at the other. The quietest corner of Vancouver, and the hardest one to find a rental in.
Village high street Pacific Spirit Park Southlands Quiet
45 rentals available in Dunbar-Southlands
What's it like to live in Dunbar-Southlands?
Dunbar Street between about 27th and 33rd is one of the last proper village high streets in Vancouver: a single screen cinema still showing films, a library branch, a London Drugs, Stong’s Market, a handful of cafes and family restaurants, all in low rise buildings within a few minutes of each other. Step off it and the neighbourhood is wide, quiet, heavily treed residential streets, with Pacific Spirit Regional Park a twenty minute walk west and the forest edge visible from the top of the hill.The obstacle for renters is supply, and it is severe. Only about 27% of households here rent, the lowest share of any Vancouver local area, and 63% of the homes are detached houses. Under 1% of the dwellings in the entire neighbourhood are in a building of five storeys or more, and fewer than 10% are in low rise apartments. What that leaves is house suites, which make up around 26% of the homes and are where nearly all of the rental market actually lives.Southlands, at the bottom of the hill, is unlike anywhere else in the city. The land is flat, low lying and partly still zoned for agriculture, with riding stables, paddocks and the Southlands Riding Club sitting a few minutes from ordinary suburban streets. It is beautiful and genuinely rural in feel, and it is also the furthest thing in Vancouver from a bus route, so treat a Southlands address as a different proposition from a Dunbar Street one.The demographic is settled and family centred: a median age of 44, an average household of 2.8 people, and a cluster of schools including Lord Kitchener and Southlands Elementary, Queen Elizabeth Annex and St. George’s. Lord Byng Secondary, the catchment school, sits just over the northern boundary. Nobody moves here for nightlife, and the people who live here mostly regard that as the feature rather than the bug.
Best suited for
- Families with school age children
- Anyone who wants a real village high street
- Runners and walkers near Pacific Spirit Park
- People commuting to UBC
- –Renters who need choice and availability
- –Anyone who wants a night out nearby
Quick facts
- Population22,000
- Renter households27%
- Median age44
- Detached houses63%
Getting around
No rapid transit anywhere near, and none planned. The 7 along Dunbar Street is the workhorse, and UBC is the one place that is genuinely quick to reach.79/100
WalkabilityThe Dunbar Street village covers daily needs; Southlands does not52/100
Transit accessFrequent buses on Dunbar and 41st, but a long way from any station72/100
CyclingQuiet streets and park trails, with a steep climb back from the riverVPL Dunbar Branch1 min walk
Stong's Market5 min walk
UBC campus20 min by bus
Dunbar Community Centre3 min walk
Pacific Spirit Regional Park20 min walk
Downtown Vancouver45 min by transit
7 Dunbar
2 Macdonald
25 King Edward
33 33rd Avenue
R4 41st Ave
49 Metrotown
Dunbar-Southlands on the map
The neighbourhood boundary, and the places listed further down the page.Schools and childcare
Walk times are measured from Dunbar Street and West 30th Avenue. The catchment secondary, Lord Byng, sits just over the northern boundary. Confirm your catchment with the Vancouver School Board before you commit to a lease.| School | Type | Walk time |
|---|---|---|
St. George's Junior School | Independent · K–7 | 6 min |
Lord Kitchener ElementaryCatchment elementary | Public · K–7 | 11 min |
Queen Elizabeth Annex | Public · K–3 | 13 min |
St. George's Senior School | Independent · 8–12 | 16 min |
Southlands Elementary | Public · K–7 | 19 min |
Lord Byng SecondaryCatchment secondary, in West Point Grey | Public · 8–12 | 25 min |
Around the neighbourhood
Walk times from Dunbar Street and West 30th Avenue. A few of these sit just outside the neighbourhood boundary, where they are the nearest of their kind.Groceries
- Stong's Market5 min
- H-Mart16 min
- Save-On-Foods18 min
- The Local Farm Market24 min
Coffee and bakeries
- Prado Cafe2 min
- Toña Bakery & Café4 min
- Bread Culture16 min
- Butter Baked Goods18 min
Food and drink
- Cosy Inn Cafe2 min
- Moon Sushi4 min
- Wild Sushi5 min
Parks
- Memorial West Park5 min
- Chaldecott Park10 min
- Balaclava Park11 min
- Valdez Park16 min
Fitness and recreation
- Dunbar Community Centre3 min
- Dunbar Lawn Bowling5 min
- J. Li Pilates Studio23 min
- Lord Byng Pool26 min
Everyday services
- London Drugs1 min
- VPL: Dunbar Branch1 min
- Shoppers Drug Mart4 min
- YNP Dunbar Pharmacy7 min
Rent with confidence in Dunbar-Southlands
What BC tenancy rules protect, and how liv.rent keeps the process safe from first message to signed lease.Deposits are capped
A landlord in BC can ask for a security deposit of up to half a month of rent, plus up to half a month again if you have a pet. Anything more is not permitted.Rent increases are limited
Existing tenancies can only be increased once every 12 months, by no more than the provincial cap, and with three full months of written notice.Every listing is verified
Landlords complete ID verification before they can post, and you can sign the lease and pay rent through liv.rent, so there is no e-transfer to a stranger.This is the least renter heavy neighbourhood in Vancouver, so listings are scarce and applicants often feel pressure to commit before they have properly seen a place. That pressure is what rental fraud runs on. Nearly everything here is a suite in somebody’s house, so get the practical terms in writing, what is included, how utilities are split, laundry, parking and the entrance, and never pay a deposit before you have stood inside the actual suite. The tenancy points above are general information about renting in British Columbia, not legal or financial advice. For guidance on your own tenancy, contact the Residential Tenancy Branch.How liv.rent verification works
Dunbar-Southlands rental questions
Why are there so few rentals in Dunbar-Southlands?
Because of what was built here and what was not. Only about 27% of households rent, the lowest share of any Vancouver local area, 63% of the homes are detached houses, and under 1% of the dwellings are in a building of five storeys or more. Fewer than one home in ten is in a low rise apartment. The rental market is therefore almost entirely house suites, around 26% of the homes, and they turn over slowly. Expect few listings and to move quickly when one appears.
Is Dunbar-Southlands expensive?
Yes, and CMHC cannot tell you precisely how expensive. Its survey zones do not line up with this local area, and its survey covers purpose built apartments, of which there are almost none here. The citywide average was $1,970 on 3.7% vacancy in October 2025, and the neighbouring Westside/Kerrisdale zone came in at $2,385, the highest inside the city. In practice you are paying west side rates for a house suite, usually with a garden and parking included.
What is Southlands like?
Genuinely unusual for a city neighbourhood. It is the flat, low lying land at the bottom of the hill toward the Fraser, partly still zoned for agriculture, with riding stables, paddocks, the Southlands Riding Club and a golf course sitting alongside ordinary residential streets. It is quiet and beautiful and it floods the odd basement. It is also the furthest part of Vancouver from frequent transit, so a Southlands address realistically needs a car in a way a Dunbar Street one does not.
How is the commute from Dunbar-Southlands?
Slow toward downtown, quick toward UBC. There is no rapid transit anywhere near and none planned. The 7 runs the length of Dunbar Street, the R4 and 49 run east and west along 41st and 49th, and UBC is about twenty minutes by bus. Downtown is comfortably three quarters of an hour door to door. Most households here own a car and the street parking is easy by Vancouver standards.
Is Dunbar-Southlands good for families?
It is one of the strongest neighbourhoods in the city for it, which is why the rental supply is so tight. Lord Kitchener and Southlands Elementary, Queen Elizabeth Annex and St. George’s are all inside the boundary, Lord Byng Secondary is just past the northern edge, and the community centre, library and cinema sit together on the high street. Pacific Spirit Regional Park is a twenty minute walk with forest trails running for kilometres. The constraints are price and availability, not amenities.
When is the best time to look for a rental in Dunbar-Southlands?
Listings cluster around the school year, with late spring and August the fullest, and there is a smaller wave in late August tied to UBC. Because the total number of rentals is so small, being ready to apply the day something is posted matters far more than the month you look in. Set an alert and treat any suitable listing as urgent.
Ready to look? Browse Dunbar-Southlands rentalsStudios from $2,275 to 4+ beds from $8,500
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