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Neighbourhood guide

Living in Fairview, Vancouver

The hospital district, South Granville, Cambie Village and Granville Island, all inside one local area with a Canada Line station on its eastern edge. Here is what renting in Fairview is actually like, who it tends to suit, and what changes when the Broadway subway opens.
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Central Hospital district Canada Line Granville Island
Runners on the False Creek seawall, with downtown towers across the water
94 rentals available in Fairview
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What's it like to live in Fairview?

Fairview is the most central neighbourhood in Vancouver that is not on the downtown peninsula, and its residents are disproportionately people who need to be close to something specific. Vancouver General Hospital, the BC Cancer Agency and the research institutes around them are the largest employer cluster on the west side, and a great many Fairview tenancies exist because someone works a shift there and wants a walk rather than a commute.The housing is mostly apartment. About 34,000 people live across 3.27 square kilometres, which puts the density between Kitsilano and downtown, and the building types run from the 1970s low rises on the Fairview Slopes down toward False Creek, through mid rise rental along Broadway, to newer towers on the Cambie corridor. Bedroom counts are better than downtown for the money and worse than the east side, and the slopes buildings often come with a view over False Creek that costs more than the unit warrants. Just under six in ten households rent, and the median age of 41 runs a couple of years above Kitsilano and more above Mount Pleasant, which shows in how the neighbourhood behaves on a weeknight.Three shopping streets divide it up. South Granville runs galleries, furniture showrooms and the Stanley Theatre, and is the dressiest of the three. Broadway is the practical one: clinics, banks, groceries and the 99 B-Line. Cambie Village at the south east corner is the neighbourhood one: a row of small restaurants, with Vij’s just across Cambie. Granville Island is at the bottom of the hill, which means the Public Market is a genuine weekly grocery option and not just somewhere you take visitors.The transit case is about to get stronger. Broadway–City Hall is already a Canada Line station and a ten minute ride to downtown; when the Millennium Line extension opens in fall 2027 it becomes an interchange between two lines, and a second station opens at South Granville. Fairview is one of the few places in the city where you can reasonably expect transit to improve rather than just get busier.

Best suited for

  • Hospital and clinic staff
  • Commuters who want one transfer
  • Couples and downsizers
  • Anyone who cycles the seawall
  • –Renters hunting the lowest rent
  • –Anyone who needs a quiet main street

Quick facts

  • Population34,000
  • Renter households59%
  • Median age41
  • Rental vacancy1.8%

Getting around

One of the few addresses in the city within a short ride of downtown, the airport, UBC and the hospital.

96/100

WalkabilityThree shopping streets and a public market

91/100

Transit accessCanada Line plus the full Broadway bus corridor

89/100

CyclingSeawall and greenways, but the slopes are steep
Vancouver General Hospital8 min walk
Broadway–City Hall Station15 min walk
YVR airport25 min by Canada Line
Granville Island12 min walk
Downtown Vancouver12 min by Canada Line
UBC campus25 min by bus
Canada Line
99 B-Line
9 Boundary
10 Granville
14 Hastings
16 Arbutus
17 Oak
50 False Creek South
Aquabus

Fairview on the map

The neighbourhood boundary, and the places listed further down the page.

Schools and childcare

Only two public elementary schools sit inside the neighbourhood, and the catchment secondary depends on which half of Fairview you are in. Confirm your address with the Vancouver School Board before you sign.
SchoolTypeWalk time
False Creek ElementaryCatchment school
Public · K–711 min
L'École Bilingue ElementaryFrench immersion
Public · K–714 min
Kitsilano SecondaryCatchment secondary, west Fairview
Public · 8–1220 min
Eric Hamber SecondaryCatchment secondary, east Fairview
Public · 8–1228 min
Edith Cavell Elementary
Public · K–719 min
École Saint-Sacrement
Independent · K–716 min
City Hall Childcare Society
Childcare · 0–515 min
False Creek Community Centre
Childcare and programs13 min

Around the neighbourhood

Walk times from West Broadway and Granville.

Groceries

  • Loblaws1 min
  • La Win Supermarket6 min
  • Meinhardt8 min
  • No Frills9 min

Coffee and bakeries

  • Blenz Coffee1 min
  • Starbucks1 min
  • Dose Espresso Bar1 min
  • Café salade de fruits4 min

Food and drink

  • Cactus Club Cafe1 min
  • JINYA Ramen Bar1 min
  • Sushi Van1 min
  • Earls3 min

Parks

  • Granville Loop Park7 min
  • Sutcliffe Park10 min
  • Granville Park11 min
  • Choklit Park11 min

Arts and culture

  • Ian Tan Gallery3 min
  • Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage4 min
  • Pacific Theatre6 min
  • Fifth Avenue Cinemas9 min

Everyday services

  • Pharmasave1 min
  • VPL: Firehall Branch2 min
  • Shoppers Drug Mart6 min
  • Granville Island Public Market16 min

Rent with confidence in Fairview

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.
Fairview attracts a steady flow of medical residents, visiting researchers and exchange students, which is exactly the audience rental scams target because they are often booking from another city. Never send a deposit before someone has shown you the unit, in person or on a live video call, and never pay outside a platform that keeps a record. 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

Fairview rental questions

Is Fairview expensive compared with the rest of Vancouver?

Less than its reputation suggests. CMHC's October 2025 survey put the average rent for a purpose built apartment at $1,929 in its South Granville/Oak zone, a shade under the $1,970 Vancouver average, though that figure covers every occupied unit including long tenancies held down by rent control, so a suite coming available today asks above it. Within the neighbourhood, the Fairview Slopes buildings with a False Creek view and the newer Cambie corridor towers are the expensive end, while older mid rise stock on the numbered avenues south of Broadway is the value end.

Is Fairview a good place to live if I work at VGH?

It is the obvious choice. The hospital campus sits inside the neighbourhood at Oak and 12th, so most Fairview addresses are a walk or a single short bus ride, which matters a great deal on a shift that starts before transit is frequent. The same applies to the BC Cancer Agency and the clinics along Broadway.

Does Fairview have a SkyTrain station?

Yes. Broadway–City Hall on the Canada Line is in the neighbourhood, about ten minutes from downtown and twenty five from the airport. When the Millennium Line extension opens in fall 2027 that station becomes a two line interchange and a second station opens at South Granville.

Is Fairview a good neighbourhood for families?

It works better for one or two children than for larger families, mainly on unit size. False Creek Elementary and L’École Bilingue are the two public elementary schools inside the neighbourhood, and the catchment secondary is Kitsilano Secondary in the west and Eric Hamber in the east, so check which one a specific address falls into before committing.

Is parking included with Fairview rentals?

More often than in Kitsilano or the West End, because a larger share of the stock is newer buildings with underground parking, but it is frequently charged separately rather than included. Street parking near the hospital and along South Granville is permit-controlled and genuinely competitive.

When is the best time to look for a rental in Fairview?

Late spring and midsummer are the strongest months, and there is a second smaller wave in late June when medical residencies and research contracts turn over. December and January are quietest. Vacancy in CMHC's South Granville/Oak zone was 1.8% in October 2025 against 3.7% citywide, so expect competition whenever you look, and units within a short walk of the hospital move fastest at any time of year.
Ready to look? Browse Fairview rentalsStudios from $1,525 to 3 beds from $2,700
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Methodology

Places, parks, schools and transit routes on this page come from OpenStreetMap. Walk times are approximate. Population, age and how many households rent come from Statistics Canada's 2021 Census. Neighbourhood figures total its smallest published areas inside the City of Vancouver's local area boundaries. Rent and vacancy come from CMHC's Rental Market Survey for October 2025, in its South Granville/Oak zone.Listing counts and prices come from liv.rent, so they show what's on the platform rather than the whole city.OpenStreetMap, Statistics Canada, CMHC. Last updated October 2026.