Features

ScreeningMarketingLeasesAutomationManagementSponsored ListingsSee all features

Use case

LandlordsProperty ManagersBrokerages

Features

Browse ListingsVerified ListingsAutomationBitcoin PaymentsSee all features

Rent Reports

VancouverTorontoMontrealAlbertaWinnipeg

Learn

AboutRenter ResourcesLandlord ResourcesFAQ
Book a demoContact support
Neighbourhood guide

Living in Grandview-Woodland, Vancouver

Commercial Drive runs the length of it, two SkyTrain lines meet at the south end, and almost two thirds of households rent. Here is what renting on the Drive is actually like, what the co-op belt means for supply, and the trade-offs people talk about.
Check availability
Commercial Drive Mostly renters Two SkyTrain lines Low rise
25 rentals available in Grandview-Woodland
Check availability

What's it like to live in Grandview-Woodland?

Nobody says Grandview-Woodland. They say the Drive, and they mean Commercial Drive, the ten block run of independent cafes, produce markets and restaurants that has resisted chain retail longer than any other high street in Vancouver. The local area around it stretches from Clark Drive east to Nanaimo and from the port south to Broadway, but the Drive is what people move here for.It is a renter neighbourhood by a wide margin. About 64% of households rent, third highest of Vancouver’s 22 local areas after the West End and Strathcona, and 64% of the homes are apartments in buildings under five storeys. The other half of that story is non market housing: nearly one in five tenant households here is in a co-op or subsidised unit, a share beaten only by Strathcona and Killarney. That is why the Drive has held onto the mix of people it has, and why turnover in the cheapest stock is slow.The transit case is unusually strong for an east side neighbourhood. Commercial–Broadway is where the Expo and Millennium Lines meet the 99 B-Line, which makes the south end of the neighbourhood one of the best connected addresses in the city and the north end, down by the port, a genuine walk away from it. Cycling is better still: the Off Broadway and Adanac routes and the Central Valley Greenway all pass through, and the grid is flat until you climb toward Broadway.What it is not is quiet or new. The population actually shrank 1% between the 2016 and 2021 censuses while the city grew 5%, because almost nothing was built. The Drive is busy every evening, the older walk ups have thin walls and no in suite laundry, and parking is permit-controlled and genuinely scarce. People who love it here love it for the street life, which is the same thing people leave for.

Best suited for

  • Renters who want a high street
  • Cyclists
  • Transit commuters
  • Anyone priced out of Mount Pleasant
  • –Drivers who need a stall
  • –Anyone wanting a new build

Quick facts

  • Population29,000
  • Renter households64%
  • Median age39
  • Low rise apartments64%

Getting around

Two SkyTrain lines and the 99 B-Line meet at the south end, and the whole grid is flat enough to cycle.

95/100

WalkabilityThe Drive covers groceries, food and errands

92/100

Transit accessExpo and Millennium Lines plus the 99 B-Line

94/100

CyclingAdanac, Off Broadway and the Central Valley Greenway
Commercial–Broadway Station12 min walk
Vancouver General Hospital20 min by bus
UBC campus40 min by bus
Downtown Vancouver20 min by SkyTrain
Metrotown22 min by SkyTrain
YVR airport45 min by transit
Expo Line
Millennium Line
99 B-Line
20 Victoria
9 Boundary
4 Powell
7 Nanaimo Station
14 Hastings

Grandview-Woodland on the map

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

Schools and childcare

Walk times are measured from Commercial Drive and East 1st.
SchoolTypeWalk time
Queen Victoria Annex
Public · K–35 min
Grandview ʔuuqinakʼuuḥ Elementary
Public · K–78 min
Britannia Elementary
Public · K–79 min
Britannia SecondaryShares a campus with the community centre
Public · 8–1210 min
Lord Nelson Elementary
Public · K–713 min
St. Francis of Assisi Elementary
Independent · K–714 min
Templeton Secondary
Public · 8–1218 min
Britannia Community Centre
Childcare and programs9 min

Around the neighbourhood

Walk times from Commercial Drive and East 1st Avenue. A few of these sit just outside the neighbourhood boundary, where they are the nearest of their kind.

Groceries

  • Vancouver Fresh Mart1 min
  • Persia Foods1 min
  • Santa Barbara Market5 min
  • Choices Market9 min

Coffee and bakeries

  • Fratelli's Italian Bakery1 min
  • Cafe Calabria1 min
  • COBS Bread1 min
  • Prado Cafe4 min

Food and drink

  • Sal y Limón1 min
  • La Mezcaleria1 min
  • Bar Corso2 min
  • Arriva Ristorante2 min

Parks

  • Victoria Park5 min
  • Grandview Park7 min
  • McSpadden Park7 min
  • Mosaic Creek Park8 min

Breweries

  • The Charlatan3 min
  • Mum's the Word6 min
  • St Augustine's10 min
  • Strange Fellows Brewing11 min

Everyday services

  • The Drive Pharmacy1 min
  • Il Mercato1 min
  • Pharmasave6 min
  • VPL: Britannia Branch9 min

Rent with confidence in Grandview-Woodland

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.
A large share of the cheaper housing here is co-op or non market, which is allocated through waiting lists rather than listed for rent. If an advertisement offers you a co-op unit at a market rent, treat that as a warning sign. Never send a deposit before you have seen the actual unit. 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

Grandview-Woodland rental questions

Is Grandview-Woodland expensive compared with the rest of Vancouver?

No, and it is one of the better value central neighbourhoods. CMHC's October 2025 survey put the average rent for a purpose built apartment at $1,827 in its East Hastings zone, which covers the northeast of the city, against $1,970 across Vancouver. That average 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 blocks nearest Commercial Drive cost more than the streets toward Nanaimo.

Is Grandview-Woodland the same as Commercial Drive?

Effectively, yes. Grandview-Woodland is the City of Vancouver planning name for the local area; Commercial Drive is the high street running through the middle of it, and it is what almost everyone calls the neighbourhood. Listings, transit maps and this guide all use the official name so they match the city records.

How good is transit from the Drive?

Very good at the south end. Commercial–Broadway is where the Expo Line, the Millennium Line and the 99 B-Line all meet, so you can reach downtown, Metrotown, Burnaby and the Broadway corridor without a transfer. The north end of the neighbourhood, toward the port, is a longer walk and leans on the 20 Victoria down the Drive.

What is the co-op housing here and can I rent one?

Grandview-Woodland has one of the largest concentrations of housing co-ops and non market rentals in the city, with nearly one in five tenant households in one. Co-ops are not rented on the open market: you apply to the co-op, join a waiting list, and become a member rather than a tenant. They will not appear on liv.rent or any other listing site.

Can I find pet-friendly rentals in Grandview-Woodland?

Yes. Most of the stock is older low rise and house suites rather than strata towers with pet bylaws, so landlords set their own policy. They may ask for an additional pet deposit of up to half a month of rent.

When is the best time to look for a rental in Grandview-Woodland?

Turnover is slower here than in newer neighbourhoods, because long tenancies and non market housing hold units off the market. Vacancy in CMHC's East Hastings zone was 3.8% in October 2025, a touch above the 3.7% citywide, so there is more choice than in Kitsilano or the West End. Late spring and August are still the fullest months.
Ready to look? Browse Grandview-Woodland rentalsStudios from $1,649 to 3 beds from $3,099
Check availability

Nearby neighbourhood guides

Nearby cities

Search Grandview-Woodland rentals

More Vancouver reading

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 East Hastings 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.