including its street-based drug scene. SRO landlords have often been called "slumlords" for failing to fix problems, and illegally evicting tenants. The city has often been slow to force SRO owners to make major repairs, saying that owners could not afford to make them without raising rents. Housing availability and affordability The City refers to the housing and homelessness situation in the DTES as a "crisis". There is wide support amongst governments, experts, and community groups on a Housing First model, which prioritizes stable, quality housing as a precursor to other interventions for the homeless, those who use drugs, or those with mental illness. Many people with severe addiction and/or mental illness require supportive housing. As the DTES has many low-income adults who live alone and are at risk of homelessness, trends in housing options for low-income adults are of central importance to the neighbourhood. Although SROs have well-known problems, each SRO resident who loses their room and ends up on the street is estimated to cost the provincial government approximately $30,000 to $40,000 per year in additional services. In recent years, the number of units designed for low-income singles has increased slightly: In the downtown area (Burrard Street to Clark Drive) there were 11,371 units in 1993 and 12,126 units in 2013. The number of privately owned SROs declined during this time by 3283 units, while the number of social housing units increased by 4038 units. In 2014, an additional 300 privately owned SRO units were lost. However, rents in many of those units have risen. Rents in social housing units for low-income singles are fixed at the shelter component of welfare rates, but rents in privately owned SROs can vary. In 2013, 24% of privately owned SROs rented at the base welfare shelter rate of $375 per month, down from 60% in 2007. According to one advocacy group, the average lowest rent in privately owned hotels in the greater DTES area was $517 per month in 2015, and there were no vacant rooms renting at less than $425 per month. The city has implemented a bylaw to discourage the redevelopment of SROs. Advocates for SRO tenants argue that the city's bylaw does not go far enough, as it does not prevent rent increases. The city says that only the province, not the city, has the jurisdiction to control rents, and that the province should raise welfare rates. Since