What is a Vancouver Special and how is it different from a regular BC house?

Direct answer

A "Vancouver Special" is the ubiquitous post-1965 / pre-1985 box-style house specific to Greater Vancouver, characterized by: low-pitched front-gable roof; symmetrical façade with a large picture window upstairs flanked by two narrow windows; faux-brick or stucco-and-vinyl exterior; rear-loading lower-level basement with a separate side or rear entrance designed from day one as a rental suite; ~2,300-2,800 sq ft on a standard 33'×122' Vancouver lot. The form was popularized between roughly 1965-1985 by builders responding to (1) the rise of the secondary-suite economy in Vancouver (the basement design intentionally supported a non-conforming rental); (2) post-war zoning bylaws permitting maximum-volume single-family construction; (3) value-engineered framing patterns that made the boxy form cheapest to build per livable square foot. Compared to a "regular" BC house (a more architecturally varied detached home from the same era): Vancouver Specials offer slightly more livable floor area on the same lot, a more easily-converted secondary suite, and more square-footage-per-dollar at resale, but trade off: less curb appeal, lower architectural distinction, and (often) inferior thermal envelope compared to West Coast Modern or Craftsman-revival detached. For investors targeting a primary-plus-suite duplex-style yield: the Vancouver Special is THE archetypal product. For homeowners seeking a "forever-home" architectural statement: it's the wrong typology. The form is increasingly being demolished or substantially renovated as Bill 44 SSMUH zoning permits up to 4 dwellings on the same RS-1 lot.