Advocates for affordable housing stormed Vancouver's city hall Tuesday to demand action from Mayor Gregor Roberton.

Chanting “Shame on Gregor,” about 40 people staged a rally calling for more social housing to be built in the city.

Among those protesting were residents of a tent city on Hastings Street, who say affordable housing should be built on the vacant lot in the Downtown Eastside.

"We know that there are right now 44 tents at 58 West Hastings that are full of people that need housing urgently, and there's no plan to build 100 per cent social housing on that lot or anywhere else that people can afford it," one protester told CTV News.

After entering the building, the group moved into a committee room.

"We are absolutely 100 per cent (supportive of) social housing on that site, but it needs the federal and provincial government to kick in some dough to make it happen," Coun. Kerry Jang told protesters.

The councillor tried to meet with them, but they said they only want to speak with the mayor.

Robertson did show up several hours later, meeting with the group to hear some of their demands.

But they didn't get everything they wanted. The city will not be providing temporary toilets for the campers at the lot.

"I'd be happy to meet in the community on the Downtown Eastside in these next couple of weeks, not on the site but in the community. But I want to see that site de-camped," Robertson said.

Protesters and the mayor's office are now working to set up the meeting in the next two weeks.

The lot at 58 West Hastings was the site of an affordable housing rally this weekend organized by the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and International League of People's Struggle. The groups want the city to understand the effects of the housing crisis on people for whom purchasing property isn't even an option.

An estimated 1,800 homeless live in the Downtown Eastside, and the group Alliance Against Displacement is urging homeless and evicted Vancouverites to join occupy movements like the tent city, in a bid to make officials take notice.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Scott Hurst