In the last example, a tiny site is advertised on Craigslist for $ 650 a month. “(One) very private space with a door for privacy and a curtain,” the entry states, noting that it is located in a two-bedroom unit in a high-rise Yaletown to be shared with two other people. However, while there may be a door and a curtain, only one of them can be closed because the layer that dominates the space – despite its small size – leaves no room for the door to close. There is no closet or chest of drawers, but there is a narrow, independent shelf, along with many others mounted on the walls. “Good for a student / international student or someone with small luggage who needs a place to sleep,” the ad continues. No photos of the building are provided, but the ad describes it as on the top floor of a “luxury” tower with a swimming pool, sauna, Turkish bath, gym and activity room. The ad also says that today’s residents are looking for someone who is quiet, clean, respectful, without pets, who does not drink or smoke and will not bring any visitors into the house.
HOW IS THIS LEGAL?
While renting miniature excavations like these may seem like breaking the rules, one expert says these arrangements are really legal. Robert Patterson, a lawyer with the Tenants Resource Advisory Board, says situations where someone is looking for a roommate are not restricted by provincial law. “Who uses which bedroom or what do you have – no matter how it is arranged – does not violate the law on renting a house. Unless there are so many people in the unit that becomes an irrational number and then the landlord has the right to terminate the rent for it “, he explains. As for municipal regulations that stipulate things like building and fire codes, Patterson says they apply to developers or homeowners trying to get approval to build new suites and is unaware of any restrictions on how the space was used once it was built. and rented. “Generally speaking, if I am someone who lives in a rented unit and I bring roommates, I am allowed to do so,” he says. While Patterson says there are examples of homeowners “aggressively subdividing units into aggressively tiny spaces” as a way of “speculating” on the affordable housing crisis, he says listings like these illustrate a completely different problem. Both the people who advertise these spaces and the people who may be thinking of renting them, Patterson says, navigate a rental market where the average studio rents for $ 2,000 a month and vacancies remain stubbornly low. “There is nothing affordable in their community, so people will turn to it,” he says. “People who break up rental units in all these ways are often because they can not afford the rent they have to pay. People, because they find nothing affordable, will take something that is not affordable and hope and try. the best they can do to make other people share the cost with them “. While shared accommodation is an option that many people are looking for to share the burden of high rentals, Patterson points out that it is also accompanied by a built-in level of risk. “Every time you enter into a roommate relationship with someone, you open yourself up to potential responsibility for each other for things that could go wrong,” he says. “It just shows that people are so desperate for housing, so desperate and unable to pay their rent that people on both sides of this equation are willing to take that risk.” CTV News Vancouver contacted the ad poster for more information about this rental, but received no response.
DESPAIR POSSIBILITY LEADS THESE LISTINGS: EXPERT
While the central location and amenities promised in the Craigslist ad may entice some tenants to compromise on space and privacy, Patterson says this rental reflects one of the biggest levers in the housing crisis. “If one is seriously considering such a small room for $ 650, one will not be able to afford the luxury supply units, which are the only things on the market, the only things made in reasonable numbers,” he said. says. A significant investment in affordable and non-commercial cooperative options is, according to Patterson, the only strategy that will successfully reduce prices in Canada’s most expensive market.
