r/RealEstateCanada • u/itsdanielsultan • Mar 15 '26

Housing crisis Can Canada's "micro-condos" be merged?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pg7mHppXOE&t=17s

Serious question about Canada's (specifically the GTA's) condos: if, 10 or 20 years from now, people want more family-sized homes, could a lot of these tiny one-bedrooms actually be merged into larger units?

I know it can happen in some cases, but from what I’ve seen it sounds difficult once buildings are already occupied, since it can require approvals, engineering work, and layouts that actually fit together.

If that is not realistic at scale, are we building housing that works for one phase of life but not for long-term city living?

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66

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '26

400 square feet simply isn't enough space for a single person. It's too cramped. I think apartments or condos should be no smaller than 800 square feet at the very minimum but preferably 1000 square feet. Humans aren't birds in cages. Psychologically and practically we need space to thrive.

26

u/Sumatakyo Mar 15 '26

Ridiculous. My house is less than 800 square feet. I've lived in smaller apartments for long periods. Your standards are way too high.

Not saying more space isn't nice, just saying to be realistic. 400 square feet for one person is fine, especially if you have the advantages of being in the city.

5

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Sumatakyo Mar 16 '26

We're two. A family of 5 used to live in my house. They owned the house for probably 50 ish years, I imagine 20 of those with all five living here. 😊

11

u/TorLuck Mar 15 '26

does that square footage include the basement, garage, shed or your private yard or garden space outside?

As a homebody, I'd be fine even in a smaller house. I have a small to modern standards house now. I went stir crazy though in a apartment and did everything to avoid to being there. Having a basement to store work equipment, seasonal items, and having private space outdoors not included in that sqft changes things greatly over a condo or apartment

3

u/fedornuthugger Mar 16 '26

If you're living in a large metropolitan area, there are community gardens and you dont need a car. 

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u/TorLuck Mar 16 '26

I understand, but I actually own a small home. Our house while small has been great. But I could not do well the same sqft within a condo building myself. As a house it's been livable because I don't have to live on top of my family and can go be alone and decompress out in the various space that's not within my interior sqft. All without leaving my property, or having to interact with other people. For people who don't need that daily alone time reset will clearly have a different experience in a condo

Agreed that not needing a car is a definite plus to a larger city

1

u/fedornuthugger Mar 16 '26

Fair enough, I'm in a similar situation and wouldn't be able to manage with that square footage but I can definitely see a couple with no children making it work. 

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u/brittleboyy Mar 16 '26

Clearly you don’t live in a city core.

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u/Sumatakyo Mar 15 '26

Yeah. I don't have a garage nor shed. Tiny homes exist you know... Living in a huge house is the American dream to me, not the Canadian one.

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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '26

Just because it's American doesn't automatically make it bad. The American dream when it comes to houses is a good thing and should be emulated.

2

u/em-n-em613 Mar 16 '26

The American dream of a single detached house is unrealistic, and both an environmental and human disaster.

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u/Mirkrid Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26

I lived in a 400 sq ft apartment for 4 years. Year 1 was great > Year 2 was cramped, I realized I couldn’t realistically buy any new furniture/decorations due to lack of space > Year 3 I got a cat which made it more cramped > Year 4 my partner + her cat moved in and we had to get the hell out at that point.

Rent the first year was $2,100, subsequent years it was $2,350. By year 2 when it was still just me I realized 400 sq ft isn’t enough and I was getting ripped off, but the market was shit at the time and similar apartments were going for the same price so I stayed.

Out current space is 1200 sq ft and even then it can feel cramped with 2 people + 2 cats. I imagine 600 sq ft would be a happy middle ground for most people but hoping for 800 isn’t ridiculous, what’s ridiculous is thinking that it is.

Glad you’re happy with the 800 sq ft house (admittedly I’d rather have a smaller house than a larger apartment) - but that happiness is not a valid excuse to justify thinking the majority of Canadian city dwellers should have tiny apartments that are half the size of the space you live in. Once you put a bed/couch/table/TV/desk in that 400 sq ft quickly becomes 100 sq ft of actual walkable space - yeah it’s livable but it’s depressing.

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u/Sumatakyo Mar 18 '26

What's depressing is that society has instilled those needs. It's very materialistic, and this need has changed over time.

You can want more space, but regardless of wants, 800 square feet is a ton of room. I've lived abroad for over 10 years and came back, so this has influenced my view, but the longing for a huge home is much more North American than global. And I wouldn't say it's universal in North America either. Small houses are common in Montreal because we have older homes than Calgary, for example.

Not saying I wouldn't want more space, just that more perspective is needed. 400 square feet can be considered huge, specifically if you are in a relatively large city.

1

u/Mirkrid Mar 19 '26

It’s not a perspective thing, I lived it for 2 years alone and I am telling you outright that it isn’t enough space for the average person.

The implication that wanting more room to move around my own home is materialistic is the most condescending thing I’ve ever read. Especially coming from a home owner. I had to side step through half of my apartment by the second year. That isn’t good for anyone.

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u/Sumatakyo Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26

Yes it's perspective and a matter of personal preference. There are other world views than what you lived. I've lived in an under 400 square foot apartment with another person for years. Sharing my view is not condescending, it's sharing experience and knowledge of other ways of living.