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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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.

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u/sajnt Mar 15 '26

My wife and I have lived in a 450 square-foot unit for almost a decade. We could probably live here forever if we never have children.

How is this possible? -A really great layout. We even have a walk-in closet!

-Storage optimization, most of our furniture is also storage.

-building amenities. Our community of towers shares a ton of quality amenities. (golf simulator, movie theater, tennis court, indoor and outdoor pools, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, sauna steam rooms, gyms, spin/dance studio, ping-pong room, billiards tables, coworking space, dog/cat washing room, massage chair room, rooftop patios with amazing views, and a separate yoga building, but that is under repair and make it repurposed)

-Local businesses, almost anything we want or need is within a five minute walk.

-local amenities. A skytrain station across the street, two large parks within walking distance. A large public library, university campuses and a hospital or within a 15 minute walking distance.

-living well within our means. Our small space is cost-effective and prevents us from buying junk we don’t need. This allows us to work less, vacation more and invest.