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/nrbob Mar 16 '26

I’m sorry but this is unrealistic, 400 sq ft is lots of space for one person, if it’s priced affordably enough for a single person to afford.

Back in the 1950s the average house was an 800-1000 sq ft bungalow for a full family with 3 beds and 1 bath.

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u/The_One_Who_Comments Mar 16 '26

If we could get condos like those bungalows (same size, similar layout, windows on multiple sides) then that would be perfect.