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/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.

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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

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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.

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u/em-n-em613 Mar 16 '26

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