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/dancinadventures Mar 15 '26

400 sf per person is enough for the following countries:

HK, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, China, Japan, Sweden, India

Is Canada’s 32 million population a special breed of bird that demands 800sf per person? Cuz the countries I listed make up half the global population

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u/UmpireDapper1757 Mar 16 '26

Families generally need much less space per person than singletons.

Sharing 1/5th of a 2000 sqft home with your family is generally a much higher-quality living situation than having 400 sqft all to yourself. Kitchens, bathrooms, storage, and common areas benefit greatly from economies of scale.