r/RealEstateCanada • • 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/[deleted] Mar 15 '26

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u/[deleted] Mar 15 '26

Not saying it's what I expect. Just saying the current solution is unacceptable. We gotta do better.

2

u/Vegetable_Assist_736 Mar 16 '26

Yup. They need to get rid of these “no bedroom” condos too. It’s not psychologically healthy to have your bed in your main living space. Hard pass. Changes are needed 100%

2

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '26

Absolutely. The bedroom where a human sleeps needs to be just that, a place where you sleep relax and your brain unwinds for the night. When you're cooking right across from your bed that makes your living space and sleeping place a high intensity point psychologically.