‘And an unfinished garage as your living room/kitchen’: Landlord rents ‘shared room’ for $650. It’s a bunk bed

12.09.2023 16:18

The Daily Dot

The housing crisis is the worst it's ever been in America, and there are a bunch of reasons why. First, more and more investment and real estate firms are buying up houses and properties and jacking up prices to ranges that make it difficult for many to afford.

The U.S. inflation rate hit a 40-year high in June of 2022, and the general cost of living spiraling to out-of-control rates doesn't help the housing crisis either. These have all come together to put folks in a position where it was actually easier for them to purchase a home during the Great Depression than it is today.

This has resulted in not only higher mortgage costs but also increased rental rates. It appears the problem isn't endemic to just the United States, but Canada as well.

Realtor and TikTok user Anya Ettinger (@aserealty) posted a listing for a "shared room for rent" in Toronto, Canada that costs $650 a month.

It seems like a super low price... until you see what you're getting.

Ettinger featured the laughably awful listing in a viral TikTok clip that had several other users on the platform collectively shaking their heads. She writes in a caption for the video, "Can we all agree the Toronto rental market totally sucks… these room rentals are getting out of hand."

@aserealty can we all agree the Toronto rental market totally sucks… these room rentals are getting out of hand 🥲 #roomrental #rentals #kijijifind #rentalproperty #realestatefail ♬ Funny - Gold-Tiger

Here's what $650 every month will get you, according to Ettinger: a single bunk on a bunk bed that is placed in the foyer of a home. While this may seem like a strange placement for a sleeping arrangement, Ettinger speculates that the property owner must've sub-divided the home into however many possible rental units to create this living situation.

But folks get more than just a bunk bed, they also get an unfinished garage to use as their living room/kitchen set up as well.

"In today's episode of the Toronto rental market sucks, we have 'shared room for rent walk in with high ceiling' for $650. So this is actually...you're renting a bunk on a bunk bed," Ettinger explains in the clip. "Not only that, but it's very evident that this room is just the front foyer of a house."

"$650 to rent a bunk on a bunk bed in a foyer in Oakville and have an unfinished garage as your living room/kitchen," she concludes. "What the f*ck!"

One commenter who saw the video said that Toronto wasn't the only part of the Great White North where this was occurring. "It's not only Toronto this is happening," they said.

Someone else penned, "It’s giving Hailey’s and Dylan’s garage apartment in the last season of Modern Family."

But there were users with other pressing questions, namely, what is going on with the restroom situation? "How many people are sharing the bathroom?" one user asked.

"My name is earl vibes renting a space of the kitchen in a trailer," someone else quipped.

Another person remarked that they couldn't believe landlords are even allowed to legally rent this space. "It’s absolutely criminal what they let landlords get away with," they shared.

"In Atlanta this would be $1000. People have lost their minds," one TikTok user wrote, citing a real estate market in America they believe is exorbitantly overpriced.

But someone else countered this, writing that in the state of Illinois, there's no way this would legally be up for rent. "In the states (in IL at least) if there’s not a private entrance it is not considered a room. The garage is unfinished space. 100% illegal here," they claim.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Ettinger via email for further comment.

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