This Toronto tenant had no trouble finding a roommate to share his bedroom for more than $1K each. Here's why that's a problem
A Toronto tenant seeking someone to share his bedroom for $1,050 a month was able to fill the vacancy within a matter of days – a high sign of the ongoing affordability “emergency” within Canada ’ s housing market, according to an expert in the field.
Glen Bautista advertised his room in a 4-storey red brick townhouse near Dupont and Ossington avenues for rent on Facebook last week.
“It only took like three, four days … within five days, he moved in,” Bautista said, of his new roommate.
Bautista moved into the bedroom in April with a roommate who has since moved to Alberta. They shared a walk-in closet, bathroom with two sinks, balcony, and a room with a divider to create some privacy.
“Sharing a roommate is difficult, especially since I work in the mornings, and my previous roommate worked in the restaurant, so he finishes work at 2 or 3 a.m., and I’m asleep,” Bautista said.
Before that, they lived in Scarborough — a more than hour commute to work for his roommates.
While Bautista’s full-time job as a business analyst is located in North York, he says the new house is close to his part-time job on weekends as a server and bartender.
There are added logistics to sharing a room, Bautista admits, but he said the current apartment – downtown, near a transit station and one of his jobs – is worth the compromise when compared to his previous place in Scarborough for practically the same price.
'IT’S AN EMERGENCY'
Nemoy Lewis, an assistant professor of urban and regional planning at Toronto Metropolitan University, said this situation should serve as a warning signal.
“I think what it says is it’s at a point now where it’s an emergency … It signals to me the failures of policies in foreseeing these particular issues to arise in the market,” he said.
A Facebook post describes a shared room for rent in Toronto.It speaks to the creativity tenants have to take in unaffordable markets, Lewis said. “If folks are having to go at these lengths to find housing in the city, it begs to wonder if the current market is helping to create more income polarizing cities only the wealthy can afford to live in.”
The rental market has climbed steadily in Toronto over the last two years, with little relief in sight, according to real estate research firm Urbanation’s July report. The average rent for a condo under 400 square feet in the city was $2,121 at the time.
“Rents are now being driven to new highs on interest rates hitting their highest level in 22 years, the population increasing by a record pace, near record-low unemployment, and scarce supply,” the report stated.
There is no “magic pill” to fix this, Lewis acknowledged. However, removing policies that are eroding the marketplace is a good place to start, he said.
He points to vacancy decontrol, a policy put in place more than 25 years ago that allows landlords to raise the rent of a unit without a cap if the space is vacated, in contrast to the rent control in place that presides over an occupied unit.
A four storey townhouse near Dupont and Ossington avenues in Toronto.“What this essentially does is it incentivizes landlords to remove long standing tenants protected under rent control and in turn, rent them out to a new, more affluent tenant class,” Lewis said.
As another instance, Lewis looked to Premier Doug Ford’s removal of rent control on new units built after Nov. 15, 2018, in an effort to boost the rental supply in the midst of soaring housing costs, which Lewis said has only “exacerbated” the affordability crisis.
“We need to think long and hard about what are the current policies that got us here in the first place and how we can turn the corner and create policies that are actually going to ensure that housing becomes a social good again in this country.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
AS IT HAPPENED Wildfire reaches Jasper Wednesday night, causes 'significant loss'
One of two wildfires threatening Jasper National Park reached the townsite Wednesday night and caused 'significant loss.'
Alberta calls in army to assist with wildfire situation
Alberta has called in the Canadian Armed Forces to help assist with the worsening wildfire situation in the province.
Biden explains why he ended re-election bid in Oval Office address
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
2 Canadians being 'sent home immediately,' removed from Olympic team after drone incident
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
An unwelcome attendee has joined the Paris Olympic Games: COVID-19
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
Vacations, meals, booze: Contractor used $100K of charity's money for personal expenses, B.C. court finds
A B.C. man who was hired to help a non-profit build a food hub but instead spent the money on personal expenses – including travel, restaurants, booze and cannabis – has been ordered to pay more than $120,000 in damages.
Male, female killed, 2 others injured in 'gun battle' outside Toronto plaza: police
Two people are dead and two others suffered serious injuries following a shooting that police have described as a 'gun battle' outside a plaza in Scarborough, Ont. early Wednesday morning.