/
1x
Advertisement
Proudly Canadian, obsessively Toronto. Subscribe to Toronto Life!
Real Estate News

Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings

Including a 250-square-foot “bachelor pad” and a basement apartment bursting with mismatched tiles

By Maddy Mahoney
Copy link

As GTA rents continue to rise, the properties being passed off as decent living spaces are becoming increasingly shocking. Below, a roundup of some of the sorriest rentals on the market.


Single in the City

Price: $1,000 Neighbourhood: Downtown Listing: At 250 square feet, this basement “bachelor pad” is true to its billing in the sense that it can accommodate a single individual. Since the unit’s one window is completely covered, candlelight is an option, but the kitchenette—a mini fridge and a microwave suited for “minor cooking”—precludes any possibility of a romantic dinner date. Fittingly, the place comes with a single mattress.

Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings
Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings
Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings

A Puzzling Place

Price: $1,250 Neighbourhood: Leslieville Listing: Colourful, mismatched tiles can give apartments a bohemian aesthetic, brightening up otherwise drab spaces. But this one-bedroom-plus-den basement rental crams together tiles of every imaginable size, shape and colour on every imaginable surface.

Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings
Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings
Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings

Bed and Breakfast

Price: $300 Neighbourhood: Scarborough Listing: This listing advertises a “very nice location!!!” While that may be true of the building, the actual room on offer has a less desirable location: $300 covers a cot in the kitchen, and the unit is shared with two other people. The space seems to come with a little home-office setup consisting of a folding chair and a TV table.

Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings

Uncharted Waters

Price: $1,800 Neighbourhood: Etobicoke Listing: It’s hard to imagine $1,800 being a fair price for any room, let alone this small dingy one in an Etobicoke two-bedroom. The listing claims that the apartment is close to a walkway with a view of the lake, but this is no waterfront property.

Advertisement
Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings

Open Concept

Price: $500 Neighbourhood: The Village Listing: This living room in a one-bedroom—with a single mattress on the floor for a prospective tenant—is described as “fancy and bright.” You’d be living in the common space, and it’s not clear from the ad how many people you’d be sharing the apartment with.

Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings

Thank You for Sharing

Price: $900 Neighbourhood: Downtown Listing: This home has eight people sharing one kitchen. The two available rooms are being advertised only to “FEMALES/WOMEN,” and all of the women in the house have to use the same bathroom. You can retreat to your bedroom, but it’s dark and dated.

Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings
Renter Beware: Six outrageous recent Toronto apartment listings

NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY

Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The Latest

"Success is random—all you can do is keep improving": Max Kerman of Arkells on his new memoir, Try Hard
Culture

“Success is random—all you can do is keep improving”: Max Kerman of Arkells on his new memoir, Try Hard

Inside the Latest Issue

Inside the Latest Issue

The April issue of Toronto Life features the anatomy of a Bay Street fiasco at RBC. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.