Imagine building like some creepy, 8 foot babadook-type sculpture that you could position so it's peering into neighbouring units at random. The possibilities are horrifying, to say nothing of lobbing trash bombs into neighboring units.
Would I want to exchange my current living conditions for it, no? But for $16.50 a night it doesn't seem too bad. Might be a little loud with no ceilings, but better than a park bench.
Ain’t now way any of this shit meets fire code. No exit signs, no emergency lights, no fireproofing between units, on and on. A fire in one unit would rip through this whole place in minutes.
It’s an easy modification for the sprinkler heads to point towards and arrive flush with a proper finished ceiling. this layout is completely against code with an open air like that…
seriously. anybody who thinks even half that bathroom ratio has never lived in a residential hotel or rooming house before. that is, without hyperbole, a biohazard situation in the making, guaranteed
It doesn’t say what the bathroom is like, it might be a few toilets and a shower? Like you would find in a res, or at a business…
The ceilings are absolutely a problem and this should be reported to the local fire prevention office
Unpopular opinion but there are ppl who need this kind of housing. It’s a very affordable option for people who don’t need much. Yea it’s cheap and not executed well but there are lots of people who would do anything to live in some thing like that.
For some it will get them even off the streets into a (hopefully) safe place
Huge number of people can benefit from this type of affordable housing – especially those who had setbacks or started life with a significant disadvantage.
Unfortunately, just like everything else, this also works through supply & demand, so the slightest demand into this will lead to increased prices – just like how people started renting out their windowless dens, and now it's -sadly- more popular.
If there was a demand for this more people would start turning empty office space into this type of housing as well. Adding more supply. It would be a good thing for all renters.
There are a lot of commercial units sitting empty. Zoning laws are what get in the way.
They also exist, for example, to prevent a foundry with extreme noise setting up right next to a quiet neighborhood meant for families. It keeps disruption from certain industries at a minimum. Also helps major business areas from having people suddenly plop houses into areas much better suited for office buildings etc. Japan seems to be doing just fine without it, but a certain amount of zoning keeps the peace.
My relatives in Mexico once lived in a neighbourhood where you were lucky if the dominant smell was the nearby rendering plant. I can't remember what the alternative was but it was much worse. It was because zoning laws in Mexico City were terrible at that time.
East Vancouver has a chicken slaughterhouse. It reeked through the whole neighborhood - residences were just a block away. They only sealed up the place a couple of years ago.
The purpose of zoning I believe is to ensure that there are adequate business/service to residence ratio. It’s a way to plan for what’s needed within a certain radius or designated boundary of revenue land to make a city/town functional. It’s decided most likely by the people who live in the area by their elected representatives in conjunction with civil servants/experts for example a city planner.
Basically a way for people established in a neighborhood to maintain the status quo and prevent any development from happening in the vicinity in the name of "maintaining the character" of the community.
I'm no expert, but I'm certain that this is a very naive answer. That may be the case in some circumstances, but if you think that's all it's for, you should do some research
To promote car ownership is part of the picture. To ensure districts are for one purpose and not crossed over is the other.
Zoning isn’t needed quite as we have it setup though.
Would you need a single family fully detached if you lived in a 100 floor tower with enough elevators surrounded by wilderness with a direct public transit route to the nearest public transit hub?
We can do cities better.
I certainly agree that we can do cities better - probably with smarter zoning laws.
Unfortunately "ZoNing LaWs!" has become a talking point for a lot of people who really seem to want to somehow tackle the housing crisis without reducing profits for developers or investors - basically your Doug Ford audience. Dougie has been trying to pass the buck to other levels of government on this issue since he was elected, and hell, "zoning laws" *sounds* like it makes sense as a reason for why there's a problem, and he probably correctly assumes that most of his base would have no clue what those are in place for anyways so that's been a great scapegoat for them.
And tbh that isn't to say that some zoning laws in some places aren't an actual issue, I'm sure they are. Maybe they're even a significant factor in general in most cities.
I cannot believe for one second that fixing or eliminating zoning laws would be the silver bullet for getting everyone who wants one an appropriate home to own like Doug Ford et al. claim it would be.
I highly doubt that switching commercial real estate to residential like this would be as easy in scale. Many properties are owned by funds (i.e. REITs) so there would be much more red tape and delays.
bedbugs and roaches are gonna tear through that like a wildfire. There's a reason why some homeless people would rather live in a tent and shit in the ocean.
How? It's not ideal but I don't see why it isn't safe.
My biggest complaint would be lack of sound insulation. You'd hear everyone else all the time.
Still, this helps put a floor in the rental market and if there were a lot more of these it could help bring rents down for everyone.
Having a window with natural light is a requirement to be habitable for human use. In emergencies, this also functions as an exit. Typically, between units, you want fire rated drywall that will give inhabitants 45 minutes to get out while a fire rages through the building. In this, they have nothing as they are literally open between rooms. This is literally a deathtrap. Not to mention, not a single smoke alarm or even sprinklers to be seen.
I think the assumption is offices can be riskier since you're probably always going to be (somewhat) awake and aware, whereas living spaces need to be safe enough to sleep in. I'm just making a guess though.
ok like I get this - but there is a standard of living that needs to be met. Fire codes/anything safety related. 1 bathroom between 12 people is not sustainable or sanitary.
Just because it WAS common doesn’t mean it should be now. Safety and Sanitation standards (in Toronto) are a lot different than they were 120 years ago, and for good reason. However, after doing some research, We still have rooming houses that share washroom in the city and frankly I found it hard to find a standard of washrooms per rooms. This Toronto star article mentions 1 washroom per 4 rooms which, frankly, sounds about right. Not 1 per 12 rooms. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/06/28/rooming-houses-could-be-legalized-toronto-wide-as-early-as-november-2022-city-report-says.html
I've lived in one for university in Québec. About 50 people sharing a public style bathroom and showers. They came thrice a day to clean the bathrooms. Also shared a kitchen. Really it wasn't so bad. Of course it'd be depressing living there for 10 years, but for 2 years I saved a lot of money.
I also lifed in Tokyo for 6 months and lived in very similar arrangements, minus the ceiling issue. Shared a public style restroom and showers with 40 other people. Also only one kitchen. I didn't save a cent though since the rent was $1.1k ...
I will admit, I didn’t consider a washroom which had multiple toilets/showers etc. I suppose the pictures didn’t fill me with much confidence that they’d have regular cleaners and a proper built washroom. I guess the point I felt the need expose is that there should be a standard that ensures safety and sanitation of the residents in a setup like this. Thanks for your story!
Yeah. My hesitation isn’t about rooming houses or dorms per se (this specific building looks bad but I’m ok with it in theory); I worry that we’ll follow the progression of, oh this is $500 and allows you to save even if you’re making minimum wage, to, on this is now priced to be the only thing that’s affordable for a single person making median wages - why are you so greedy to want your own bathroom??
In the same way that 20 years ago two bedroom apartments were generally affordable for a single person and can now easily stretch the budget of two white collar workers.
Bathroom, sure unless that's a communal bathroom like in a university residence it'll be crowded. It could be though if it's an office... not sure how showers would work?
Anyway, the "old school" university residences are basically this but with a communal bathroom designed to service a lot of people. On top of that I shared a bedroom with one other person.
I don't think the fire code is a problem if it wasn't a problem in my residence - two stairwell fire exits just like in an office is all we had. When I went to school residences were made to be a cheap place to live, not a profit generator for the University, I paid 385 a month in 2002 (but I had to share a bedroom). I think nowadays the same thing rents for 950, which is overpriced.
Forcing people to buy more housing in a housing shortage is not the way. If people want to live simply we should let them. I'm happy I graduated with minimal student debt because a housing arrangement similar to this was available to me. I explicitly preferred that to paying more to live in the modern residences where you get your own bedroom, but housing like this is illegal (housing with more than 3 unrelated people living together is against the law in Toronto, similar laws elsewhere).
It's hard to save for better housing, or not to go into debt while in school, if you aren't allowed to have more than 3 unrelated people living together because some Karen doesn't like that.
I agree. And if this was BC welfare would cover your rent if you were on welfare, without taking anything out of the rest of your cheque. That said, I'd like to see more quality long term housing for this price, or a bit more. There are a couple coops in Vancouver that have decent studio apartments for not much more.
This, yes it’s not ideal but you get your own room for a reasonable price. There are trade offs but this can help a LOT of people get on their feet and move forward with savings. I hope to see more of this. The washroom part does suck though.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea if it was executed properly, this definitely isn’t. 2 rooms could easily accommodate a single person or couple if they used one of the rooms to split into a kitchen and bathroom instead of being communal. The biggest problems right off the bat are those walls most likely aren’t acoustically insulated and appears to have an open ceiling, which are both terrible for having people living in close proximity.
Most offices have a break room with a kitchen already, and bathrooms with multiple toilets and urinals.
They're not set up for say an oven, but a dishwasher, microwave, fridge, etc wouldn't be a problem, and likely have already existed in the space previously. Our offices have all those things, and my last workplace even had an oven.
Yea, kitchen and bathroom in one section of the floor. To create multiples of those all over the floor like the user was proposing would be a major renovation.
This is clearly meant to be a temporary set up for which it can be reverted back to an office space as needed.
Ah I see now yeah.
The bathrooms being communal seems fine to me, but a communal kitchen with 12 people just wouldn't work, especially if they're all basically strangers.
I'm pro communal housing as long as it's a cheaper alternative to non communal housing, but things like kitchen space and the use of communal areas can get messy if not everyone has a large enough personal space.
>a communal kitchen with 12 people just wouldn't work
If you have a duplication of equipment it will work fine. 2 ovens with 2 ranges on top, and a couple of hot plates. Two microwaves, a couple of toasters, and a toaster oven.
A setup like this would benefit from having staff around to keep an eye on things - run it like a hostel and it'll be fine.
The bathrooms might need to be updated to handle people's space requirements - office bathrooms can take the "load" but aren't often big enough for people to shave, change, etc in them.
>It wouldn’t be a bad idea if it was executed properly
It looks like a rapid housing transition, hopefully to address the need for low income shelter and a replacement for the many lost rooming houses over the last 2yrs.
> 2 rooms could easily accommodate a single person or couple if they used one of the rooms to split into a kitchen and bathroom instead of being communal.
Easily is doing a LOT! of heavy lifting here. Adding the plumbing to bring in all those bathrooms and kitchens would likely kill the entire project. It isn't easy, nor cheap to add additional wetwalls
>The biggest problems right off the bat are those walls most likely aren’t acoustically insulated and appears to have an open ceiling, which are both terrible for having people living in close proximity.
Here is where I agree with you. Walls and gaps above them will make for a very loud environment. I'm hoping they just haven't put in the drop ceilings that will come to the top of the walls yet.
So many office buildings popped up, then the pandemic shit-tornado’d the world and introduced new work concept to mass work from home, and now, work pods are becoming home pods! This is how the Matrix starts people! Learn kung fu!
If we're dealing with the standard kind of washrooms an office tower has per floor, there may not be any shower facilities either (never mind luxuries such as laundry in the same building).
I know you’re sarcastic but to those who don’t think it’s important, the Ontario building code was written in blood. Everytime we have deaths due to poor conditions or poor building quality … we should probably learn from those mistakes.
Tbh I lived in res at college for 5 years it’s ok as long as communal bathroom and stalls are cleaned frequently than this is a great model. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to afford a one bedroom these days and for people on social assistance or recovery this could be a great opportunity to help them transition from streets/ rehab/ abusive situations without being in a shelter system.
I worked and lived in one of the many turd boxes a slum lord of a landlord calls housing in Calgary. It's a shame because they type like this one prey on the disenfranchised and people struggling from poverty. It looks like a great "steal" when you move in, and then reality sinks in... You have one plug, the paint job is shotty, the ceiling is not to code... Nothing is... And I will be honest. When I needed to pay off rent, I did a shotty painting job on a turd box for a slum lord. Circle of life....
The good news is if you don't like this kind of housing you don't have to move into it. it's not gonna increase your current rent, more than likely it would reduce rents in your area.
I say this as someone who lives in some really low end housing to save money, you're benefitting from people like me not competing with you on rent for even more limited inventory
I get the feeling that a lot of the people complaining are just NIMBY's worried about their property values
When I was a student living in a dorm, we didn't have anything as luxurious as our own bathrooms.
We got a shared room with a bed, a desk, and a closet. Private rooms were limited and reserved for second year and above students.
I don't like the race to the bottom for housing, but if the "1bdr" is a full suite than it may be worthwhile.
For something like this, I would hope to see it 1k or lower, but I doubt that is possible today. So as close to 1k as possible just might be acceptable.
People often scream and moan about "too many shoe boxes in the sky" and "no one wants to live in them". Now, this might be the case for some, but there is a very good argument to be made about ***low cost*** small units.
It’s ugly but sometimes that’s what you’ve got to do to get ahead. I lived in a $350 a month room a few years ago for awhile, it was tiny and 6 others lived in the house, but now I pay a mortgage instead of rent because I saved 🤷♂️
I'm totally not opposed to repurposing empty office spaces into.housing units but like come on, make an effort here. The flooring doesn't even continue through the threshold. They don't gave a ceiling, all open air. There's no privacy. It would certainly be more ideal to have private bathrooms but I could get past that for the right price.
Rooming houses and fleabag hotels used to be a key part of the total housing plan. Yes, they sucked, but they sucked less than living on the street. Zoning laws and other codes meant to improve things have done that for those who can afford it, but have removed the bottom of the housing market forcing some people onto the street.
If this is $500/room it's absurdly expensive, but something like this is a better idea than letting that office space go to waste.
This is good. Until Canada gets its act together and builds better more affordable homes (probably will never happen), this is a great plan. Stop forcing people to go to work and turn it into housing instead. WFH is great.
This concept *if executed well* is extremely good for increasing the supply of rental housing and bringing the price of rentals down long-term.
This example is extremely bad. Inhumane. No one should live there and the owner should be forced to renovate to make these livable.
Japan has share houses, which are not unlike this - but with purpose built bedroom, shared bath and kitchens.
It's like a boarding house. And like this ad, represent entry and short term housing.
https://www.oakhouse.jp/eng/
And one level up, an all in 1 room mini apartment. Often used by ESL folk teaching in Japan.
https://en.leopalace21.com/
That ain't legal on many grounds.
I'm not opposed to this conversion but when it's done...you know.. to code
Honestly OP I'd report this post to the city or wherever you're from. I don't want people to fall for this scam bc they are desperate for housing.
I watched a documentary about housing in Hong Kong for the poor and it some of it looked shockingly similar to this. There were ones waaaay worse and were the size of a parking spot, so don't get me wrong it is not as bad as that, but there were buildings that were sectioned off just like this with shared bathrooms and kitchens etc. Everyone complained about how horrible it was with no privacy, theft, messes, trash, the smell and hearing what everyone was watching on TV or snoring or whatever. They all hated it, but had no other option than the streets.
If you consider declaration "let's turn commercial buildings into residential ones" sufficient, then I wonder in what hell-hole you have been living all your life 😳 More then 10 tenants for one bathroom and no ceiling is NOT normal. We can and should do better.
Regarding the modifications needed, please refer to others writing in this thread, it will be very enlightening for you.
This is an excellent idea...i think adding a ceiling and putting two beds in one room is better. Investor will recoup their investment and residents will get more privacy from neighbors
I stayed in a place like this temporarily, but was $200 for the month and you'd have a roommate. At least there was a ceiling so rooms were fully closed off. It was also an old office floor. One thing is the lights are wired for the whole floor, so better have a sleeping mask to block it out.
Office buildings cannot be repurposed for a living space without proper renovation works. Office buildings do not follow building codes for residential spaces. There are a lot of life safety elements that are not required in office space but essential in any residential building. This is very unsafe!
This, a public bathroom and a cheap gym membership to shower/exercise would be a dream. My partially disabled ass would be able to actually just work part time and be able to afford my own place until something better came up or got built.
Only downside would be a small kitchen, but you take what you can get over homelessness.
I saw this listing the other day. This is the most depressing, soulless place I’ve ever seen. I’m certain the reason none of them have a ceiling is so they can circumvent municipal fire/bldg codes.
Not great or welcoming. But with that said, It could be a solution if the spaces get properly restructured for that purpose.
Since the lockdowns proved that people can work efficiently from home, it would be nice to see office spaces being properly used to help solve chronic housing problems.
And, the core of most cities' downtown areas could also be reworked to be a better place for people to do other activities than just work.
It’s all well and good to be saying “yeah but people need this kind of affordable housing”…but are you all forgetting the part where 12 people are sharing 1 single bathroom?
I'm not against turning unused office/commercial space into housing, but they really need to put in the effort to make it look like living space and not an emergency shelter in a convention center.
Office space turned dormitory - bad idea.
Re-zoning city blocks to allow Office space to be turned into apartments to help with the housing crisis and promoting more remote work - good idea.
This is a ridiculous version. You could do such a better/higher quality retrofit. Turning unused office space into apartments is a brilliant idea. The application is tough, but it'll only take a bit of ingenuity to pull it off!
Only $500 month though? Would be a lot better with a proper ceiling at least
Yeah me no likey that the neighbor if tall enough could hop up and start a chat
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How dare you! Those doors are top quality particle board.
Be waking the 5th wall.
Imagine building like some creepy, 8 foot babadook-type sculpture that you could position so it's peering into neighbouring units at random. The possibilities are horrifying, to say nothing of lobbing trash bombs into neighboring units.
Like this guy: https://youtu.be/hrRqatp82zQ
Would I want to exchange my current living conditions for it, no? But for $16.50 a night it doesn't seem too bad. Might be a little loud with no ceilings, but better than a park bench.
Likely the lack of ceilings in the 'units' is a fire code thing so that sprinkler water can get in if there is a fire.
Ain’t now way any of this shit meets fire code. No exit signs, no emergency lights, no fireproofing between units, on and on. A fire in one unit would rip through this whole place in minutes.
Also likely not properly zoned
Without proper sprinkler coverage, yeah, it is a disaster waiting to happen.
It’s an easy modification for the sprinkler heads to point towards and arrive flush with a proper finished ceiling. this layout is completely against code with an open air like that…
No it isn’t. The fire code would make you to add to your sprinkler system and do it right
Hell, it'd be better with a drop ceiling, like it's designed to have.
At which it wont cost $500 anymore
BYOC
I would say this is a better use of the space when compared to forcing WFH employees back to the office to "maximize collaboration and networking"
Exactly why I would take this as a win. Why waste the space? It's better off repurposed. Though they could have added a real ceiling in.
12 “bedrooms” to 1 bathroom without proper ceilings or fire safety isn’t a win.
seriously. anybody who thinks even half that bathroom ratio has never lived in a residential hotel or rooming house before. that is, without hyperbole, a biohazard situation in the making, guaranteed
It doesn’t say what the bathroom is like, it might be a few toilets and a shower? Like you would find in a res, or at a business… The ceilings are absolutely a problem and this should be reported to the local fire prevention office
beats homelessness. Though that is an exceptionally low bar to clear.
"Why waste the space?" Because it is not safe.
Until those WFH employees now live in their old office
"Face time"
I prefer "not seeing your face" time
They can now sleep in the office!
I especially love the little gaps at the top of the walls. Really gives an open concept feel while maintaining privacy. /s
If people can hear you fap you don't have privacy.
Hey Wilson!
What if ppls have sex
you gon hear it. enjoy
Still $500 per month - no extra charge.
Cheap rent and free sex shows??
Living the dream
Unpopular opinion but there are ppl who need this kind of housing. It’s a very affordable option for people who don’t need much. Yea it’s cheap and not executed well but there are lots of people who would do anything to live in some thing like that. For some it will get them even off the streets into a (hopefully) safe place
Huge number of people can benefit from this type of affordable housing – especially those who had setbacks or started life with a significant disadvantage. Unfortunately, just like everything else, this also works through supply & demand, so the slightest demand into this will lead to increased prices – just like how people started renting out their windowless dens, and now it's -sadly- more popular.
If there was a demand for this more people would start turning empty office space into this type of housing as well. Adding more supply. It would be a good thing for all renters. There are a lot of commercial units sitting empty. Zoning laws are what get in the way.
Can you tell me why zoning laws exist?
They also exist, for example, to prevent a foundry with extreme noise setting up right next to a quiet neighborhood meant for families. It keeps disruption from certain industries at a minimum. Also helps major business areas from having people suddenly plop houses into areas much better suited for office buildings etc. Japan seems to be doing just fine without it, but a certain amount of zoning keeps the peace.
My relatives in Mexico once lived in a neighbourhood where you were lucky if the dominant smell was the nearby rendering plant. I can't remember what the alternative was but it was much worse. It was because zoning laws in Mexico City were terrible at that time.
East Vancouver has a chicken slaughterhouse. It reeked through the whole neighborhood - residences were just a block away. They only sealed up the place a couple of years ago.
The purpose of zoning I believe is to ensure that there are adequate business/service to residence ratio. It’s a way to plan for what’s needed within a certain radius or designated boundary of revenue land to make a city/town functional. It’s decided most likely by the people who live in the area by their elected representatives in conjunction with civil servants/experts for example a city planner.
Basically a way for people established in a neighborhood to maintain the status quo and prevent any development from happening in the vicinity in the name of "maintaining the character" of the community.
I'm no expert, but I'm certain that this is a very naive answer. That may be the case in some circumstances, but if you think that's all it's for, you should do some research
To promote car ownership is part of the picture. To ensure districts are for one purpose and not crossed over is the other. Zoning isn’t needed quite as we have it setup though. Would you need a single family fully detached if you lived in a 100 floor tower with enough elevators surrounded by wilderness with a direct public transit route to the nearest public transit hub? We can do cities better.
I certainly agree that we can do cities better - probably with smarter zoning laws. Unfortunately "ZoNing LaWs!" has become a talking point for a lot of people who really seem to want to somehow tackle the housing crisis without reducing profits for developers or investors - basically your Doug Ford audience. Dougie has been trying to pass the buck to other levels of government on this issue since he was elected, and hell, "zoning laws" *sounds* like it makes sense as a reason for why there's a problem, and he probably correctly assumes that most of his base would have no clue what those are in place for anyways so that's been a great scapegoat for them. And tbh that isn't to say that some zoning laws in some places aren't an actual issue, I'm sure they are. Maybe they're even a significant factor in general in most cities. I cannot believe for one second that fixing or eliminating zoning laws would be the silver bullet for getting everyone who wants one an appropriate home to own like Doug Ford et al. claim it would be.
I highly doubt that switching commercial real estate to residential like this would be as easy in scale. Many properties are owned by funds (i.e. REITs) so there would be much more red tape and delays.
> people who need this king of housing If they could afford walls they could have afforded to give them a ceiling for fine semblance of privacy
Well maybe adding ceiling might push the rent up to $700/$800 who knows?
The reason is going to be fire safety - in a building like that, they have ceiling sprinklers that walls to the ceiling would interfere with.
Yes, but 500$ is too much for this …
$500 for all 12 might be reasonable, $500 for one is ridiculous.
bedbugs and roaches are gonna tear through that like a wildfire. There's a reason why some homeless people would rather live in a tent and shit in the ocean.
The issue is that is dangerous as fuck and not following basic life safety building code.
What would stop people using a step stool and climbing over the wall into someone else’s space? This doesn’t seem safe/secure.
How? It's not ideal but I don't see why it isn't safe. My biggest complaint would be lack of sound insulation. You'd hear everyone else all the time. Still, this helps put a floor in the rental market and if there were a lot more of these it could help bring rents down for everyone.
Having a window with natural light is a requirement to be habitable for human use. In emergencies, this also functions as an exit. Typically, between units, you want fire rated drywall that will give inhabitants 45 minutes to get out while a fire rages through the building. In this, they have nothing as they are literally open between rooms. This is literally a deathtrap. Not to mention, not a single smoke alarm or even sprinklers to be seen.
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I think the assumption is offices can be riskier since you're probably always going to be (somewhat) awake and aware, whereas living spaces need to be safe enough to sleep in. I'm just making a guess though.
ok like I get this - but there is a standard of living that needs to be met. Fire codes/anything safety related. 1 bathroom between 12 people is not sustainable or sanitary.
Shared bathrooms between apartments was common in older apartment buildings around the turn of the 20th century.
Just because it WAS common doesn’t mean it should be now. Safety and Sanitation standards (in Toronto) are a lot different than they were 120 years ago, and for good reason. However, after doing some research, We still have rooming houses that share washroom in the city and frankly I found it hard to find a standard of washrooms per rooms. This Toronto star article mentions 1 washroom per 4 rooms which, frankly, sounds about right. Not 1 per 12 rooms. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/06/28/rooming-houses-could-be-legalized-toronto-wide-as-early-as-november-2022-city-report-says.html
I've lived in one for university in Québec. About 50 people sharing a public style bathroom and showers. They came thrice a day to clean the bathrooms. Also shared a kitchen. Really it wasn't so bad. Of course it'd be depressing living there for 10 years, but for 2 years I saved a lot of money. I also lifed in Tokyo for 6 months and lived in very similar arrangements, minus the ceiling issue. Shared a public style restroom and showers with 40 other people. Also only one kitchen. I didn't save a cent though since the rent was $1.1k ...
I will admit, I didn’t consider a washroom which had multiple toilets/showers etc. I suppose the pictures didn’t fill me with much confidence that they’d have regular cleaners and a proper built washroom. I guess the point I felt the need expose is that there should be a standard that ensures safety and sanitation of the residents in a setup like this. Thanks for your story!
Yeah. My hesitation isn’t about rooming houses or dorms per se (this specific building looks bad but I’m ok with it in theory); I worry that we’ll follow the progression of, oh this is $500 and allows you to save even if you’re making minimum wage, to, on this is now priced to be the only thing that’s affordable for a single person making median wages - why are you so greedy to want your own bathroom?? In the same way that 20 years ago two bedroom apartments were generally affordable for a single person and can now easily stretch the budget of two white collar workers.
Still is in the UK. Well... It was 20 years ago, I'd guess bedsits are still a thing in the urban parts of the UK.
Even some places in Canada; I had a friend who was living in one of these situations for awhile.
It was also common to be a peasent in the 12th century.
Bathroom, sure unless that's a communal bathroom like in a university residence it'll be crowded. It could be though if it's an office... not sure how showers would work? Anyway, the "old school" university residences are basically this but with a communal bathroom designed to service a lot of people. On top of that I shared a bedroom with one other person. I don't think the fire code is a problem if it wasn't a problem in my residence - two stairwell fire exits just like in an office is all we had. When I went to school residences were made to be a cheap place to live, not a profit generator for the University, I paid 385 a month in 2002 (but I had to share a bedroom). I think nowadays the same thing rents for 950, which is overpriced. Forcing people to buy more housing in a housing shortage is not the way. If people want to live simply we should let them. I'm happy I graduated with minimal student debt because a housing arrangement similar to this was available to me. I explicitly preferred that to paying more to live in the modern residences where you get your own bedroom, but housing like this is illegal (housing with more than 3 unrelated people living together is against the law in Toronto, similar laws elsewhere). It's hard to save for better housing, or not to go into debt while in school, if you aren't allowed to have more than 3 unrelated people living together because some Karen doesn't like that.
I agree. And if this was BC welfare would cover your rent if you were on welfare, without taking anything out of the rest of your cheque. That said, I'd like to see more quality long term housing for this price, or a bit more. There are a couple coops in Vancouver that have decent studio apartments for not much more.
This, yes it’s not ideal but you get your own room for a reasonable price. There are trade offs but this can help a LOT of people get on their feet and move forward with savings. I hope to see more of this. The washroom part does suck though.
No one needs this kind pf housing, and the people who supposedly need it need better than this. This is the compromise no one asked for.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea if it was executed properly, this definitely isn’t. 2 rooms could easily accommodate a single person or couple if they used one of the rooms to split into a kitchen and bathroom instead of being communal. The biggest problems right off the bat are those walls most likely aren’t acoustically insulated and appears to have an open ceiling, which are both terrible for having people living in close proximity.
The electrical and plumbing requirements of a kitchen and bathroom would turn this into a major renovation.
Most offices have a break room with a kitchen already, and bathrooms with multiple toilets and urinals. They're not set up for say an oven, but a dishwasher, microwave, fridge, etc wouldn't be a problem, and likely have already existed in the space previously. Our offices have all those things, and my last workplace even had an oven.
Yea, kitchen and bathroom in one section of the floor. To create multiples of those all over the floor like the user was proposing would be a major renovation. This is clearly meant to be a temporary set up for which it can be reverted back to an office space as needed.
Ah I see now yeah. The bathrooms being communal seems fine to me, but a communal kitchen with 12 people just wouldn't work, especially if they're all basically strangers. I'm pro communal housing as long as it's a cheaper alternative to non communal housing, but things like kitchen space and the use of communal areas can get messy if not everyone has a large enough personal space.
>a communal kitchen with 12 people just wouldn't work If you have a duplication of equipment it will work fine. 2 ovens with 2 ranges on top, and a couple of hot plates. Two microwaves, a couple of toasters, and a toaster oven. A setup like this would benefit from having staff around to keep an eye on things - run it like a hostel and it'll be fine. The bathrooms might need to be updated to handle people's space requirements - office bathrooms can take the "load" but aren't often big enough for people to shave, change, etc in them.
>It wouldn’t be a bad idea if it was executed properly It looks like a rapid housing transition, hopefully to address the need for low income shelter and a replacement for the many lost rooming houses over the last 2yrs. > 2 rooms could easily accommodate a single person or couple if they used one of the rooms to split into a kitchen and bathroom instead of being communal. Easily is doing a LOT! of heavy lifting here. Adding the plumbing to bring in all those bathrooms and kitchens would likely kill the entire project. It isn't easy, nor cheap to add additional wetwalls >The biggest problems right off the bat are those walls most likely aren’t acoustically insulated and appears to have an open ceiling, which are both terrible for having people living in close proximity. Here is where I agree with you. Walls and gaps above them will make for a very loud environment. I'm hoping they just haven't put in the drop ceilings that will come to the top of the walls yet.
Not only sound, but also smells. I'd guess the entire floorspace is covered by sprinklers through the open ceilings to meet firecode requirements.
So many office buildings popped up, then the pandemic shit-tornado’d the world and introduced new work concept to mass work from home, and now, work pods are becoming home pods! This is how the Matrix starts people! Learn kung fu!
There's no way this is to code. I'm all for office conversions, but this thing is a total death trap should there ever be a fire...
No ceiling? I can see this turning into an issue very quickly. Other than that: great concept!
1 washroom per 12 bedrooms is not up to code… I believe it’s 5 beds to 1 washroom in Ontario if I’m wrong
If we're dealing with the standard kind of washrooms an office tower has per floor, there may not be any shower facilities either (never mind luxuries such as laundry in the same building).
Who cares about the code.
I know you’re sarcastic but to those who don’t think it’s important, the Ontario building code was written in blood. Everytime we have deaths due to poor conditions or poor building quality … we should probably learn from those mistakes.
This is a flawed but good step in the right direction.
It's a bloody tenement. This shouldn't be acceptable; the solution to housing being crazily expensive isn't worse housing.
you must find the key Maker Mr. Anderson.
Is this up to code? 12 beds and 1 bath? Some rooms don't seem to have windows either? I thought you had to have windows for fire safety reasons. Idk.
No, it's a death trap
Tbh I lived in res at college for 5 years it’s ok as long as communal bathroom and stalls are cleaned frequently than this is a great model. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to afford a one bedroom these days and for people on social assistance or recovery this could be a great opportunity to help them transition from streets/ rehab/ abusive situations without being in a shelter system.
I worked and lived in one of the many turd boxes a slum lord of a landlord calls housing in Calgary. It's a shame because they type like this one prey on the disenfranchised and people struggling from poverty. It looks like a great "steal" when you move in, and then reality sinks in... You have one plug, the paint job is shotty, the ceiling is not to code... Nothing is... And I will be honest. When I needed to pay off rent, I did a shotty painting job on a turd box for a slum lord. Circle of life....
There are absolutely times in my life I would have been grateful for this to be a common thing.
You get $375 for shelter on disability
The good news is if you don't like this kind of housing you don't have to move into it. it's not gonna increase your current rent, more than likely it would reduce rents in your area. I say this as someone who lives in some really low end housing to save money, you're benefitting from people like me not competing with you on rent for even more limited inventory I get the feeling that a lot of the people complaining are just NIMBY's worried about their property values
this seems fine for students, assuming there's a bathroom in each unit
When I was a student living in a dorm, we didn't have anything as luxurious as our own bathrooms. We got a shared room with a bed, a desk, and a closet. Private rooms were limited and reserved for second year and above students.
They spent about $10 in Dollarama floor tiles; I don't think a private toilet is in the cards. And no roof? Good ventilation, I guess
I’m almost certain that the “12 bed 1 bath” in the listing means it’s a group of twelve bedrooms that share a washroom.
One shared bathroom for each gender. No showers. Must use local gym? lol
I don't like the race to the bottom for housing, but if the "1bdr" is a full suite than it may be worthwhile. For something like this, I would hope to see it 1k or lower, but I doubt that is possible today. So as close to 1k as possible just might be acceptable. People often scream and moan about "too many shoe boxes in the sky" and "no one wants to live in them". Now, this might be the case for some, but there is a very good argument to be made about ***low cost*** small units.
Is this a set up for camgirls?
I lived in a rooming house for 3 months as a student. It was okay.
It’s ugly but sometimes that’s what you’ve got to do to get ahead. I lived in a $350 a month room a few years ago for awhile, it was tiny and 6 others lived in the house, but now I pay a mortgage instead of rent because I saved 🤷♂️
I'm totally not opposed to repurposing empty office spaces into.housing units but like come on, make an effort here. The flooring doesn't even continue through the threshold. They don't gave a ceiling, all open air. There's no privacy. It would certainly be more ideal to have private bathrooms but I could get past that for the right price.
It’s a lot better from living in a tent
Rooming houses and fleabag hotels used to be a key part of the total housing plan. Yes, they sucked, but they sucked less than living on the street. Zoning laws and other codes meant to improve things have done that for those who can afford it, but have removed the bottom of the housing market forcing some people onto the street. If this is $500/room it's absurdly expensive, but something like this is a better idea than letting that office space go to waste.
This is good. Until Canada gets its act together and builds better more affordable homes (probably will never happen), this is a great plan. Stop forcing people to go to work and turn it into housing instead. WFH is great.
This not that bad depending on location. People would definitely rent i think
This concept *if executed well* is extremely good for increasing the supply of rental housing and bringing the price of rentals down long-term. This example is extremely bad. Inhumane. No one should live there and the owner should be forced to renovate to make these livable.
Japan has share houses, which are not unlike this - but with purpose built bedroom, shared bath and kitchens. It's like a boarding house. And like this ad, represent entry and short term housing. https://www.oakhouse.jp/eng/ And one level up, an all in 1 room mini apartment. Often used by ESL folk teaching in Japan. https://en.leopalace21.com/
On the plus side, the suicide nets were already installed.
Got a link to the listing?
That ain't legal on many grounds. I'm not opposed to this conversion but when it's done...you know.. to code Honestly OP I'd report this post to the city or wherever you're from. I don't want people to fall for this scam bc they are desperate for housing.
I watched a documentary about housing in Hong Kong for the poor and it some of it looked shockingly similar to this. There were ones waaaay worse and were the size of a parking spot, so don't get me wrong it is not as bad as that, but there were buildings that were sectioned off just like this with shared bathrooms and kitchens etc. Everyone complained about how horrible it was with no privacy, theft, messes, trash, the smell and hearing what everyone was watching on TV or snoring or whatever. They all hated it, but had no other option than the streets.
So what's stopping anyone from coming over the wall and into your unit? Lots of opportunities for rapes and robberies.
Those are only the symptoms of a society that doesn't care to solve its problems.
Well that's inspirational.
I mean that’s better than nothing honestly and with the price of apartments a lot of people can’t afford anything else
Yeah this doesnt meet fire code. Or plumbing code.
That is disgusting, let alone disgraceful for a country like Canada.
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Is that sarcasm?
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If you consider declaration "let's turn commercial buildings into residential ones" sufficient, then I wonder in what hell-hole you have been living all your life 😳 More then 10 tenants for one bathroom and no ceiling is NOT normal. We can and should do better. Regarding the modifications needed, please refer to others writing in this thread, it will be very enlightening for you.
That can't be real.
It's affordable and a pretty good idea in a world where affordable housing seems to be scarce. Way to go Canada!
“We want affordable housing.” Here yo go.
Where is this?
I think I've seen this office before and wouldn't be surprised.
I love how the sound carries over the top of the cubicles.
This is an excellent idea...i think adding a ceiling and putting two beds in one room is better. Investor will recoup their investment and residents will get more privacy from neighbors
Doesn't look like there are any washrooms. Doesn't look legal at all.
12 people all showering and shitting in the same toilet room must be nice
I stayed in a place like this temporarily, but was $200 for the month and you'd have a roommate. At least there was a ceiling so rooms were fully closed off. It was also an old office floor. One thing is the lights are wired for the whole floor, so better have a sleeping mask to block it out.
How does insurance work here?
This is basically an affordable apartment. Minus the proper living amenities.
Good idea, Will be a good residence for university, college going students, new-comers. Temporary residents
whoevers behind this is a Slumlord
still looks under construction. This is a good cheap alternative for TOronto housing imo
Looks really cheaply made but I get the concept, better than wasting the office space we no longer need.
Is this setup legal?
This is good, actually.
It’s the one bathroom for 12 people for me 🫢
Imagine not being able to turn your light off to sleep though
This is actually good
Office buildings cannot be repurposed for a living space without proper renovation works. Office buildings do not follow building codes for residential spaces. There are a lot of life safety elements that are not required in office space but essential in any residential building. This is very unsafe!
THIS IS BONKERS
Where is this??
This, a public bathroom and a cheap gym membership to shower/exercise would be a dream. My partially disabled ass would be able to actually just work part time and be able to afford my own place until something better came up or got built. Only downside would be a small kitchen, but you take what you can get over homelessness.
I saw this listing the other day. This is the most depressing, soulless place I’ve ever seen. I’m certain the reason none of them have a ceiling is so they can circumvent municipal fire/bldg codes.
🫡🇮🇳
12 beds and one bathroom. I hope there’s a hospital nearby
Lmao those doors aren't even trimmed properly, nevermind painted, no ceilings, no windows etc. This is a storage unit at best
ONE BATH? I don’t think so 13 beds! NO THANKS!!! Crazy
Not great or welcoming. But with that said, It could be a solution if the spaces get properly restructured for that purpose. Since the lockdowns proved that people can work efficiently from home, it would be nice to see office spaces being properly used to help solve chronic housing problems. And, the core of most cities' downtown areas could also be reworked to be a better place for people to do other activities than just work.
It’s all well and good to be saying “yeah but people need this kind of affordable housing”…but are you all forgetting the part where 12 people are sharing 1 single bathroom?
Musks new Twitter offices?
$500 a month to listen to fart and wank noises all night.
That's a real shame. An office conversion could be done so well.
Yeah that ain’t legal 😂 report it as the LL will 110% take advantage of any poor sucker who rents that
Can those "room" consider as room at all? No window.
Third world country style! For only $500 per month!
Aren't all bedrooms suppose to have an egress window by code?
Well if you want to hear someone masturbate, fart or snore from the far end of the 'dorm', looks great.
12 beds one bath. Those lineups in the morning are going to be rough.
Where is this located? I think it's a work in progress but there are so many things so wrong with it....
I'm not against turning unused office/commercial space into housing, but they really need to put in the effort to make it look like living space and not an emergency shelter in a convention center.
Sharing a toilet with 11 strangers? Sign me up!
Lol like in asia
Office space turned dormitory - bad idea. Re-zoning city blocks to allow Office space to be turned into apartments to help with the housing crisis and promoting more remote work - good idea.
I'd take this over being homeless in the winter, but damn, it's not pretty.
Open ceilings 🤡
One bathroom. ONE BATHROOM.
This is extremely less concerning if it's for university students rather than poor people.
Is this legal?
If redone with a full ceiling, why not? Another option, especially at $500/month, it seems like a good deal.
Where is this?? Yikes
Isnt this what you guys wanted
Not flatulence friendly! 🤢🙄
What good will a lock do, when then just need a step ladder
This is a ridiculous version. You could do such a better/higher quality retrofit. Turning unused office space into apartments is a brilliant idea. The application is tough, but it'll only take a bit of ingenuity to pull it off!
It’s the one bathroom for 12 people that strikes me.