A Vancouver den renting for $750 is so small anyone over 5'9" tall won't be able to fit in it
A windowless den in a downtown Vancouver studio is about half the size legally allowed for a prison cell in Canada – and it's being rented for $750 a month.
Those currently navigating the city's rental market – notorious for high prices and low vacancy rates – are doing so at a time when record-breaking inflation is driving up the cost of everything from food to furniture. Wages aren’t keeping pace and tenants are bracing for their next annual rental increase which could be tied to the soaring Consumer Price Index.
Shared accommodation is one option people trying to find housing they can afford often pursue. But trying to find something for less than $1,000 a month brings up listings like one for a den that is "70 (by) 62 inches and without windows." A standard single mattress is 75 inches long, but a bed has been crammed into the space, resting rather awkwardly on the floor.
"You can use other parts of the studio as well. The price per month is $750 (everything included). Damage deposit is $350," the Craigslist ad reads.
"The building is right in the downtown and just three minutes' walk to the Stadium Skytrain Station. You'll share the apartment only with me (no other roommates)."
The dimensions of the den make it roughly 30 square feet. According to the Correctional Service of Canada, the minimum size allowed for a prison cell is roughly 70 square feet – which is also close to the minimum standard required for a bedroom in B.C.
While the dimensions of the whole apartment aren't provided, the listing does say it has an in-suite washer and dryer.
According to B.C. Housing, rent is considered affordable when it accounts for 30 per cent or less of a household's gross income. At $750 a month, this listing would be an affordable option for someone making about $2,250 a month. That works out to what someone working 35 hours a week making minimum wage earns before taxes.
It is twice the amount that people who receive income or disability assistance are given to pay for shelter each month.
Rentals like these, according to Robert Patterson with the Tenant Resource and Advisory Council, are often created by desperate tenants who are “trying to create a living situation they can afford.”
In a city where the average price of a studio sits at around $2,000, squeezing some basic furnishings into a space that was not designed to be a bedroom is relatively common.
"Many tenants have to resort to splitting rental units with many roommates to be able to make unaffordable rents. As affordable units continue to be lost through redevelopment and eviction, the units that are coming onto the market are almost exclusively 'luxury' priced rentals that working tenants cannot afford," Patterson told CTV News last month.
CTV News reached out to the person who put the ad on Craigslist but did not receive a reply.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.