Landlord lists 4 beds in one room for $600 each in Mississauga

A rental posting for a bedroom shared with four people in a Mississauga home sparked anger in a Canadian online housing forum.

The post advertised one room for four “girls” in a home at Mavis Road and Derry Road in Mississauga, according to the SlumLords Canada sub-Reddit page. The rent listed was $600 each person.

This would give the landlord a whopping $2,400 for just one room, well above standard rents for the area. The average rent for an entire one-bedroom apartment was $2,283 in March in Mississauga.

It’s not clear if this is a legitimate listing but there have been concerns about rooming houses packing too many people in one home in the past in Mississauga and Brampton where 25 students were reportedly in one basement.

The rental listing on Kijiji as of April 19, appeared to be the same room but adjusted to three single beds for the same $600 rent each.

All the other details were the same including the location. The post said the room is for female students or professionals only. The tenants would also pay an extra 10 per cent of the utilities. Parking is extra.

Other parts of the home were also supposedly available for tenants to share including the living room, kitchen, laundry and bathroom. The home is furnished with a TV.

Dozens of people commented on the SlumLords Canada Post.

“Imagine thinking it’s ok to cram 4 people in one room and make $2400 in revenue,” one person said.

“PLUS 10% OF UTILITIES. Slumlord is cleaning up. ….and that leads me to assume there are 10 people to split utilities with!” another person wrote.

Others wondered if this kind of living situation is legal.

“Everyone needs to start reporting these illegal housing units,” one person wrote. “Whether you report on Kijiji or to the city it doesn’t matter, everyone needs to start making noise. I’m not even a renter and i’m downright outraged at whats happening.”

The City of Mississauga did not immediately provide comment on the listing.

However, the landlord appears to be violating the city’s Residential Rental Accommodation Licensing By-law.

Under the bylaw, there are a maximum of four units or rooms permitted in a “lodging house” in Mississauga., and each unit can only be rented to one person.

People are allowed to rent up to three units or rooms without being licensed in Mississauga.

Residents who suspect an illegal rooming house or lodging home in their neighbourhood should contact 311.

Update: The City of Mississauga provided a statement on Monday (April 22).

“Section 42(2) of the Property Standards By-law 0654-1998, as amended states: ‘The maximum number of persons residing in a dwelling unit shall not exceed one person for each nine square metres of habitable room floor area,'” the statement reads.

“In this particular situation, an investigation would need to take place to verify if a violation of the By-law has occurred. If a resident believes there are violations of the Property Standards By-law, they may file a complaint via the 311 Citizen Call Centre, and an investigation will be initiated by the City,” the statement reads.