Single room rental to support a family of 3 sparks outrage in Brampton

An Ontario rental ad is generating controversy, as a Brampton area landlord posted a single room for rent marketed to support a family of three.

The initial Kijiji post reads, “Hello Friends. We have a big room upstairs, which can easily accommodate three family members or it could be three boys or three girls.”

One-room rentals have become common in the GTA, as rental rates in regions like Peel have been subject to record highs.

According to a July National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation, median rental rates for two-bedroom units in Mississauga currently sit at $2,778 — a 2.8 per cent increase compared to the month-to-month average.

Images attached to the post showcase that the room in question is on the top floor of a Brampton-area home, indicating an above-ground rental. However, the Residential Tenancies Act of Ontario refers only to the relationship between tenants and landlords.

Since this advertised space is a room and not a unit, if a family of three were to move in, they would have little to no tenant rights since they would be, on paper, just roommates and not primary leaseholders.

In the time since the initial ad was posted, individuals on Reddit’s Slumlords Canada page have started to generate outrage.

“A couple maybe, but not a family of three or three adult individuals, unless they’re renting to three tiny 10-year-olds,” said one Reddit user.

Another individual was not very surprised by the ad, as they commented “Soon it will be normalized for small families to rent an entire room in someone’s house. Pure greed.”

The ad for the room then closes out by indicating that the advertised property is close to a FreschCo and NoFrills, as well as three separate bank branches.

At the time of publication, no rental price is listed anywhere on the post.