Someone is using tiny houses to show Toronto's unaffordability
A listing for an adorable one-bedroom apartment in The Junction has renters in Toronto freaking the heck out right now – and with good reason.
Have you ever seen an above-ground rental unit go for $800 a month in this city? Let alone an apartment with *gasp* an actual bedroom?
Local artist Anita Bonfini recently listed what seems like the only affordable-yet-decent apartment to hit Craigslist Toronto in... maybe ever.
At 900 square inches, it's literally too good to be true. As in you can't actually live there unless you're the size of a bumble bee.
"I've had hundreds of people respond inquiring about the space with only a handful realizing it's actually a miniature," said Bonfini by email on Friday.
"The range of reactions has been pretty extreme," she said, "from one person emailing me telling me he's Wayne (from Honey I Shrunk the Kids) to people telling me I'm cruel and that I should go f**k myself."
So, the home doesn't exist as an actual rental property for humans – but it does exist.
Bonfini, a talented miniatures artist, designed, built and decorated the entire house herself – and she didn't do it for the purpose of trolling hopeful tenants.
"I posted the ad on Craigslist to sort of put a spotlight on the lack of affordable housing in the city," she wrote. "I was interested in seeing people's reactions."
She couldn't have launched it at a better time. Earlier this week, Toronto was crowned the most expensive rental market in Canada after surpassing Vancouver in a race that nobody wants to win.
The average price of a one-bedroom rental in the city surpassed $2,000 a month only four months ago, and market analysts say it could be closer to $2,200 as we kick off 2018.
The situation is bad – which is likely why Bonfini has been inundated with inquiries and impolite responses.
Some very optimistic Craigslist apartment hunters still can't believe that the photos are of a mini house (as opposed to an actual place that's for rent in one of Toronto's hottest neighbourhoods for $800 a month).
If you're one of them, you can find proof on an Instagram account set up to document the home's construction beginning all the way back in May of 2017.
