Toronto Residents Rent Out ‘Other Half of Bed’ as Housing Costs Soar

The unrelenting turbulence in Toronto’s housing market has compelled residents to explore unconventional avenues to secure affordable accommodation, as the city’s rental costs continue to soar. Against this backdrop of housing instability, Toronto-based realtor Anya Ettinger recently made waves by offering a rather unusual listing on social media, reflecting the extreme measures some individuals are resorting to in order to make ends meet.

One of Ettinger’s recent TikTok posts featured a listing that sought “an easy-going female to share the master bedroom and the one Queen-sized bed.” The unorthodox listing, which highlighted the sharing of a single bed, underscored the severity of the housing crisis in Toronto.

In her post, Ettinger emphasized the success of a previous arrangement, noting, “I have been previously sharing the bedroom which only has one queen size with a roommate I found on Facebook and it worked out perfectly well!” This unconventional approach serves as a stark testament to the lengths some Toronto residents are compelled to go to in order to navigate the city’s increasingly unaffordable rental market.

Toronto, known for having the second-most expensive rental market in Canada, has seen individuals like Ettinger resorting to unprecedented measures as they grapple with the challenges of securing affordable housing.

Moreover, the emergence of “hot bedding,” a practice where individuals share a single bed in shifts to mitigate rental costs, has been observed not only in Toronto but also in other global cities. A survey conducted by the University of Technology Sydney revealed that three percent of international students living in Sydney and Melbourne had resorted to hot-bedding to alleviate the financial strain of rental expenses.

The prevalence of hot bedding and similar unconventional housing solutions underscores the pressing need for effective measures to address the housing crisis in Toronto. The uncertainty surrounding the future stability of the housing market has left many questioning whether relief is on the horizon.

In light of these challenges, it is imperative that policymakers, community leaders, and housing advocates come together to devise sustainable solutions that will provide respite to those burdened by the relentless pressures of Toronto’s housing market.

Ultimately, the rise of hot bedding in Toronto serves as a poignant reminder of the urgency with which the city’s housing crisis must be confronted. As individuals turn to unconventional measures to navigate the city’s rental market, the need for comprehensive and sustainable solutions has never been more apparent.

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Quincy Thomas

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