Secondary Suite in a Bungalow

When A.J arrived in Canada as a newcomer in 2019, finding an affordable place to rent was one of his top priorities. A.J would soon realize, however, that among the many challenges that new immigrants in Canada face, finding a rental unit would prove to be one of the most significant.

“For the first few weeks, I stayed in an Airbnb. But after that, I started looking for a rental unit to stay in for the long term. And at that point, I looked everywhere online, checking through website listings. And since I didn't have a credit score yet, it was really hard for me to find a unit to rent,” A.J said. “Not to mention at that point, I was not familiar with the real estate agents system. I contacted a few but, this was sort of an instantaneous rejection.”

After several weeks of searching, A.J stumbled upon a Kijiji listing for a bachelor-style rental unit in Toronto’s West End, an area known for its diversity and sizable immigrant population. The unit was created by carving out a space within a dwelling that was upgraded or renovated to increase lot density and provide rental space in an otherwise single-family home. After calling the homeowners and explaining his situation, A.J was granted an interview with them to gauge his suitability as a tenant.

A.J went through the job-like interview, and was able to build some trust by sharing his story and even LinkedIn page, in addition to providing evidence that he can pay rent. Some of the questions were about the number of people moving in, and whether A.J would need parking or not. They emphasized on the parking point a lot, because they already had two cars at that point, and didn't want the trouble of having a third since it will require parking in tandem. Other questions were basic life style questions about drinking and partying, etc., to gauge if A.J is a good fit for them. Soon after, A.J was informed that he was selected to be the new tenant, which was welcome news after a

difficult search period. The unit appeared to meet A.J’s needs perfectly: In addition to being extremely affordable at $830/month, the location and the unit itself provided all the amenities he would need.

“The unit was basically a bungalow, a single dwelling unit. Their [the homeowners’] children moved out, so they had lots of empty space. So, they carved out part of the main dwelling unit into a bachelor’s suite, where it had its own entrance. And I had basically a unit with a kitchen, bathroom, sleeping space, and a desk to work and to study,” A.J said. “The only thing that was shared is the laundry in the basement,” he added. Despite its location in one of the West End’s more rural, single-family neighbourhoods, A.J also had relatively easy access to public transit. Yet, as A.J explained, living there without a car could still be frustrating at times, and it was often clear why there were very few rental units in the area.

“[Living there] had its pros and cons. So the neighbourhood was beautiful, it was calm. It's basically all single family dwellings. The nature was close and there was a creek behind us, so that was nice. Transit-wise, the bus stop was a two minute walk for me, so it was very close. The downside is that it was a very residential area, so if I wanted even grocery shopping I needed to either walk for 30 minutes or take a bus for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Sometimes it was ridiculous, because taking the bus would actually take more time than walking. That part wasn't very positive. But I think it's the nature of the area, that it's sort of more car dependent.”

Overall, A.J’s experience emphasized the importance of missing-little housing for new immigrants, young professionals, or anyone that might not be fully established in Canada yet, both in terms of affordability and in terms of accessibility to a housing market that generally does not have the needs of these groups in mind.