Latest “private rooms for rent” prove Toronto’s housing market is “not right.”

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Finding accommodation in and around Toronto has become increasingly challenging.

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As rental costs skyrocket across the GTA, desperate renters are settling for anything and landlords are taking advantage.

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A listing of a “Private Room for Rent” at Ice Condos in Toronto, 12 and 14 York St., between Bremner Blvd. and Harbor St. sounds promising — but it is clear that the author of the listing had a thesaurus on hand.

The so-called four-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment will be “fully furnished” and offer “modern rooms at an affordable price.”

How much? $980 every four weeks — But if you do the math, it’s more than $1,062 a month, Toronto real estate agent Anya Ettinger explained in her TikTok post.

“The Ice Condos does it again with this front closet, available for rent for $980/4 weeks — But don’t worry, it’s FULLY FURNISHED with a cot, bookcase and clock,” she captioned her video.

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While part of the ad’s description is accurate (a three-minute walk to Union Station and steps from grocery stores, restaurants and pharmacies), it’s the “room” that makes Ettinger laugh in disbelief.

“That’s the front closet! They put a bed in the front closet and then they put up this Ikea bookcase and this partition and now they call that a bedroom,” she said of what she believes is actually a two-bedroom unit that she “rebuilt”. into a four-bedroom.

“It’s probably like a two-plus den, and then they made the den a bedroom and the closet a bedroom,” she explained.

“I honestly have no words for what’s going on in the rental market here, like it’s disgusting.”

This isn’t Ettinger’s first insightful post about renting. She wants people to know that the reason so-called spaces like this are rented out isn’t because there’s a demand for them; rather, the possibilities are more than limited.

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“There is a HUGE shortage of housing and affordable housing, so there will always be a demand for rental properties like this,” her caption read.

“The problem is that people need housing and the waiting lists for co-ops, for low-income housing, and for affordable housing are so long that people have no choice,” she said in her TikTok.

“They have to rent something like this because there are so many people living here, there’s not enough housing and people need a roof over their heads,” Ettinger continued.

“That doesn’t mean it’s OK because it’s not OK,” she added. “But it’s not as simple as just not renting it out, then they can’t get away with it.”

“People just don’t have a choice.”

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