The property listing’s floor plan reveals six bedrooms on the main floor and an additional seven in the basement
A home for sale in northeast Calgary has caught the attention of the city, and is raising concern among housing advocates due to its advertised number of bedrooms.
The bungalow on Whitaker Close N.E., in the community of Whitehorn, is listed for $500,000 on Realtor.ca and other listing websites. The house was built in 1980 and includes just over 1,100 square feet of living space.
But the most eyebrow-raising feature of the otherwise unassuming listing is the property’s 13 bedrooms, spread across the main floor and basement.
While the listing does not show any interior photos, it does include a floor plan that reveals six bedrooms on the main floor with two bathrooms and a kitchen, as well as seven additional bedrooms in the basement, complemented by an additional bathroom and shared laundry room.
The footage of each bedroom is also included, with the smallest measuring approximately 57 square feet. The floor plan shows that each bedroom has or shares a window.
The real estate agent selling the property did not return multiple requests for comment Thursday, while eXp Realty and the Justin Havre Real Estate Team, which are also included on the listing, directed Postmedia to contact other brokerages.
The listing garnered attention among Calgarians after it was shared across various social media platforms.
Maggy Wlodarczrk, chair of the local chapter of Calgary ACORN — a national tenants’ rights group — said the number of bedrooms raises questions.
“While increasing the supply of housing is critical in addressing Calgary’s housing crisis, we need to ensure that this does not compromise health and safety, and that it passes all necessary inspections,” Wlodarczrk said.
“It’s important to ask whether the income generated is benefiting tenants through reasonable rents, or if it primarily benefits landlords looking to maximize profit from overcrowded or substandard conditions.”
Meaghon Reid, the executive director of Vibrant Communities Calgary (VCC), which stewards the city’s poverty-reduction strategy and advocates on behalf of low-income residents, said the household is an example of overcrowding — an issue she feels is likely more prevalent than many Calgarians realize.
Overcrowding refers to when the number of people residing in a housing unit exceeds the national occupancy standard for that size of unit, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Reid called overcrowding a “fairly disguised” challenge in Calgary that correlates with the city’s growing unaffordability of housing.
“The magnitude of this particular issue is pretty significant,” she said, pointing to a VCC study that found more than 40,000 households in Calgary were one paycheque or financial emergency away from slipping into homelessness.
For many Calgarians who are on the brink of homelessness, Reid said the last step before entering a shelter is often to overcrowd a housing unit by doubling or even tripling up with other families.
But while doing so can help save significantly on rent, Reid argued there are safety issues for properties with so many bedrooms, such as having appropriate egress in the event of an emergency.
Overcrowding can also diminish tenants’ quality of life, she added, considering things such as privacy and agency.
“Our homes are supposed to be refuge . . . and for some people, that’s not the case,” she said.
