Boarding houses

One way a condo resident can make some money is to rent a room to one or more boarders. Whether this arrangement is a violation of the condo's declaration, by-laws and rules depends on those documents say.

Even more important is the attitude of the board. Many ignore rooming houses.

Boarders may be singles or students from out-of-town or from other countries.

There are different arrangements made between the host and the boarder.
Bed & breakfast The boarder is provided with a bed and breakfast. For the rest of the day, they eat out. Long-stay residence is rare.
Half-board Bed, breakfast and dinner only
Full-board Bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner
Foreign students
 Foreign students may be placed by agencies and speaking in English and experiencing Canadian foods and culture may be part of the agreement.

The house rules for bed and breakfasts and rooming houses vary. The residents might not be allowed to remain on the premises during the daytime and may be subject to rigorous rules and regulations especially about having guests.

How crowded can it get?
After a long period of poor management by different boards, especially by the last one, in late 2014 an Etobicoke condo tower went into court-appointed administration. The monthly fees headed to the moon (see below) and there is a special assessment on top of the high fees.

Here is the listing for the lowest priced unit for sale at that condominium
(10 May 2016).

Notice that it is NOT being sold as an owner-occupied unit but as a business:
an illegal rooming house.  (See the article below.)
$60,000  Listing ID: W3477694   Single family unit  (Unit # is not stated)
3 +2 bedroom 2 bath, 1 parking spot
Maintenance Fees $918.13 Monthly
(The Special assessment is not mentioned.)
Description
Investor @ Investor @ Investor @
All Bedrooms Already Rented !! ( 3+2 Bedroom)...Fully Rented !!
Total Rent Collection $2,200 Per Month )).
(Up to $1,000 Per Month In Pocket)
Tenants Are Willing To Stay @ Close To York University.)
Close To All Amenities. All Bedroom Rented Since 2011
Walking Distances To Shopping Plaza And Close To Hwy 400.
Rough In Laundry in the Apartment.
http://bit.ly/1WhJ1rJ

Six bedrooms, two filthy bathrooms
Here is an e-mail that I got from a director of a nice mid-range condo in the North York corridor.
We have a one bedroom condo up for sale. Disgusting. It has six tiny bedrooms and two really filthy bathrooms.

So how do you get six bed-sits in a one bedroom condo? Easy. The bedroom, the living room and solarium were divided in half. Now there are six bedrooms for six foreign students.

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