A Craigslist listing for a “micro studio,” which featured a bed placed in a bathroom was flagged for removal after less than 48 hours of being posted.
The listing, which was preserved by the Wayback Machine internet archive, boasts a “newly renovated micro studio located in the west end.” The unit is “ideal” for a single individual looking to live downtown at an affordable rate, and “who does not need much space” the listing continues. The zero bedrooms one bath living space was priced at $680/month and is located on Barclay and Bute Streets.
That space, all 160 square feet of it, is less than what the City of Vancouver defines as a rental micro-dwelling unit at a minimum of 23.23 square meters (250 sq. ft.). The guidelines surrounding micro-dwellings were adopted by City Council in March 2014 and were intended to encourage the creation of new affordable rental units in the Downtown Eastside and the False Creek Flats areas.
The micro-dwellings guidelines also address how bathrooms are to be laid out with attention to privacy, sightlines and the direction of the door swing.
“Bathrooms must be physically separated from the remainder of the unit by partitions and a door to ensure privacy and to isolate noise and odours,” the guidelines state.
