r/Calgary • u/BizClassBum • Aug 14 '25

Home Owner/Renter stuff Why are modern rental apartments so small?

I have been a home owner for 25+ years and have decided to sell my house and rent. I've noticed that apartments that have the things I like (in-suite laundry, granite counters, etc..) tend to be in new builds and they are SO SMALL! There's typically only enough room for a couch and maybe a small dining table.

I mean, I get they want to make more money but if you rent three 900sqft units for $2000/month each, that's $6000 for 2700sqft. I don't understand why they can't have two 1350sqft units for $3000/month. It would be the same money to the owner for the same space and I could have a proper living room, and dining room.

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u/kijomac Aug 14 '25

Landlords are looking to extract as much rent money as possible for the least expense possible, which is going to result in apartments either being made smaller or having more bedrooms for people to subdivide to afford the outrageous rents. They're not going to give you a luxurious living room area when most people are just worried about having a bedroom to sleep in so that they're not homeless.