Whether we’re selling a house or a condo or helping clients buy a property, we often end up talking about bedrooms. How many bedrooms, what type of windows they have, size of the closets and so on.

As a result of that, about once a week we have a conversation with a client about the definition of a bedroom. After all, when we’re working with someone to buy or sell real estate, the number of bedrooms matters a great deal. Is it a three bedroom house, plus den, that is too small for a prospective buyer with three kids? Or is it a four bedroom house that is just right? How you define a room and whether it is in fact a bedroom, or just a den, matters.

Given the impact that number of bedrooms has on the value of a property, we took it upon ourselves to find out the exact definition. If you think it’s about windows, or closets, or doors, you might be surprised at the answer.

Let’s look at how a bedroom is defined in Canada, in Ontario, in Toronto and by our local real estate board.

Canada: A Nation United by Minimum Bedroom Standards

Starting at the country-wide level, the National Building Code mostly takes a hands-off approach, leaving the details to provinces and municipalities. It does provide clarity on a few things, such as the size required for it to be a bedroom. Seven square meters is the magical number, so if your room’s smaller than that, it’s more of a den than a bedroom. Canada’s national rulebook doesn’t care about closets and there is no requirement at the national level for a bedroom to have a closet.

Ontario: The Province of Spacious Ambitions

Zooming in to Ontario, things don’t change much. The Ontario Building Code sticks to the same philosophy: dimensions, dimensions, dimensions. The 7-square-meter rule applies province-wide but it also clarifies that the ceiling height needs to be 2.3 meters.

When it comes to windows, the OBC is less clear, so while it does say that “every room used for sleeping in any building, and every principal room such as living room, dining room or combination of them in dwelling units shall be provided with windows”, that is a little confusing. Basically, all bedrooms need to have windows, but also every principal room, which means…all rooms? By that standard, any interior room can’t be a…room?

Even the Residential Tenancies Act gets into the discussion, requiring every bedroom to have a window, but then it says that window can be part of a door. The end result seems to be you can’t have a room without ventilation of some sort, be it a window, a door or even some sort of mechanical ventilation like a fan. Given we haven’t yet encountered a magical room that somehow exists as a room without a door or doorway, this seems like a meaningless stipulation.

Toronto: The Big City with Even Bigger Bedroom Standards

In Toronto, where space is at a premium, the definition of a bedroom is shockingly straightforward. A bedroom in Toronto is really just a room with:

• Space to lie down: It needs to be at least 7 square meters (about 75 square feet), so if you can’t fit a twin bed in there without turning it into a game of Tetris, it’s probably not a bedroom.
• Headroom: The ceiling height has to be at least 2.3 meters (about 7 feet, 6 inches) for half of the room. If you’re constantly crouching, you might just be living in a glorified closet.
• Escape hatch: There has to be a window big enough to climb out of in case you want to make a quick exit—5.7 square feet of window space, to be exact. So, no trying to pass off your windowless broom closet as a bedroom.
• Breath of fresh air: Natural light and ventilation are a must. So, if your “bedroom” feels like a dungeon with no windows, it’s time to reconsider your floor plan.
• Closets? Optional! If you’re in Toronto, storage space is more of a “nice to have” than a legal requirement.

Toronto Regional Real Estate Board: That’s None of Our Business

We spoke with the good folks at the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), as they run the MLS system that displays listings in Toronto and a large part of the GTA. They confirmed that they do not have an official definition of a bedroom that Realtors must follow and that we should check with local municipalities to make sure we’re accurate in describing a room in a listing as a bedroom.

The Bottom Line: It’s All About the Space (and the Window)

In the end, calling something a bedroom boils down to this: Can you fit a bed in it, stand up without hitting your head, and get out if you need to? If the answer to all three is yes, then it likely qualifies as a bedroom. There is definitely no need for it to have a closet to qualify as a bedroom, so you can drop that fact at your next cocktail party with confidence!

Understanding the rules (or the basics of them) is useful but doesn’t change the fact that it is a bit of a wild west situation in many real estate markets, with listing agents playing fast and loose with the number of bedrooms in the home. If you are looking for a new home and want to make sure that see places with actual bedrooms instead of theoretical bedrooms, get in touch with us!

Not all renovations add the same value to your home.  Here’s our look at what renovations give the best return as well as when you should do them.

An important caveat is that there is considerable disagreement as to exactly how much value a renovation adds to a home.  There is no shortage of stories in the media that report percentages and dollar values as facts rather than opinion.  We’ve looked for consensus from different sources and also applied our own experience helping clients buy and sell to come up with some guidelines for your renovation plans.

Let’s get started.

It’s what is on the inside that matters.

Royal LePage conducted a survey of 750 agents in 2018 and one of the results was a consensus that exterior projects like adding a pool or deck are the least likely to increase a property’s value.  We know from our work with clients that pools are not a good investment.  If you buy a home with a pool, you often don’t have to pay a premium for the pool compared to a property without one.  Considering a pool can cost between $60K to $80K, if you want one in your home you should definitely make sure you buy one with one in place rather than build one yourself.

Cooking before Bathing

The same survey found that a kitchen renovation has the potential to increase the value of a home by over 12.5%, compared to a bathroom renovation, which ranges from 2.5% to 12.5%.  While we all enjoy a lovely bathroom, with open concept homes more and more common, a new kitchen is a constant visible feature you will appreciate far more often.  The survey uses percentage increase in the value of the home as a whole, which is an interesting approach.  It means that you’ll need to consider how much you spend on a project related to the overall value of the home.  Spending $10K on a bathroom remodel in a $400K home might not be the smartest investment.  Many other surveys look at the return on the cost of the investment itself – i.e. if you spend $23K on a kitchen, you might get a 77% return on that investment, adding $18K in value to the home.  If that number seems specific, it’s because it is pulled directly from the 2020 Cost to Value Report from Remodeling, a US-based website and magazine.

Curb appeal still matters.

Despite the Royal LePage agents saying you should focus on the inside, the Remodeling Cost to Value report shows that the two highest return projects are exterior projects, namely adding manufactured stone veneer to your house or replacing your garage door.

Global News consulted some real estate professionals, which we assume is code for Realtors, to come up with their five low-cost renovations that have the highest return on investment and two of the five suggestions are exterior improvements.

Image courtesy of Global News

As mentioned, take the numbers and percentage returns above with a grain of salt.  It looks very official when it is presented this way, but the numbers are a result of a real estate agent saying something like “Oh, for sure, you could get ten or even fifteen thousand more for your house if the front was landscaped nicely.”

It’s almost Christmas..better start that reno.

In terms of timing, the month of November is considered to be the best time to get the best prices on a renovation.  The reason is pretty simple – supply and demand.

Contractors are often busiest in the spring and summer months, particularly if any of the renovations require work outside.  As we head into fall and colder temperatures, work continues but there are often deadlines to complete projects before the holidays.  Most projects that start in the latter half of the year have mid-November as a deadline so that the homeowners can prepare for the holiday season without the stress and activity of a renovation taking place.

If you are comfortable with the idea that you’re not going to host much of a Christmas gathering or New Year’s Eve party, you can find contractors who are happy to be working rather than sitting around waiting for the new year.  A lack of projects can mean that the best contractors are more readily available, and you have a greater chance of being able to negotiate a discount.

The ideal project for this time is one that can be done comfortably in a month or so.  Contractors are working against the holiday deadline and as such things often go quicker than if they had the option of delaying your work to handle a few other small jobs.

As a bonus, retailers often run sales on end of season appliances as they make space for the new models coming next year.  Considering such appliances are often the largest purchase (outside of materials and labour) in a renovation, saving a few percent can really add up.

The worst time to renovate?

Finally, let’s talk about when is the worst time to do a renovation.  It isn’t a particular month or time of year – it’s right before you move.

If you’ve ever renovated a home right before selling it, you understand this point immediately.  There is nothing quite like finally addressing something that has bothered you for years, only to get only a very short time to enjoy it.

Choosing to do a renovation a year before you move rather than a month before you move gives you more time to enjoy the finished product, which has some value in it’s own right.  It will likely still be in good shape and not dated when you go to sell and we’ve never encounter a buyer client who demanded to know exactly when the recently updated kitchen was renovated.

In terms of what renovation not to do, we’d suggest avoiding combining open concept with your bathroom.  Open and airy isn’t always the best way to go.

If you’re considering selling (or as we say in our last point above, not considering selling just now) and want to discuss which renovations will best improve your home’s appeal and sale price, get in touch.