‘They would be like jail cells’: Pineridge residents upset over 10-bedroom house

In the midst of a housing crisis, finding affordable housing in Calgary isn’t easy.

In the community of Pineridge, there’s a single detached home — two floors with a fully finished basement — that’s listed for sale for $450,000.

But it’s not the price that’s turning heads — it’s the number of bedrooms.

Neighbours tell Global News that three years ago, the 1,100-square-foot house was turned into a 10-bedroom residence.

Neighbours claim to have seen up to 20 people inside and say police have been called to the house many times.

Lesley Gilmore, who has lived in the neighbourhood since 2006, said it’s predominantly men who live there.

She said she’s seen violence in the area, drug use, garbage piling up, and at one point a dead person was removed from the home.

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“They would be like jail cells. There are two bathrooms. I don’t know if there are proper windows. I don’t know if people are safe in this house,” said Gilmore.

While she says the situation has been much better in the past six months, she says the house is now up for sale, so she’s concerned about what could happen in the future.

“This is a residential area,” said Gilmore.

“I’m concerned about the volume of people, I’m concerned about the quality of people.”

Another neighbour, Nazmeen Ali, echoes those concerns.

“I would like it to be sold to a single family or someone that has kids and make good use of that house because that’s how it was before, we had two families staying there before.”

A spokesperson for Vibrant Communities Calgary, the stewards of the City of Calgary’s poverty reduction strategy, said the situation is becoming more common in Calgary.

“We are seeing a lot more of these rooming homes come onto the market with a lot of rooms for a smaller property, over 10 in a bungalow,” said Meghan Reid.

“It’s very concerning, overcrowding and they are not safe. With rents the way they are, we will see more and more of this.”

Global News reached out to the City of Calgary to ask about the property.

The city says it is aware of the property and is in the process of “reviewing it for land use bylaw compliance and fire and building code compliance.”

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