Anything seems to go in the now-bonkers Toronto rental market, where demand is high, prices keep climbing and shockingly grim-looking units keep hitting the market.

With average rent in the city now more than $2,600 per month, those on a budget may be left with slim pickings, especially as we hit back-to-school season.

One new, particularly sad listing shows a new, rampant trend that seems especially aimed at single students who are seeking a small amount of space for cheap: renting out communal living space, or part of it, as a supposed private room.

"Spacious den room for rent" reads a recent Kijiji listing in East York for only $800 per month — a steal in Toronto, even for a tiny single room.

The listing is literally for a mattress in the middle of a shared living room. Photo from Kijiji.

But the appeal ends there as the photos make it apparent what the living situation is.

Photos show a simple mattress on the floor in the centre of a room — no bedframes here — with a fan and some IKEA nightstands haphazardly in the corner.

The setup is depressing, to say the least. Photo from Kijiji.

And in the foreground, a piece of beige furniture that one quickly realizes is one of two living room couches.

Yes, the "den room" advertised is the den, as in living room, of the one-bedroom apartment, in the middle of which you would be sleeping, if you apply for this rental.

Even the rest of the decor leaves a lot to be desired. Photo from Kijiji.

The kicker is that the poster is apparently seeking "someone who wants to occupy this den room for a longer period," as if this wouldn't be a temporary last-resort on the way to an actual apartment. Also, of course, someone "who is quiet, clean and respects others living in the apartment," because you'll be sharing some very close living quarters.

The room is, yes, spacious as advertised, but unfortunately, that space would not at all be your own.