He’s only been sub-letting his basement suite out since December, but already Nanaimo welder Dan Molstrip says he’s made “a fucking fortune, man.”

Molstrip, who prefers to go by the name “Big Daddy Vape,” says he rents his couch out to tourists who are looking for “the ultimate Nanaimo rental experience.”

At $451 per night, renters get Internet access (“as long as they don’t watch my porn stash”), access to a moldy deck, and an instant ramen-noodle breakfast.

“I just can’t keep up with how many people want to experience an authentic mid-Island apartment. It’s fucking crazy.”

Molstrip’s landlord, Julia Render, says she’s been actively trying to evict Molstrip. “The Residential Tenancy Branch says I have to give him five years’ notice, and apparently under the new legislation, all he has to do to appeal it is slip a note under my door that says ‘Go fuck yourself,’ and then he gets another ten years. It’s ridiculous.”

For an additional fee, Molstrip offers bicycle tours of the former Tent City. He declined to reveal where the bicycles used on the tour came from, only saying “It’s totally cool, bro.”

And if his previous guests are anything to go by, Molstrip may have tapped into an under-served market in the competitive housing market.

The apartment is booked through to July 2021.

With files from Dominic Jones.