KITCHENER -- With millions of Canadians out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic, not everyone is able to pay rent this month.
Thousands of citizens have signed petitions for the cancellation of rent and mortgage payments during this crisis, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that won’t happen.
The situation is leaving tenants and landlords to figure out payments amongst themselves.
Heather Killam rents out her basement and says she is being as understanding as possible with her tenant.
“He contacted me and said he’s been laid off, so I told him to work it out. Put it off for a month. Catch up later on,” she says.
But this means the amount falls to her. “I’m going to run it on my line of credit for a month until I can catch up myself.”
The minister of housing Steve Clark hopes tenants and landlords can work together during this difficult time.
“I am especially concerned about the mom and pop landlords. The very small landlords with limited revenues coming in,” he says.
Ontario Landlords Watch creator Kayla Andrade is worried movements like the rent strike means some tenants are taking advantage of the situation.
“This is just a tactic to get free rent during the pandemic,” she says.
Some local landlords are concerned the situation could lead to dramatic increases in rent down the road.
According to OLW, there are tens of thousands of applications at the landlord tenant board for non-payments of rent, meaning whenever the “no eviction” rule is lifted, it could overwhelm the system.
