Rent is due but Peel tenants are still unsure where they stand

The phone hasn’t stopped ringing at Mississauga Community Legal Services. The legal aid clinic is fielding calls from anxious tenants in Peel who are worried about the legal repercussions of not paying their monthly rent on time due to job loss amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

For tens of thousands of tenants living in Brampton and Mississauga, a layoff can be the difference between keeping a roof over their heads or losing their homes. Since the outbreak, more than 925,000 people have applied for employment insurance (EI), as layoffs continue across Canada.

For tens of thousands of Peel tenants living paycheque to paycheque, a layoff can be the difference between keeping a roof over their heads or losing their homes.

Amidst economic uncertainty, call volumes won't be dropping anytime soon, says Douglas Kwan, co-executive director of Mississauga Community Legal Services.

“That's the choice people are facing now, using the money to pay the rent or, you know, putting food on the table and buying the necessary supplies for your home,” said Kwan. "That's a decision many people have to make right now.”

In Canada, 3.4 million households rely on wages or are self-employed, of which half have less than a month of savings to cover basic necessities like rent and groceries, according to a recent report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. In Ontario, more than 500,000 households fit into this category. Meanwhile, a 2017 study conducted by the United Way found that, in 2015, 60 percent of neighbourhoods in Brampton were categorized low income.

Put simply, it’s no secret that many are stuck between a rock and a hard place right now.

Premier Doug Ford has stated tenants struggling with a loss of income won’t be evicted if they can’t afford rent. “No one will be kicked out of their home or their rental apartments based on not being able to pay the rent – it’s just not going to happen, we won’t allow it to happen,” said Premier Ford. 

While no new eviction orders will be issued until further notice in Ontario, without definitive legislation, tenants may face legal consequences for not paying rent when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

“The landlords will get through it, but some people are going to face some tough times, but it doesn’t give a free pass to people just to say they aren’t paying – be responsible, pay if you can, but if you’re down and out and just don’t have the money, food is more important to put on the table than paying rent,” he added.

But this small reassurance, that comes with no legislative changes, has raised more questions than provided answers.

The province hasn't provided any clarification on how landlords could conceivably be stopped from deceiving tenants into believing they're being evicted. In Brampton and Mississauga, where there are tens of thousands of unregistered secondary units, people struggling to afford rent are at significant risk of losing their homes. If tenants cannot come up with rent money for one month or more, it's possible they will be faced with a major tab once the pandemic ends.

The Pointer previously posed these questions to the province but received no new details in response. “It’s important to be clear that tenants must still pay rent as they normally would, to the best of their abilities, and that the rules of the Residential Tenancies Act still apply,” Conrad Spezowka, a spokesperson for the Government of Ontario, responded via email.

One thing the province has done is suspend eviction hearings from being carried out, halting the removal of tenants from their homes at a time when people are encouraged to stay inside and practice physical distancing. The Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board has also suspended all new eviction orders and is not scheduling hearings on such matters, a spokesperson for the tribunal previously told The Pointer.

Jack Fleming, Executive Director of North Peel & Dufferin Community Legal Services in Brampton, cautions tenants from taking part in rent strikes, warning there could be legal consequences for anyone who withholds their monthly rent, especially if they can still afford to pay it. 

“We are advising tenants to pay the rent if at all possible. Eventually, everyone will be accountable for the rent that is owed. The current situation just defers consequences, it does not remove liability for rent,” said Fleming. 

“Understandably, some people will be unable to pay the rent, having lost their employment, and there may be some delay while they access EI or the new emergency benefits,” he added.

Prior to the pandemic, regional councillors, part of Peel’s housing and homelessness committee, agreed the unaffordability crisis has risen to “tsunami” level proportions. With home ownership increasingly out of reach, more and more people are renting. According to the most recent census data, in 2016, 23.8 percent of households in Peel Region rented.

In Brampton, rental rates have risen significantly, a recent trend that has shown no sign of slowing down. According to Rentals.ca, the month-to-month rent average in the city increased by almost 12 percent in February, even as COVID-19 started to bring the national average down.

With even more economic uncertainty on the horizon, housing advocates like Kwan and Fleming want to see increased aid from the provincial and federal governments for tenants.

The federal government recently announced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to support workers experiencing income loss and help businesses keep their employees as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. CERB, a taxable benefit, would provide recipients with $2,000 a month for up to four months and applies to wage earners, contract workers and self-employed individuals ineligible for EI.

That’s a start but it’s not enough, according to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which wants the province to order an immediate rent freeze. 

Earlier this month, protesters gathered outside of the Ministry of Housing to demand the provincial government enact a rent freeze to protect vulnerable tenants who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this month, ACORN organized a protest outside the Ministry of Housing, near the corner of College and Bay Streets in Toronto. Activists were bussed in from across the province from places like Hamilton, Ottawa and Peel and braved the cold to call for reform of the rental system.

Now, ACORN, which has a chapter in Peel, is demanding all governments in Canada order immediate rent freezes to protect tenants and low-income earners until the pandemic has been declared over by the World Health Organization.

“Over the next several weeks, governments will introduce billions of dollars in emergency measures to support businesses and workers - but we need to ensure it includes support for precarious workers, and the most vulnerable tenants, like the 20% of renters in major cities who pay more than 50% of their income in rent,” ACORN stated in a March 16 call to action on its website.

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