The Victoria Tenant Action Group is calling for the provincial government to cancel rent and mortgage payments until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic after a survey showed that many are struggling to make ends meet.
The survey, launched on April 3rd, received 61 respondents, nearly a third of whom said they did not pay or only partially paid rent at the start of the month.
Among those who did not pay full rent, 70% said they either didn’t have enough money to pay or that making the rent payment would leave them unable to buy food or other necessities.
Of those who did pay their rent in full, 18% said they did not have enough money left over to pay for necessities.
Further, the survey found that 40% of respondents expect they will not have money to pay rent in May without forgoing essential goods.
See also: B.C. announces financial aid for renters, moratorium on evictions, freeze on rent increases
“These results confirm what we are hearing from our members that rent is either not being paid or it’s being paid at the expense of other basic survival needs like food and medication,” said Ben Baird of VTAG, in a statement.
“By failing to enact a rent and mortgage moratorium before April 1st, the BC government has thrown renters and landlords into deeper conflict. Tenants need a guarantee that rent will be cancelled and not result in debt accumulation and eviction in the future.”
On March 25th, the provincial government announced a suspension of current and future evictions until this crisis has passed, barring some exceptions for extreme circumstances, as well as a freeze hike.
This move was made as a step to guarantee security for renters who couldn’t afford to pay rent by April 1st due to loss of income, as none of the financial assistance packages announced by the federal and provincial authorities will be available to people by the end of this month.
However according to VTAG, as well as source reports, many renters have still reported being threatened with evictions once the pandemic is over, and landlords urging them to apply for government relief in order to pay their rent.
Many individuals in B.C. and across Canada who are in need of financial assistance due to the pandemic still do not qualify for aid – such as students and people working reduced hours.
A small percentage of VTAG’s survey respondents, 3%, reported that their landlords offered to reduce or waive rent in light of the pandemic.
But the tenant advocacy group does not “share the BC NDP’s optimism that landlords as a group will act in good faith when negotiating with tenants in precarious financial circumstances.”
In light of this information, VTAG is calling for the government to erase rental debt for those who have gone into debt with their landlords since April 1st.
Additionally, the advocacy group wants a full cancellation of rent and mortgage payments until the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
VTAG also calls for landlord licensing to ensure accountability for landlords who “use the threat of future eviction and other punitive measures to coerce tenants into debt repayment agreements that inflate their already-unaffordable rent burdens.”
See all the latest updates about the global COVID-19 pandemic on Vancouver Island
The BCCDC has set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at 1-833-784-4397 for those who have further questions about this disease.
Anyone concerned that they may have been exposed to, or are experiencing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, should contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.
The Province has also created the 1-888-COVID-19 line to connect British Columbians needing non-medical information about the coronavirus pandemic.
As of the time of publication, the total number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has risen to 1,412,356.
Over 81,000 people have died from the illness and 301,166 have made a full recovery.
