As the BC NDP government allows evictions to begin, alarm over rent debt spikes

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Written by: Morgana Adby

Tenant organizers in BC might have the opportunity of a lifetime to reshape the way we do evictions. As the province is reopening, residents can expect to see some evictions resume during the month of July.

This order specifically applies to situations where the building is to be sold and used by a new owner, where a tenant is a danger to other residents or other specific situations like stealth subletting. 

Still, until further notice, while evictions for non-payment will remain on hold in BC,  this opens the door to “renovictions”.

Despite these protections, any rent not paid during the relief period will accumulate and be due once all evictions resume. 

Throughout this pandemic, rent has been at the top of everyone’s mind. The main concern, potential mass evictions. Many tenants across the country participated in rent strikes on May 1, to demand rent forgiveness. 

At the time, forgiveness towards airline rent outraged many tenant organizers. 

Others have continued to withhold their rent. It is difficult to say how effective these efforts have been, even though we now have the numbers Although about 80% of Canadian tenants paid their rent in May, the tightly organized rent strike groups in big cities have clearly managed to stand their ground. 

For example, the Toronto group Parkdale Organize released this statement regarding the new month of rent. They say that they are seeking, “a permanent ban on evictions and forced collection of unpaid rent during the months of the COVID crisis and for landlords to agree to negotiate with tenants.”

For BC organizers, this is the opportunity to push for a more compassionate eviction process for tenants that cannot pay. Evictions for non-payment do not need to go back to normal. It makes sense to have evictions resume over safety issues, or to protect the safe transfer of property to a buyer. 

However, reinstating evictions because of non-payment clearly restates what tenant organizers say they already understood: that the renting economy is not about the renters. Many are asking if we should go back to a coercive status quo, where tenants are essentially extorted for a safe place to exist. 

Rent forgiveness does not have to work against the free market. Supplementary rent forgiveness, such as that given toward airline companies, can be done. 

Vancouver’s Tenant Union has spoken out about the update. The group successfully pushed for tenant protections back in March, and now their attention is on rent debt. 

Rent debt is the buildup of any rent due during the non-eviction period. At the point that residents can be evicted over non-payment, this rent will simply need to be paid.

The issue is, the people that already lost their income due to COVID-19 are unlikely to run into a lump sum of money. As people start working they may be able to pay the rent they did beforehand, but certainly not a multiplication of their rent due at once. 

The Vancouver Tenant Union warns that “They want to get back to normal; their normal is our nightmare. We have heard from hundreds of renters who are draining their savings to pay rent, are behind on rent, or have been unable to pay rent at all because of this crisis. Demanding thousands of dollars in debt repayments from those who already financially strained could very well lead to mass evictions when the ban is lifted.”


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