Landlords turn deaf ear to small business owners seeking relief on rent

As a small-business owner, Janice Webster is proud that she’s always had her financial affairs in order. She pays her rent on time and made sure she had a one-month emergency fund on hand.

That fund helped her pay the rent in April when her massage therapy business in the basement of the Varette Building at 130 Albert St. was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. To make May’s rent, she’ll have to dip into her line of credit. She wonders how long her business can survive.

“I’ve always been a very financially responsible person,” Webster said. “I’ve always been prepared. I’ve done all the right things, and now I could be decimated by this. It’s really hard to take. I’ve spent 16 years as a business owner. To think that might all be thrown away is hard to even imagine.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday that some relief is on the way, expanding a loan program for small businesses and introducing a new program to help them pay their rent for the next three months. The Canada Emergency Business Account was introduced previously to help businesses with payrolls between $50,000 and $1 million. Trudeau says the program will be opened to those with payrolls as low as $20,000 or as high as $1.5 million.

But that won’t help Webster, who has no payroll since the four massage therapists who work in her clinic are independent contractors who pay her to use the space.

She’s asked the landlord, Metcalfe Realty, for a break. So far, nothing.

“My rent has always been paid on time. It’s not like they don’t know who I am. That’s what shocks me. There’s not even a partial relief.”

Eight floors above Webster’s clinic, immigration lawyer Arghavan Gerami says she too got the cold shoulder from Metcalfe when she asked for rent relief. Gerami, who pays $8,500 a month for space for her small firm, asked the company to defer rent or to extend her lease. With the border closed, refugee claims have dried up, though Gerami still has some clients. She and her team have been working from home because it would be impossible to work in the office safely.

“Metcalfe did not respond to me with any proposal, a reduction in the rent, a deferral, anything. They insisted they (property management companies) have been deemed to be essential services and they’re operating. They’re saying, ‘This is not our problem and you have to pay your rent.’”

Calls and emails to Metcalfe Realty on Thursday were not returned.

In the ByWard Market, Maxine Hill’s Canada in a Basket shop specializes in selling local products such as jams and honeys. She’s also pleaded with her landlord, Paradigm, which manages the cityowned building, but has received no response.

“It’s causing a lot of stress. I’ve got $60,000 in inventory that’s going to go bad,” she said.

Like other market shops, Hill has tried selling online, but the work it took to keep her Facebook page updated wasn’t worth the few orders she received. Nor does she have room to keep inventory in

My rent has always been paid on time.

It’s not like they don’t know who I am. That’s what shocks me. There’s not even a partial relief.

stock for online orders.

“I’m trying to discuss some kind of rent relief but I’m getting nowhere. The city’s not returning my calls. Paradigm’s not returning my calls.

“I wasn’t able to make April’s rent, so I don’t know how long I can sustain it,” Hill said. “I’m lucky in that my lease is up in December. Worst case, I’ll just close. But after 19 years operating in the ByWard Market, that’s heart-wrenching.”

Webster says she’s optimistic to hear the federal government is working with the provinces on additional commercial rent relief.

“I do feel like they’re trying to close the gaps for those of us who have fallen through the cracks,” she said. “But May 1 is coming quickly.”