Guidelines for showing apartments during COVID-19

Q: I rent an apartment in a four-unit building here in Ottawa. Several days ago I gave notice to move out on June 30. Now, my landlord has told me that he intends to show the apartment. He also asked me to leave for the showing. That would be really inconvenient because I have nowhere to go and I hurt my foot, so that standing around outside is not an option for me. Do I have to leave for the showing? Do I have to allow the showing at all?

A: After you have given notice to terminate, the Residential Tenancies Act says your landlord is entitled to show the rental unit to prospective tenants between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., provided the landlord makes a reasonable effort to inform you of their intention before entering. A tenant who refuses a proper showing without proper grounds would be interfering with the landlord’s reasonable enjoyment of the unit, which includes their right to re-rent it.

However, due to COVID -19, physical distancing and hygiene rules need to be followed. To that end, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) recently released guidance for rental unit showings.

OPH encourages virtual approaches to showing units to potential tenants. That could be showing floor plans (in large buildings) or showing photos or video of the apartment.

If virtual or remote options are not feasible and the unit is occupied, OPH says that the landlord should politely request that the tenant stay out of the unit while the showing occurs. Tenants should continue to practice physical distancing while out of the unit. In your case, perhaps you could move a chair onto the sidewalk and wait there.

If a prospective tenant wishing to see a unit shows any symptoms of COVID -19, or meets any of the criteria requiring self-isolation, the visit must be postponed. Likewise, if the current occupant of a rental unit is self-isolating/ quarantining due to recent travel, has COVID -19 or has symptoms of COVID -19, the visit must be postponed. OPH provides more details on when self-isolation is required on its website.

If the tenant is not able to leave the unit during a showing, then all parties need to ensure physical distancing is observed. This includes asking that people in the unit stay in their room(s), and always staying at least two metres away from others. For more information on physical distancing, visit OPH’s website.

If physical distancing cannot be maintained, OPH recommends that all involved wear a mask. Non-medical masks are preferred in order to preserve medical masks for health care use. OPH does not recommend wearing gloves, but if you choose to do so, be sure not to touch other things with your gloves and then touch your face. OPH provides more information about masks and gloves on its website.

Before a visit, highly-touched surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected. Any surfaces touched during the visit should also be cleaned and disinfected. All parties should wash their hands or use an alcohol-based hand rub prior to entering the unit and after exiting, and no one should touch their face unless their hands were just washed.

This and other guidance for landlords is found on the OPH website under “COVID -19 Information for Community Partners and Service Providers.”