Many tenants facing threats of eviction
Residents intimidated by landlords demanding rent during lockdown
A lack of financial support and murky direction from government about evictions during the pandemic have put some tenants and landlords at odds across the city over late rent payments.
At one Crescent Town apartment complex, tenants described feeling scared by property management going doorto-door trying to collect rent. One woman said they tried to get her to use a credit card on the spot with a payment processing machine.
Premier Doug Ford has suspended all legal evictions during the pandemic. But under provincial rules, landlords are still allowed to threaten eviction by issuing an N4 notice, which is not an eviction order but the start of a long legal process that has currently been paused by COVID-19.
Meanwhile, tenants say emergency financial supports from the federal government — if you qualify — aren’t enough to cover basic needs and rent, especially in Toronto. There have been no relief programs created specifically for residential renters, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying that is up to the province and Ford encouraging landlords and tenants to work out some kind of deal.
The Star spoke to tenants at the highrise buildings at 7, 9 and 11 Crescent Place in the largely immigrant and working-class neighbourhood of Crescent Town about actions by the landlord that left them feeling intimidated.
Pinedale Properties Ltd., which owns and manages the buildings according to their website, could not be reached for comment.
Sergio Moyano, who moved into a $1,400 bachelor unit in November, said he was laid off a few weeks ago from his hospitality job. Before that they had cut his hours, which was not enough to cover rent, let alone basic needs.
“At that point, you start having to decide — you pay for your rent or you pay for your food,” he said. “A lot of people here are under the same situation.”
On a work permit, Moyano didn’t originally qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, but has now applied. He came to Canada as a student from Colombia and tries to provide for his family back home — his mom is by herself — while paying back the bank for the funds it took to get here.
At first, when the landlord called about his missed rent payments, he visited the property management office with some neighbours to discuss a solution, he said.
Moyano said they were told by a woman he could not identify that COVID-19 is “a very bad cold” and “not a big thing” and that they could go to a food bank if they needed help.
“She was very rude,” and shouting, he added.
Then the eviction notices came. “We don’t really want to stop paying for our stuff but we cannot,” he said.
Across the city in the Annex, Leah Horzempa, a tenant coorganizer at 50 Walmer Rd., said many of her neighbours are facing “uncertain employment futures.”
As a group, they’ve sent letters to the rental property management company Briarlane and owners Mountrealco to ask for rent forgiveness, she said, and communicated with all tenants about holding onto what money they do have to pay for basic necessities.
The group, originally formed to fight an above-guideline rent increase, is now focusing on COVID-19-related issues. It has received what Horzempa said she felt was “increasingly intimidating” responses from both the property managers and the owners.
Some tenants have been offered rent deferment, but have been asked provide detailed employment information, which she said gave her concerns about privacy.
Horzempa and other organizers also received a lawyer’s letter on behalf of the property owner saying they could be sued civilly for inciting breach of contract, she said.
“I think it’s just legal intimidation,” to try to get them to stop organizing, she said.
A person who answered the phone at the address listed on corporate records for Mountrealco referred the Star to Briarlane for comment.
In an email, Andrus Kung, Briarlane’s vice-president of oper- aations and commercial proper- ties, provided a timeline of a series of letters sent to tenants, dating back to March 26.
The letters reference available government programs and ask residents to contact them if they cannot pay, to discuss a payment plan, requiring details about their former employer, including contact information.
“These are certainly unprecedented times, and our thoughts are with you and your loved ones during this time. Please do not hesitate to contact property management with any questions you may have,” an April 7 letter concluded.
Kung said N4 notices were served to tenants that had still not paid their rent between April 15 and 17. After that, any- one who hadn’t paid or wasn’t on a payment plan got a final notice. Those cases are pending since the Landlord and Tenant Board is not hearing cases.
Kung confirmed the owners did send a lawyer’s letter, saying they were concerned about tenants being encouraged to keep ttheir rent, even if they can af- f ford to pay.