Tenants push for clearer pandemic rights
Some renters don’t want realtors bringing people into homes up for sale
At a time when people are being told to keep their distance, Ontario renters say they have little control over who comes in and out of their homes if their landlord is selling the property or showing it to other tenants.
Concerns about strangers entering their units is second only to eviction when it comes to tenant issues during the pandemic, according to some renter advocates.
A question about how to stop prospective buyers and tenants from entering a rental home during the pandemic has attracted 38,385 page views since it was posted on legal site Steps to Justice early in the spring lockdown.
Tenant advocates say the province should have clearer rules protecting tenant rights during the pandemic.
Ottawa renter Adella Khan, who lives in a building that was recently sold, said tenants “need stronger legislation beyond guidelines to protect us.
“Guidelines, especially when at this point they’re based around the provincial response to COVID, they have no legal teeth. When we’re looking at mass evictions in Ontario and really high average rents, it’s a really hard landscape to secure a home, much less keep your affordable home and maintain your rights during this pandemic.”
Khan, who works for a homeless advocacy group, said she and her partner told the realtor selling the older apartment building they were immunocompromised. They are still following the same public health
restrictions that they were practising in April.
The real estate agent set up viewing times designed to concentrate as many showings as possible within a single week. At one point there were 40 viewings scheduled, she said.
Although the agent asked the building’s tenants to leave during the showings, Khan said she and her partner work from home and couldn’t be out.
“We mentioned we would prefer virtual viewings. We never actually got a response,” she said.
Khan said a housing lawyer advised her that she was allowed to refuse entrance to her apartment because she is immunocompromised, but that tenants can’t reasonably disturb the sale.
Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations, said the issue extends to contractors entering rental units for repairs and renovations — and even door-to-door collecting rents.
He said that there are conflicting laws around the matter. Landlords have the right to
show and sell their property, but they must give proper notice. At the same time, tenants’ health and safety and human rights are also under legal protection, including in cases where someone is immunocompromised.
That conflict has not been legally tested since COVID-19, said Dent.
“If the whole thing gets taken to court we don’t know who’s going to win. It would be up to the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to adjudicate,” he said. “Many tenants have been putting their foot down and saying, ‘You can’t come in because you jeopardize my safety.’ We believe that tenant has adequate grounds under the law. Again, the LTB could disagree with that down the road.
“Unfortunately, the government did not clarify these rules and it’s created nothing but chaos and risk,” he said.
“The idea that landlords would be entering (condo) buildings to sell units during a pandemic is absurd. It should all be moved to virtual showings. Landlords should only be entering on a very minimal basis to do emergency repairs; they might have legal obligations around fire inspections.”
Realtors are not allowed to conduct open houses in regions that have been designated red or lockdown zones under the provincial COVID-19 framework.
But when it comes to individual showings, “whether it’s on a tenanted property or a sale property, those haven’t been restricted by the government so those can go ahead,” said Sean Morrison, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA).
“Obviously, we want realtors to work with landlords and also with the tenants to accommodate their needs,” he said. “No one should be forced to be in a situation where they feel they’re at risk.”
The association recommends realtors try to limit the number of visits to the property, and it encourages them to shift to virtual showings whenever possible and make sure protective equipment is worn, that hands are sanitized and potential buyers or tenants are pre-screened for COVID-19 symptoms or contact.
If their clients are touring the property, they should be warned against touching anything. They should talk to tenants about leaving doors open and lights on to minimize touching of surface, said Morrison.
“We hope that if our members and clients take every precaution going into somebody else’s home, which is a privilege, that realistically we can do the best we can to mitigate any exposure to COVID. The best solution is not to be in the home at all and to do things digitally as much as possible,” he said.
Tenants are entitled to 24 hours notice of showings. Sometimes tenants will waive that if it’s convenient, but the landlord does have the right to bring people through the home for sale.
“If there are risks with COVID-19, if the tenant is immune compromised, for instance, you have to use common sense and look to protect all parties involved,” said Morrison.
Although tenants have the right to stay in a property when it’s being shown, realtors prefer the home be unoccupied, he said.
Toronto area students Erika Burton and Andrew Rutland, who rent in Kitchener near the University of Waterloo, said their landlord was good about providing notice when their place was first being shown for sale. They would leave when they could, but it wasn’t always convenient given that they were working at home.
“You’re stuck between a rock and hard place because you either have to stay and risk breathing the same air or we leave, which is disturbing to our work,” said Rutland.
On two of 21showings, the students received no notice.
“A couple of times we were home and random people would just walk into our apartment,” said Burton.
During early November, there were two days when there were three separate showings. When they tried to reduce the frequency, Rutland said they met with resistance.
In addition to the showings, Burton said photographers and contractors came to the apartment without masks and were annoyed when asked to wear face coverings. That prompted them to put a sign on the door asking visitors not to touch things and to wear masks.