Commercial landlords who refuse rent help cannot evict
Order meant to protect small businesses, provincial finance minister says
VICTORIA Commercial landlords who refuse to apply for federal rent assistance will be forbidden from evicting their tenants for at least the next month, B.C. Finance Minister Carole James announced Monday.
The eviction ban drew praise from some business leaders who say it protects businesses from unreasonable landlords during COVID -19, but also acknowledgment from others that the overarching problem is the frustrating and cumbersome federal rentassistance process itself.
James said members of the provincial economic recovery task force — made up of business leaders across the province — have told her they are concerned some landlords are refusing to work with small-business tenants and instead choosing to evict them.
“There are landlords who have not applied for the relief, and unless the landlord applies for the federal program, the program isn’t available for small-business tenants,” she said. “Preventing landlords who are eligible for the program from evicting tenants can encourage landlords to apply for the program.”
The ban on evictions will stay in place for at least June, and can be extended if Ottawa extends federal aid, James said.
The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program grants a commercial landlord a non-repayable loan for up to 50 per cent of their rent, with the tenant paying a further 25 per cent and the landlord forgoing the rest.
The program applies to small businesses that pay less than $50,000 a month in rent and have suffered revenue declines of at least 70 per cent due to COVID -19. Charities and non-profit organizations are also eligible.
Critics have said the program leaves tenants at the mercy of their landlords because only landlords can apply on behalf of tenants.
“It gives them all the power,” said Laura Jones, executive vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “So what B.C. did helps balance that out a little bit because it gives the tenants back some of that power.”
Most landlords realize businesses have suffered financially due to COVID -19 closures and are trying to reduce or defer rent, Jones said. For those being unreasonable, the eviction ban creates breathing room for landlord and tenant to start talking, she said.
The organization that represents most commercial landlords in Metro Vancouver said the federal commercial rent program is time-consuming and beset by unclear rules.
The government eviction ban came quickly, considering applications for federal aid opened last week and run until August, said Damian Stathonikos, president of the Building Owners and Managers Association of British Columbia.
“What I’ve heard from a lot of our members is they are really taking their time to talk to tenants and figure out whether this makes sense,” Stathonikos said. Factors to consider include the type of building, its tenant mix, the age of the property, its location and the likelihood the tenants can stay in business, Stathonikos said.
“It’s a pretty unwieldy program and a lot of paperwork involved,” he said. “I was talking to one of our members today and he was thinking his final application will be more than 500 pages.”
On that, businesses agree. “We’re hearing some serious nightmare stories,” Jones said of the application process.
Landlords are also concerned about the potential liability of vouching for the finances of tenants to prove they lost 70 per cent of income, Stathonikos said. There’s also confusion on rules, such as whether an application with several tenants can be amended later to include additional tenants.
The Opposition Liberal party called for the eviction ban last month. Leader Andrew Wilkinson said the NDP has ignored other Liberal suggestions, such as a three-month pause on the provincial sales tax, hotel tax and employer health tax.