Guidelines for showing apartments during COVID-19

Q: My boyfriend and I rent an apartment in a mid-sized building here in Ottawa. We are moving to a new apartment in mid-October, so we gave notice to terminate at the end of August. Now, our landlord has given us notice that they will be showing the apartment. They are offering to have a realtor come and video chat with the potential renters, or to have the renters physically come to our apartment. Ideally, we’d leave for the showing, but we are both still working from home, and the showing is to be during the workday. That would be really inconvenient because we have nowhere to go and have jobs to do. Do we have to leave for the showing? How should a showing work during COVID -19?

A: We answered a question like this in May, but are answering this new question since the issue is a current concern to a number of tenants and landlords.

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

Ottawa Public Health provides guidance on how to reduce risk when showing rental units, but reminds landlords and tenants that the legal requirements under the Residential Tenancies Act are still in place.

OPH encourages virtual approaches to showing units to potential tenants. That could be showing floor plans (in large buildings) or showing photos or video. If virtual or remote options are not feasible, OPH says that the landlord should politely request that the tenant stay out of the unit while the showing occurs.

If a prospective tenant (or the realtor) shows any symptoms of COVID-19, or meets any of the criteria requiring self-isolation, the visit must be postponed. That also applies if the tenant has symptoms or needs to self-isolate. If a physical showing takes place, your landlord should keep records of prospective tenants’ contact information for contact tracing.

Ottawa’s Temporary Mandatory Mask bylaw requires people to wear a mask in an enclosed public space. Although your apartment is not a public space, it is strongly recommended that everyone present for the showing wear a mask.

If you are unable to leave the unit during a showing, then all parties need to ensure physical distancing is observed. This may include tenants staying in their bedroom for the visit, and always staying at least two metres away from other people. Instead, perhaps you can take some work or something to read when you step out.

Before a visit, highly-touched surfaces like doorknobs 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 hand sanitizer before entering the unit and after exiting, anda no one should touch their face unless their hands were just washed. OPH provides hand hygiene info at its website.

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