Coronavirus crisis: for a national rent strike now!

NDPP wrote:

Petition: Cancel Rent and Mortgage Payments During COVID-19

https://www.change.org/p/federal-government-of-canada-cancel-rent-and-mo...

"COVID-19 is having a devastating effect...Our federal government should act in a similar fashion to Italy's and mandate the suspension of rent and mortgage payments during the Coronavirus pandemic."

Please sign, forward and circulate!

I don't agree. I think we should do like Denmark. Nobody loses their job, government paying 75% of wages lost due to covid19. That way people can continue paying rent and morgages and still have their jobs coming out of this. Most people can live off 60% of their salary especially with all entertainment shutdown. 

And then a wave of evictions come May 1st

A rent strike will not solve anyones problem but only defer them. The government needs to step up and use the tax rolls to send everyone a basic income. Not that I think that is a likely scenario.

If the problem is that you've lost your job, and you have to choose between paying your landlord on April 1st or hanging on to your money so you can feed your family, I'd argue a rent strike is a decent - if temporary - solution to your most immediate concerns.

Then there will be mass evictions because few people will be able to catch up. There is no reason for a general rent strike. Many people are still working and can afford their rent. People are going to get UIC or other compensation that will allow them to pay their rent. If they keep the money it will likely be spent before they have to pay it back. Just because someone is renting out a unit doesn't mean they are rich. 

It is terrible to encourage poor people to skip paying the rent because they will end up evicted if not now this summer.

Douglas Fir Premier wrote:

Bacchus wrote:

And then a wave of evictions come May 1st

I'm not sure about other jurisdictions, but for now, evictions have been frozen in Ontario.

And when that restrictions are removed? As they will be in May or June, and you have to then pay all that back rent at once or get evicted?

Douglas Fir Premier wrote:

Douglas Fir Premier wrote:

FAQ: Ottawa, Keep Your Rent!

Quote:

The government has already announced financial support and mortgage suspensions for businesses and landlords.

I haven't seen an official statement about this. Am I just missing it? As of yesterday there was nothing.

Globe and Mail posts

Quote:

The City of Toronto on Tuesday urged private-sector landlords to find solutions with tenants whose finances have been affected by the novel coronavirus, after a Monday conference call that Mayor John Tory held with large landlords and industry associations.

That doesn't sound like mortage defferal for businesses and landlords.

A coalition including the BC Ecosocialist Party, the Democratic Socialists of Canada, ACORN Canada, and Courage, have issued the following Statement on Rent/Mortgage Freeze & Emergency Income Support

Quote:

Join us in calling for a Rent/Mortgage Freeze & Emergency Income Support to Protect Workers and Families

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented action. We, a coalition of the BC Ecosocialists, ACORN Canada, the Democratic Socialists of Canada, and Courage call on the federal, provincial, and local governments to act now!

We are counting on you, Tim, to forward this message, and to invite any organizations that you are involved with to join us by signing on.

We are calling for all levels of government implement the following measures:

• An immediate moratorium on evictions and foreclosures.

• Immediate moratorium on utility and telecommunications shut-offs due to non-payment.

• Immediate suspension of rent. Any rent that would have been due during the pandemic period must be forgiven.  

• Immediate suspension of mortgage and property tax payments. Mortgage interest must be frozen during the pandemic period.

• Emergency subsistence payments sufficient to cover essentials (food, medications, telecommunications) must be made to all people in Canada.

Today, Canada is facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions. Millions of Canadians are at risk of losing their livelihoods and housing due to job loss from the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on our economy. Many have already been affected with tens of thousands of layoffs across the country and Employment Insurance claims skyrocketing to ten times their normal level.

Anything less than the full implementation of these demands is a failure of government to uphold its most sacred obligation: the protection of the people in times of great crisis and an abdication of their moral responsibility to ensure Canadians are safe and secure.

We invite all organizations and individuals to sign on.

We sincerely hope that you are keeping well, and keeping your distance from others. 

In solidarity, 

BC Ecosocialists Board of Directors

Douglas Fir Premier wrote:

And from CBC:

CIBC, RBC, TD, BMO and Scotiabank all said that landlords have the option to defer their payments regardless if they carry insured or uninsured mortgages. A few banks, including Scotiabank, give the option to postpone mortgage payments for up to three non-principal residences.

Thanks for the info DFP. I was curious about the CBC statement above so I found the article. I don't think your quote captures the whole picture. Some other statements from the article include

-Some say banks have denied mortgage deferral requests, despite government announcement

-she reached out to her lenders, knowing that some of her tenants were going to have trouble making April's rent amid the COVID-19 pandemic. / But, she says, the banks denied her. 

-The problem for Curlew and many others: The deferrals aren't as easy to get as they seem. They're being given out on a case-by-case basis, and sometimes those who need the most help say they aren't getting it. 

-The federal government hasn't announced any aid directly attached to rental units or renters. Premier Doug Ford has said that no one will be evicted for their inability to pay rent, but the Ontario government has not waived rent for the province. 

So there actually is no specific protection or aid for landlords and property contrary to what that rent strike article suggested.

Someone has to pay for all of this. Who has all the money? (It isn't landlords). 

This is a war so this is the time to demand wartime taxation and to point to where all the wealth is. 

Courage has launched a really cool app that maps support for the rent strike.

For folks who are undecided about committing to withholding rent, it allows them to pick a threshold at which enough people are striking that they'd join too. Once that threshold is met, they're notified.

At the beginning of the month, over a million people will either not pay their rent, or go into debt to pay it. 

To protect our health and ensure that everyone has shelter, all levels of government must take measures to:

• Cancel rent (no paying back later)
• Suspend (not defer) mortgages and foreclosures

By pledging to not pay your rent (whether you’re able or not), you help do two things: put pressure on governments to suspend rent for everyone, and protect the most vulnerable tenants from being evicted.

For a strike to be successful, unity is key. We need to overwhelm the system, forcing governments to negotiate, and forcing landlords to turn their frustrations on the banks, not on their tenants.

There is strength in numbers, and our power comes from our unity. Pledge today and help us gain the critical mass necessary to provide affordable housing for all.

From the Courage site:

A number of groups have popped up that serve as organizing hubs for rent strikes. You can find local information and support here:

Edmonton: FB group
Guelph: FB group
Halifax: FB group
Kingston: FB page
Montreal: website | FB group
Niagara: FB page
Ottawa: FB group
Regina: FB group
Toronto: website | FB group
Vancouver: FB page (the Vancouver Tenants Union) 
Victoria: FB group | FB page
Winnipeg: FB group

It is more realistic than having a "rent strike" followed by mass evictions this summer. 

..this is a fear not a fact.

Quote:

Our demands are simple, we want:

-A freeze on rents across Ontario.

-No back pay as a result of unpaid rents.

-A freeze on rent increases.

"no rent until containment"

That's an awefully nice gesture. Don't pay rent for what could be 6, 12 or 18 months. And no back pay. As Bacchus wisely points out, in many landlords cases this is their full time job. I took a look at a few of those groups. They don't want discussion or a conversation with landlords and politicians. No negeotiating. They want everyone to just stop paying rent.

Speaking as someone who's been a landlord, I wouldn't call it a job any more than I'd call owning stocks a job.

This brilliant Twitter thread by @pangmeli breaks it down nicely.

epaulo13 wrote:

..for years landlords have worked to remove rent controls and tenant rights. for years landlords have ruled the roost. many gouged and offered substandard housing. for years governments have backed away from their responsibility to create affordable housing..leaving it up to the markets. things have been stacked against tenants for as long as i've been politically aware. 

..this strike is about tenants surviving not landlord survival. in a time when governments are still bailing out oil and gas, for instance, after umpteen years of support subsidies.  

..we are not all in this together. power is still in power and continues to look to rigging the game. so no moral lectures please.

So you are saying that this is what Sean from Ottawa is like because he is a landlord. Oh, and the nurse who rents out half her duplex. Why is it exactly that you think she should give her tenants hundreds of dollars?  

A rent strike wouldn't hurt the big guys at all. Less than a mosquito bite. Some landlords are horrible, maybe even a lot of them, but most are just regular people who buy buildings and rent places out for a living. 

What would be the motivation for people to let others live on their property if they aren't collecting rent?

Why not? He will suffer just the same/

Statement of solidarity from CUPE 4600.

Okay. So lets say a whole bunch of people go on a rent strike. No problem because evictions are on hold. As soon evictions are again permitted they will be evicted unless they can come up with all the back rent and current rent. 

Pondering wrote:

Okay. So lets say a whole bunch of people go on a rent strike. No problem because evictions are on hold. As soon evictions are again permitted they will be evicted unless they can come up with all the back rent and current rent.

I feel like the organizers of the rent strike aren't really thinking about the long term effects nor have peoples long term health and welfare in mind.

Do they expect people to just not pay rent for a year and then go om like nothing happened? Meanwhile the owners are out thousands or tens of thousands of dollars? If I was a landlord and someone was getting money from the government to help pay rent and my tenants turned around aid told me I wasn;t getting a dime I'd be a little pissed and not just shrug my shoulders.

If the rent strikers aren't going to at least try to work with the building owners does that mean they should recieve half of the emergency funds from the government?

Reading through the pages and comments of these groups I half expect them to start demanding that landlords just sign over the property to the tenants for free.

Reading through the pages and comments of these groups I half expect them to start demanding that landlords just sign over the property to the tenants for free.

..i kind of like this idea. i once and continue to hold on to an idea that everyone born on this earth receive 1 acre of futile land that cannot be sold or left to inheritance. it can only be traded for another so like minded folks can form communities. and for cities a lesser sized piece land.

eta: the whole idea of what a city should look like would need to be revised. 

They are making a big mistake. Piggy-backing on a national emergency while it is happening to push a political agenda doesn't look good on anyone even if they claim to be representing the poor.

The present moment is a critical time for solidarity and coming together to fight Covid-19.  It is not time to debate who is the most oppressed and why and what should be done about it. 

The rent strike is not focused on the needs of the poor right now. They are pushing an ideologically based action that some people may actually follow thinking that because of Convid-19 they are protected and won't have to pay it back. Or they will understand that it will come due, but spend it because impoverished people always have more needs than money. 

Basically they are screwing over the most vulnerable people in society to push their political agenda. Are they going to step up and help the people evicted mid-summer? 

They should definitely be highlighting the issues of the less fortunate in life but they should be doing it from a place of knowledge of what their actual needs are right now. A rent strike is not what they need. They are not thinking about climate change right now or rights and dignity. Whatever level of poverty they are suffering they just don't want to catch Covid-19 on top of their current misery.

They should be looking into conditions for the homeless right now and making suggestions for them and for people who are addicted to hard drugs. Anyone living off the underground economy can't survive isolated. Pragmatic solutions are needed right now not longwinded speeches that no one is listening to. 

Rent strike sounds like an advertising campaign. Something dreamed up to be clever and shock. Shallow. Slick. (witin the context of what is happening right now)

We are all, even here, myself included, obsessed over Convid-19. That's valid. This is earth-shattering. The notion that everything will just gear back up and things will be as they were in December is completely unrealistic. Populations will be in shock. We can't even imagine what will happen after this is over but it will not be business as usual or just recovering as we did (or didn't) after 2008. 

But right now, when I think of all the people suffering, most needlessly, I am sick to my stomach. Watching the red spread over the map of the world is like watching a disaster in slow motion. I think of the misery of people stuck in refugee camps. I think of Mexico in denial. What about all the refugees that were in transit and the ones being held in detention. The US is just at the beginning of this. Republicans massively believe Trump and believe that this is all overblown. They have been acting accordingly. By the time they realize he is wrong it will be way too late to save their communities. States are competing for supplies paying over 5 times the cost. Trump is sending out one time payments because he wants everyone back to work within weeks. 

Now is the time to be focused on the current needs of vulnerable people and when not focusing on that focusing on what is to come. The world is going to be in a shambles. In these moments of seismic change lies the opportunity for revolutions. We live in a democracy which allows for a soft revolution.

The Green New Deal was economically sound before all this happened. From a practical economic perspective we need to do it on steroids. It is by far the best path to longterm sustainable economic recovery. Alberta is being decimated and begging for money. The oil companies should not be off the hook for paying for orphan wells but they will probably go belly up before paying. We should pour federal money into cleaning up wells and helping farmers. 

Social housing should be energy efficient using geothermal when possible or whatever else is available. 

 When this is over is the time to massively expand free public transit as it helps  those who need it the most. Students that couldn't earn money over the spring and summer, seniors, low income workers. Families. And helps us meet emission targets.

We should be debating the meaning of national security in terms of food chains (once the crisis has peaked). 

We are going to have massive amounts of data on how all of this impacted carbon emissions. 

We are going to spend billions of dollars on recovery and it will last years. The only question is what it will be spent on. 

Time to dust off the Green New Deal and see if it can be updated.  The argument "but it will cost too much" is gone. We are going to spend billions. 

Also a good time to promote basic income more vigorously. 

I know I have been rude and longwinded and I am sorry for that but too frustrated to keep quiet. At best a rent strike will just fail completely at worst it will convince people to not pay their rent and get evicted. It is ineffectual in convincing anyone of anything or making a lasting difference in anyone's lives. 

We need to focus on the immediate needs of the people of the world and ready an alternative plan to the ones the government is going to offer. Leave off with the indigenous rights posturing and ideological talk.  Do cover what it costs for indigenous communities to have clean water and food security. As soon as we come out of this we have to be ready to present strong arguments against what they plan to do with the billions with alternative plans in hand.