Group calling for rent abatement for residential and commercial tenants

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) is urging the Province to pass legislation that will protect tenants who are unable to make their rent payments.

The OFL is urging the Ontario Government to implement an abatement for rent, evictions, and utility payments in order to protect Ontarians who are currently unable to work.

“With Ontario’s legislature set to return for a sitting today, the Ford government should be legislating rent relief,” Patty Coates, president of the OFL, said on a news release.

“We are now almost halfway through April, and renters still have no guarantees about how the province will handle the financial strain that rent payments pose to tenants, many of whom have lost significant income due to the COVID-19 crisis,” she continued.

The OFL is calling for the Province to subsidize rent up to $2,500 per household per month for up to four months, as well as implement a six-month freeze on rent increases in order to protect residents after the pandemic ends.

Further, the OFL is echoing the Better Way Alliance’s request that the Province implement a rent abatement for commercial rent costs, retroactive to April 1, 2020, to help businesses that are struggling due to the pandemic.

Moreover, small business owners are asking for a freeze on commercial rent evictions until the economy recovers from COVID-19.

“Making rent relief a reality requires government intervention. The banks should be mandated to pause mortgages for residential and commercial borrowers, and in turn, that relief should be passed on to tenants,” Coates said.

“Further delays in providing this needed support to workers, their families and small businesses will be detrimental to employment stability and economic recovery,” she continued.