I Can't Afford My Rent Because of COVID-19. What Should I Do?
Don’t worry - you are not alone and we are all dealing with some sort of personal or professional crisis during this pandemic. While you are being socially responsible by social distancing, you may have lost your job, your small business might be struggling, or your work hours have been cut to the point where you can no longer afford to pay your full rent. Here are some steps to help you through this process:
Communicate. The only way your landlord can help you is if you communicate with them and let them know that you are foreseeing some trouble. If your rent is due at the first of the month, do not wait until the last minute to inform your landlord; or worse, wait until your rent payment has bounced. Even if you haven’t lost your job yet but you think it might be a possibility, reach out to your landlord immediately to let them know so that everybody can be prepared. Also, be prepared to show evidence that you have lost your employment - your landlord may require it to access relief programs of their own.
Research. Have you explored all of the government programs that might be available to you? The Canada Emergency Response Benefit was designed to help people in this exact position and you could be eligible to receive up to $2,000/month. While this might not be as much as your normal income, it can help you weather the current pandemic.
Calculate your savings and income, and budget accordingly. Reach out to all of your expense commitments like internet, cell phone, credit card, car payments, etc. and see if they are willing to offer some sort of relief or payment deferral. Then set a monthly budget for your food and other necessities. How much is left? Take this amount to your landlord and talk about how they might be able to help.
Plan out a payment schedule and offer what you can afford. The worst way to approach this situation is to tell your landlord you can no longer pay the rent and then offer no possible solutions. Although evictions are not possible at this time, if you completely disregard your rent payments without your landlord’s agreement, it will just mean that you are delaying your eviction until the pandemic passes. Make a reasonable offer and show that you have considered the landlord’s position that they rely on the rental income to cover their expenses.
In the end, both tenants and landlords goals should be aligned: to keep the lease agreement in place and navigate through the pandemic together. If not, tenants might be forced to move during uncertain times and landlords may lose thousands of dollars in lost rent and vacancy. Be open-minded and know that there could be adjustments to rent payments in the present and the future to compensate.