Dear Ward 24 Residents,
Today, Mayor John Tory calls on private landlords to put policies in place to help unemployed tenants and communicate them
Today, Mayor John Tory announced the City is taking action to help Toronto’s most vulnerable tenants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
After consulting with Mayor Tory and City staff, who approved both the form of the help and the financial implications for Toronto Community Housing, TCHC confirmed today that it will be flexible and work with market rent and rent-geared-to-income (RGI) tenants whose employment income has been impacted by COVID-19.
For rent-geared-to-income households, which make up about 90 per cent of TCHC tenants, the housing corporation will recalculate their rent based on employment income changes owing to job loss or layoff incurred because of COVID-19. Rent will be adjusted or deferred in order to respond to the economic impact of COVID-19.
For market rent tenants whose income has been reduced as a result of a job loss or layoff because of the COVID-19 response, TCHC will consider various case-specific options to assist them, which may include arranging for payment deferment plans that suit their situation over the next few months.
The City also issued broad direction today to over 200 social and affordable housing providers responsible for over 33,000 units reinforcing that the housing stability of residents is a top priority. Housing providers have been directed to be flexible, exercise discretion, and to work with households whose employment-related income is affected due to the current emergency.
These actions follow the teleconference on Monday with major private residential landlords as part of the Mayor’s Economic Support and Recovery Task Force. On the call, the Mayor surveyed how landlords plan to help tenants who may have lost their job due to the recent economic turmoil and have rent due soon. Many of the companies pledged to help tenants who need it. A number of companies have detailed policies in place to assist tenants whose income has been diminished by the health crisis, but far too many have not communicated anything to reassure anxious tenants who in the ordinary course have rent payments due on April 1.
While the City has no power to direct landlords, the Mayor strongly urges all property owners to find ways to help tenants who need it to stay in their homes during these unprecedented times. The Mayor also made it clear yesterday that he expects landlords to proactively communicate with their tenants with respect to policies they have in place which are available to tenants financially displaced by COVID-19.
If you have any questions or concerns please call my office at 416-396-7222 or email me at councillor_ainslie@toronto.ca
All my Best,
Paul