CORPIQ asks the government to act to help landlords

CORPIQ asks landlords to restrict visits to dwellings and urges the government to act to help landlords.

While the residential rental period is at its annual peak, CORPIQ asks owners and managers to restrict visits to dwellings and to take all necessary precautions, including, if necessary, postponing visits. It also urges the Quebec government to announce a compensation plan for landlords who will have to deal with tenants who no longer pay.

Although the law allows landlords to access apartments for visits, exceptional measures must be put in place to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus and prioritizing the health of all tenants of the building.

If a visit must absolutely take place, CORPIQ suggests to:

• Evaluate the candidate's needs to avoid unnecessary travel to visit a dwelling that would not be suitable for him/her. The rental application and the pre-rental screening can even be done online beforehand and quickly, thanks to CORPIQ's tools;
• If a visit becomes necessary, the landlord should limit the number of people for the visit (preferably one applicant instead of his whole family or his roommates) and limit the duration of the visit;
• Strictly require that hands be disinfected before entering, that no one touches anything inside, and that people keep their distances from each other;
• No visits should take place if the occupant or prospective tenant shows any symptoms of COVID-19.

"Several landlords have already chosen to wait before making visits, a decision that CORPIQ applauds. We invite landlords to take every precaution and remain proactive by putting people's health first; moreover, in the current circumstances, we must not insist if a tenant, who fears for his health, does not want to give access to his unit," said CORPIQ's Director of Public Affairs, Hans Brouillette.

CORPIQ is in contact with ministerial authorities and ensures to share the information with its members. It asks them to respect the instructions, as well as to show understanding and patience in the face of the measures taken.

 

Landlords expect a commitment from the Quebec government

With the Quebec government's ministerial order suspending all hearings considered non-urgent at the Régie du logement, as well as the enforcement of judgments and the eviction of tenants who have not paid their rent, it is now certain that landlords will suffer significant  and irrecoverable financial losses.

This government decision will affect plex landlords for whom unpaid rent may constitute a loss of 33%, 50% or even 100% of the building's income, or even in some cases, of the family's personal income. It will also affect landlords of larger buildings who need this money to maintain essential services provided to tenants by their employees.

CORPIQ is therefore asking the Legault government to commit to compensating landlords who will suffer the repercussions of its decision to allow tenants, who stop paying, to continue to live in the unit.

"Landlords are generally understanding and patient when a bona fide tenant is living in a precarious and temporary situation. However, in these exceptional circumstances, the government cannot force landlords to provide free housing. This form of financial assistance to tenants must be provided collectively. The two levels of government have just announced several measures for households and businesses. Landlords are also waiting for quick answers," explained Hans Brouillette.

The coronavirus crisis had barely begun when tenants wanted to stop paying their rent.  "Unfortunately, there are people on social media who have bad intentions and shamefully want to take advantage of the situation to avoid paying. Activist groups seem to welcome this, which is very worrying.  The government must support landlords more and concrete actions are necessary," concludes the CORPIQ spokesperson.

 

Relatively low vacancy rate

This crisis will likely complicate the search for housing in an already tight market. According to a survey carried out by CORPIQ in the last week of February, between 4% to 15% of housing units were for rent, depending on the region. The vacancy rate was below 2%.  For the Montreal region, although the vacancy rate of 1,5 % is relatively stable compared to the figures of October from the CMHC, which was 6 % of the housing stock which that had to be re-rented. In Quebec City, close to 11% of units were available for rent. However, these rates are lower than in recent years. 

The situation will worsen if the many construction sites, where work is being done to complete the construction of housing units to be delivered in 2020, are delayed. It is also unknown what effect these rates will affect tenants who had to move out of Quebec but will stay, and those who had to move in and give up.

 

Housing Availability, last week of February 2020

Region	Unoccupied Dwellings1	Occupied Dwellings but available2	Assignment of lease in progress3	Total  available
Laval	0,4%	3,3%	0,3%	4,1%
Outaouais	0,9%	3,9%	0,3%	5,2%
Bas Saint-Laurent-Gaspésie	1,6%	3,7%	0,3%	5,5%
Montréal	1,5%	3,9%	0,7%	6,0%
Lanaudière	0,6%	6,1%	0,1%	6,8%
Montérégie	1,4%	5,8%	0,2%	7,3%
Centre-du-Québec	1,2%	6,3%	0,5%	8,1%
Estrie	1,1%	6,9%	0,3%	8,3%
Laurentides	0,8%	7,7%	0,6%	9,0%
Chaudière-Appalaches	1,4%	8,6%	0,4%	10,4%
Saguenay-Lac St-Jean	2,0%	8,7%	0,0%	10,7%
Québec	1,6%	8,7%	0,5%	10,9%
Mauricie	1,3%	12,9%	0,3%	14,5%

Source: CORPIQ, 1,600 respondents equalling more than 40 000 dwellings. Survey from February 27 to March 3, 2020 

¹ vacant and able to welcome a tenant now

² occupied, but will be vacated soon, as the lease has not been renewed.

³ a new tenant will soon take possession of the premises following a lease assignment