Perth renters seeking relief with landlords during coronavirus crisis

Satinka Schilling has dodged the proverbial bullet on her rent, for now.

The former New Democratic Party candidate in last year’s federal election, has just come out of a two-week self-isolation with her partner.

“We wanted to be safer than sorry,” she said. But as rent day approached, with money tight after two weeks of not working, they were faced with a daunting decision — pay “rent or ... other bills like hydro or food.”

One week before the rent was due, she approached her landlord, and asked if their first month’s rent deposit could be used to cover her rent for April.

However, her landlord needed that money to cover her own mortgage payments. But, her landlord spoke with her husband and came back to Schilling.

In exchange for not having to pay rent on April 1, the couple would then pay one-and-a-half times their rent in May and June.

“Thankfully, I was able to do that,” she said.

Three Toronto renters affected by COVID-19 ‘surprised’ to get relief from landlord

The COVID-19 outbreak has student Madison Cleary worried she won’t be able to pay her $770 a month rent for the Bloordale Village apartment she shares.

When the virus hit, Cleary, 26, a part-time student in her final year of paralegal studies at George Brown College, lost hours at her two part-time jobs — including one at a skateboard shop — that help pay her rent while in school, jobs that earned her about $340 a week.

Another roommate in the unit held a job in a café, but it closed amid COVID-19, so she is unable to work too.

The two and their third roommate affected by the fallout from the virus got together to talk about what to do about paying the rent at the end of this month.

They decided to ask their landlord, Islington Village Corp., the owner of several private buildings across the city, for a deferral. To their astonishment a representative for the company was understanding and is giving them a break for the time being.

Toronto rental company puts landlords to shame with incredible COVID-19 supports.

A letter posted by one such tenant to Reddit this week shows that Greenrock Real Estate Advisors is not only being flexible with upcoming rent payments, it's giving each of its residents a $100 grocery card — and donating another $300,000 to local charities to assist those affected by COVID-19.

The company quietly revealed a new $500K COVID-19 Relief Fund on its website Friday morning, noting that rent increases for current tenants would be deferred and that all residents could use their last month's rent deposit as a credit towards their April rent payments.

Fitting for a company that bills itself as "a third-generation family business with a proud tradition of giving back to the community" and actually has a long history of giving back to the community.