Evictions are violence, and it's low-income and racialized tenants who bare the brunt of this. With the @bcndp lifting the eviction ban, the Guevarras, Sarah Lindsay and The Bottle Depot on Carolina and Broadway are being evicted on the 30th of September.
The tenants will be kicked out of their homes for another @PortLiving project - they've bought up blocks of property around Fraser and Main. Lots of condos and empty storefronts here now, though there's been reports that they are owing millions of unpaid debt.
All these tenants deserve just compensation, but the developer has chosen to specifically ignore requests to negotiate with the Guevarras who are seniors and Filipino immigrants. They will be hit the hardest by this eviction and yet are the ones who are offered the least.
We were shocked by the responses that we got:
- A significant number of all respondents (63%) reported experiencing increased mental health issues
- 28% of written responses described sacrificing basic nutrition or going hungry
- Despite CERB and BC TRS, 32% reported having to borrow, use credit, or dip into savings
- 32% believed they were at risk of falling into rent debt once government ends CERB
- 69% of those in rent debt do not believe they can afford to begin paying down their debt by October
Last week we surveyed renters about being able to pay rent for May. Here are some responses:
“I emailed my landlord saying my rent is a hundred percent of my income and he said his mortgage company won't give him a break so I don't get a break."
"I did try to negotiate with my landlord but they are big corporations and won't do any rent reduction of deferral. They just told me to apply for the BC Rent Supplement."
Our Renters Toolkit and other resources on bcrentcrisis.ca will be updated to reflect info the provincial government provided yesterday. Yesterday is the first time they've actually clarified how evictions and rents are to be handled.
KEY INFO: Eviction notices issued after March 30th are considered without force. This means that they won't have to be disputed in 5 days which is good. People can prioritize health and buy the things they need.
KEY INFO: Evictions and writs of possession given prior to March 30th will still be live, meaning you would have to dispute them within regular time guidelines. However they will not be enforced until the lifting of the emergency period.
We are telling all renters:
Be Safe. Just Stay. Even if you Cannot Pay.
Share your stories. Connect with neighbors.
Learn how to safely organize your building under COVID-19. Download the Renter’s Toolkit. #BCRentCrisis#FoodbeforeRent
To survive this renters will need to start building our power.
We’ll need to take care of each other.
But we’ll also need to make our voices heard.
We will need to tell the government what we really need.
And if they don’t act then we will.
Time is running out for tenants suddenly at risk of losing their homes due to #Covid_19 job loss. Does the province really expect every single landlord to be "principled"? We don't just hope people are "principled" and not harm each other in other ways - that's what laws are for.
What "principles" are you referring to? We've created a way for at-risk tenants to self-identify, and we've gotten 238 names just since 7 AM this morning. vancouvertenantsunion.ca/bcrentcrisis