Archive for the ‘rent strike’ Category

I Worked Out A Fair “Win-Win” Payment Plan With My Landlord

Saturday, May 30th, 2020

 

My Landlord And I Cooperated Together

These are difficult times for everyone. So many people are out of work and many have even been fired from their jobs!

The pandemic has changed the world and has hurt so many people.

And with all the schools closed many parents have to try to educate and entertain our children. This is especially tough when we can’t go to parks or playgrounds.

Landlords And Tenants And Paying Rent

As a long term tenant I have paid my rent according to the lease with my landlord all the time.

Now things have changed, the economy has changed, the whole world has changed due to the Corona Virus.

Economic Challenges

We tenants have lost hours, lost jobs, and even lost hope. This is a unique situation we have never seen before.

So How Should Tenants Deal With Their Landlord?

It’s all about being upfront and honest and working together.

Inform Your Landlord Of Your Predicament

Be open and honest with your small landlords because they will care and understand the challenges you face.

Most small landlords are nice people…they don’t want you to move (at least in my case). And they are willing to listen. And they are often flexible to reach a win-win situation.

Also, they don’t want to try to find a new tenant to replace you if possible. They want you to stay and hope you are willing to work with them.

See Things From The Landlords Point of View And Ask Them To See Things From Your Point Of View

Most small landlords are not like the rich corporate landlords living in their castles. They want you to stay and be their client.

They also know that finding another good paying tenant in the current environment will be very difficult and would prefer you to stay.

So it’s entirely possible to ‘work things out’.

Work Out A Payment Plan

I worked out a fair payment plan with my landlords.

Since I only get $2000/month from CERB and my rent is $900/month we agreed I would pay $500/month and I would catch up when the pandemic is over and I can get back to work.

This allows me to have confidence I will keep my home and also gives me $1500 for other things I need in life (and I still don’t need to dip into my savings!)

Working Together…Works!

View your small landlord as a partner in this whole crazy mess of a world.

Your small landlord likely rented themselves or have friends or kids renting so they are on your side. They might even be helping their kids or relative or friend who is renting deal with this situation.

Working Class Tenants Working With Working Class Landlords is Key

Many working class landlords aren’t rich and have bills to pay. They are usually pretty kind and flexible and if you be polite and tell them you want to work things out they will do it.

Make sure you rent from a small working class landlord because you can talk to each other and prepare win-win plans.

Stay Safe and Let’s All Work Together

PAY YOUR RENT CAMPAIGN 2020

Monday, May 4th, 2020

Smart Tenants Will Pay Rent & Cooperate With Your Landlord For a Win-Win Situation

Small landlords know the challenges tenants face.  Because we faced them too!  Many us were renters before.

We want to work with you to keep you renting from us.

Please know that just because we own a rental property, or rent out our basement, doesn’t mean we are rich. We aren’t.

Many of us are working class people who have decided to avoid the crazy stock market and buy a rental property to help us when we retire.

We need rent to be paid so we can also survive and want to cooperate with you to make sure we have a win-win relationship. We have to pay our mortgage, property taxes, insurance, maintenance.

There are calls saying “Don’t Pay Rent” all over social media

We want to make sure tenants know good landlords want to work with you for all of us surviving.

We support tenants in need, but many of us are also on the financial edge!

To prove our support, thousands of landlords and this association are lobbying both the provincial and federal government to create a nation-wide “rent bank” that will help tenants in need get grants or low-cost loans to pay rent.

This will make sure there is no “landlord-tenant” conflicts or haggling and keep landlords in business and tenants safe in their rental homes.

Something similar to the Canada student loan system where people in temporary need get financial help from the government.

Landlords want to work with tenants (and tenant groups) to make this happen. And happen fast!

Avoid The “Don’t Pay Your Rent” Memes and Media

This isn’t a poor tenant vs. a rich evil landlord issue.

It’s a working class tenant facing challenges renting from a working class small landlord who is also facing challenges.

If you don’t pay rent (like so many are saying) it will lead to eventually being evicted with large debts, and your search for a new home will include no reference and bad credit.

Good Landlords and Good Tenants Working Together

Tenants make sure you pay your rent on time, or work it out with your landlord.

Short term easy answers like “don’t pay rent” will lead to unnecessary problems for tenants a few months from now.

These groups should be joining us to lobby for a nation-wide rent bank to truly help tenants instead of wanting to “stick it to the landlord” (which only lead to legal issues down the road). But it’s so sexy to be a revolutionary, right?

Be Smart

If you can’t pay rent work things out with your landlord who will give you a discount or deferred payments.

Paying Rent or Cooperating With Your Landlord On A Fair Payment Plan Is the Smart Move!

Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

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