Landlords would be justified handing out eviction notices: Investment Property Owners Association
The provincial ban on evictions for COVID-19 ends next week
The province’s moratorium on evictions during COVID-19 is set to expire next week.
The Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia says eviction notices would be justified at that time.
That’s according to Kevin Russell, the Executive Director of the Association.
He says over the last 3 months, landlords have worked out about 330 rent deferral agreements with tenants, and over that same period, more than 2,300 tenants did not pay their rent.
Russell says that equals approximately $12.5 million in losses for landlords in the province.
He tells The Sheldon MacLeod Show landlords would be in the right to file eviction notices for non-payment of rent, but the process to be evicted can take between two to eight months – time that can be used for tenants to make payment arrangements with their landlords.
“We never want to see anybody on the street. Our business is keeping people housed in long term tenancies. You know the process for residential tenancies, we’re obligated to serve a notice, and that just starts the process,” says Russell.
Meanwhile, the Nova Scotia NDP are calling on the governing Liberals to extend the ban on evictions for non-payment of rent due to COVID-19.