87 percent of Canadians were able to pay rent in full last month, according to Angus Reid Institute poll

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      There's another sign that the COVID-19 crisis hasn't severely interrupted the flow of rent payments to Canadian landlords.

      A new poll by the Angus Reid Institute shows that among the tenants surveyed, 87 percent were able to pay their rent in full last month.

      Another six percent said they deferred payments but will pay them off in full.

      Three percent had rent payments waived and another three percent paid reduced rent.

      Another one percent deferred paying rent and will be paying a reduced amount. 

      The online poll reached 1,518 respondents between May 4 to 6. It's considered accurate within 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

      Back in late March, 35 percent of those polled by the Angus Reid Institute said they were worried about not being able to pay their rent or mortgage.

      Last month, CIBC's deputy chief economist, Benjamin Tal, said that 85 percent of Canadian tenants paid their rent in full in April. 

      Ontario-based SVN Rock Advisors, Inc., found that 90 percent paid rent in full in Metro Vancouver and Toronto in April.

      That compared with just 70 percent in Alberta where the economy was rocked by falling oil prices.

      In April, Landlord B.C. surveyed more than 476 providers of rental accommodation.

      Of those, 24 percent stated that they had executed rental-deferral agreements with tenants.

      Nearly two-thirds collected 100 percent of their April rents and 26 percent received more than 50 percent of the rents for that month, according to the landlords' organization.

      Meanwhile, housing activists have been predicting a large number of evictions in the coming months because of growing debts faced by tenants.

      Brendan Ladner, a West End resident and the CEO of SMAK - Healthy Fast Food, told the Straight earlier this month that the $2,000 per month Canadian Emergency Response Benefit is largely flowing into the coffers of landlords.

      The CERB is only scheduled to last four months.

      The Tenant Resource Advisory Centre and the Vancouver Tenants Union have expressed similar fears about looming evictions.

      Meanwhile in the U.S., there have been reports of an increase in sexual harassment of tenants by their building managers.

      Here in B.C., the provincial government is providing $300 per month in rent supplements for tenants in need of assistance as a result of COVID-19.

      The supplement rises to $500 per month for those with dependents.

      This program is in place for April, May, and June.

      Landlord B.C. wants supplements boosted to $750 per month for tenants without dependents, and $1,000 per month for those with dependents.

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