Why are rich people hated so much? There are obvious answers to that question…what I am referring to is being triggered by articles written by activists, who are lobbying to have rents deferred during the Corona Virus Situation (CVS). I have an opinion on the matter, which I’ve written about. But the framing by the social activist groups are making an unsubstantiated claim that a person paying their rent “enriches the landlord”. Let me clarify, yes someone who owns rental properties is wealthy (often paper rich not cash rich). Yes they own an asset that they can make a long-term income on. But rental property and investment property ownership is a business, much like a proprietor owns a coffee shop or a hardware supply store sells supplies. The purpose of the business is to transact such that a person can make a living working in that field. I specifically bring the example of retail business, because, during the CVS it’s an extreme situation. So if I don’t have cash to fix my exploded toilet, because I am out of a job should I tell Home Depot I don’t want to pay for the toilet because I cannot afford it? The answer is obviously no; I will have to figure out how to pay for the toilet. I know rent is different because for one thing in the City of Toronto, it is extremely high and most people’s incomes don’t match the modest living situations based on the price people pay, and 2 your home is a basic survival requirement, and you should not be penalized, or threatened with legal action when an extreme situation arises such as CVS. That being said instead of crying that rent payments are going to enrich your landlord, which is not the point, talk about talking about the problem. That is talk about how to communicate with your landlord about working out a payment plan to work through the next couple of months. Landlords shouldn’t be dicks, but tenants should be dicks either. The landlord-tenant relationship seems to be different than other expected transactions, because people cannot go without having a dry roof over their heads, and because people don’t feel like for the amount they are paying, they are getting good “value for their dollar”. Imagine every month dolling out $2xxx dollars for a basement in Toronto. I get it, it sucks, it costs a lot to live in Toronto. But taking the position of shirking oneself from having to pay rent “because it enriches the landlords and creates a larger separation between the rich and the poor” is just not sound, reasonable, or the solution. Frankly you sound like an idiot. Rather, take the position of lobbying to create documentation and contractual agreements that can be arranged between the landlord and the tenant that allows for a flexible solution to the rent payment problem. Its called being responsible, even if you think your landlord is so rich that they shouldn’t get paid money they are owed, even if you don’t like that fact. Also, if your landlord doesn’t get a mortgage deferral, and they have to foreclose on the property (which I hope the lending institutions will be favorable) you as a tenant will be far worse off, I’ve been on the transactional side of foreclosed property sales, and it is safe to take my word for it the landlord and tenant board does not have good policy in place that protects tenants in foreclosed units. So, again my summary is, talk to your landlord, set up a payment plan, have real talk, and work it out. We will all get through this together.