Some of us have run out of money or don’t have much left. Some of us may have barely enough and are hoping things don’t get worse. Some of us may be ok right now and are telling ourselves things will work out. But none of us knows for sure.
What we do know is people are getting sick. People are losing their jobs or are having their hours cut. We know schools are closed. We know lines at grocery stores are long. We know we should try to prepare. We know we need to be responsible. We know some people feel scared. We know some people feel alone. We know people need help now, and more will soon.
And we all know rent is due.
We should keep our rent. Our landlords will be fine. We may not be. No tenant should feel forced to hand over so much money when faced with so much uncertainty. You should keep your rent. Whatever you have, hang on to it. Once you give it to your landlord, it’s gone. You won’t have it for food or for medicine. You won’t have it for you, your family, your friends, your neighbours, or your coworkers—no-one. Your landlord will have it. It will go in their bank account and it will secure their investments. While you and everyone you care about stares down
the barrel of insecurity.
Sure, it’s against the rules. The rules say that when the calendar says the 1st, the landlord gets paid. Not this time. We’re keeping our rent. We will not be forced to go without because those with so much say we should. We know what we should do. We should support each other, we should defend each other, and we should provide for each other.
So that’s what we will do. We will keep our rent.
Contact:
ottawakeepyourrent [at] gmail [dot] com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KeepYourRentOttawa