City of Brampton to provide rent relief for small businesses and city tenants amid COVID-19 outbreak

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Published April 1, 2020 at 2:14 pm

Earlier this morning on April 1, 2020, Mayor Patrick Brown took to Facebook Live to make a special announcement regarding rent relief for the City of Brampton amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Earlier this morning on April 1, 2020, Mayor Patrick Brown took to Facebook Live to make a special announcement regarding rent relief for the City of Brampton amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Mayor began the announcement by emphasizing the importance of physical distancing and stressed the fact that there will be serious consequences for those who do not comply.

“Last night, a call came in to 3-1-1 about a backyard party of 20 people who have shown complete disregard for the physical distancing requirements of public health,” said Brown.

“This is why we have fines. If someone is going to be reckless with their community, causing it to spread, endangering the lives of neighbours, family and loved ones, there’s going to be consequences.”

This statement follows yesterday’s signing of the Brampton COVID-19 Emergency Measures By-law by the Mayor to help protect the health and safety of the city’s residents.

Brown continued to state that with the assistance of Peel Police, they laid their first fine last night which would not be the minimum fine of $750, but instead, would be taken to court.

“It will be up to the Justice of the Peace to decide and it can be as high as $100,000,” he said, adding that they are not taking this lightly and further stressed that there will be serious consequences for endangering the community.

“This is too serious for anyone to be reckless and foolish.”

In terms of rent relief, the Mayor stated that the city has looked for areas in which they can help those that are struggling due to the financial burden caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. 

“Due to these unprecedented times, we have businesses, small business and non-for-profits have been hit with an economic tidal wave that risks putting their business out of business,” said Brown.

“Today, I am pleased to announce that the city will defer rent payments for non-for-profits and small for-profit tenants for a period of three months.”

Additionally, Brown stated that the city will also waive payments for non-for-profits in order to show compassion and understanding.

“They take on integral services for the community and we want them to know that the city has their back,” he said.

Brown also said that he has written a letter to the province to ask for a provincial rent relief program. 

The City is committed to keeping Brampton residents informed and will continue to provide updates on the City’s response to COVID-19 as they become available.

For more information on the above decisions and the City’s efforts to support the community in response to COVID-19, visit www.brampton.ca/COVID19

Photo courtesy of the City of Brampton

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