“It’s been a complete nightmare”: On the front lines of Hamilton’s rental market

The shock waves of Hamilton's red-hot housing market are rippling through to the rental market as the process to find, view, and lease a unit has changed during the pandemic.

For those in long-term rentals, the threat of eviction notices looms as some landlords look to cash in on high house prices.

The Spectator spoke to a number of people about their experiences in the local rental market.

A numbers game

One hundred and fifty.

That is how many rental properties Crystal Messenger-Smith and her husband sought out in the Hamilton and Burlington areas with the help of their realtor over a two-month stretch last fall. They ended up seeing about 35 of those places in person, she said, and eventually secured a small one-bedroom walk-up for $1,250.

This massive effort was a stark contrast to the search for their last apartment - a two-bedroom basement unit in a house on the Mountain for $1,200 - about three years ago, when the couple simply spotted a Kijiji ad, did an in-person interview, and secured the rental later that same day.

Not anymore.

We had to fill out applications before they would even consider seeing us," Messenger-Smith said, providing monthly income and their former landlord's information in advance. It started to get super, super personal just for a walk-around to see if we even were interested in the place."

The couple were evicted from the basement apartment after the upper-floor tenants moved out and their landlord wanted to hike the rent up to $1,800 before putting the house up for sale.

Messenger-Smith and her husband, who works as an office manager for a music distribution company, are considering leaving Hamilton because of their small apartment.

It's just not feasible ... My husband and I want to have a family and we don't have the room for it," the 35-year-old said.

Bidding wars on rent

Some landlords also appear to be mimicking the house-buying market, using tactics that emerged during the pandemic, such as requesting a credit check from a prospective tenant prior to them viewing a unit.

We never did that before. People just showed up, then when they put an offer in, they submitted a credit rating," said Conrad Zurini, broker of record with Re/Max Escarpment Realty. He believes the measure was intended to limit the number of people passing through a property - for COVID-19 safety at the start - to only those qualified," but that it remained in place due to a competitive rental market.

It's a seismic shift," Zurini said, with landlords placing a bigger emphasis on social media checks on tenants, in addition to calling references and requesting a guarantor, or co-signer, on the rent. Having a pet is also likely to decrease a tenant's odds at securing a place, he said.

This due diligence now has gone on steroids, so to speak," he said.

Some tenants even submit video applications, pay six months to a year of rent in advance, or bid on a higher monthly rent through what's called an escalation clause" in the offer.

According to data provided by Zurini, in the last month, about one-fifth of leased properties went for over the asking price.

Pandemic housing trends are here to stay until issues of supply are addressed, he added, like the prevalence of down payment loans from the bank of Mom and Dad," for buyers who cannot otherwise afford to enter the market.

[In] the U.S., they think $60,000 over list is something miraculous, when we're having $600,000 over a list here. This is not something to be proud of."

It's been a complete nightmare"

Katie Jozsa is now confronted with just how much the rental application process has drastically changed since she, her husband and their two young children moved into a townhome bordering Stoney Creek less than two years ago, with a monthly rent of $1,900 plus utilities.

With an eviction looming in July - her landlord is selling the home - Jozsa has had to submit pre-applications" to view properties. Screenshots she shared with The Spectator include requests to submit at least one piece of identification, a letter confirming employment, up to four recent pay stubs, a credit score, and references for every adult that would be living in the house.

Of the 30-odd places Jozsa has inquired about, she has only been approved to see one.

It's been a complete nightmare. We have to move back to my parents' because we don't have anywhere else to go," said Jozsa, who is pursuing full-time studies at McMaster University in nursing. Her husband works in construction, and was recently hired back after losing his job due to work site closures for non-essential building during lockdown.

We made sure that we paid our rent on time every month, because I didn't want their mortgage to bounce," Jozsa said of her landlord.

Based on her own experience, she encourages people facing eviction to seek legal advice where possible when given an N11 form by their landlord, signalling a mutual agreement to end the tenancy by a certain date, which can be confused with a formal eviction notice.

Pressure tactics to squeeze out renters

An N12 form is an eviction order for personal use, meaning the landlord or buyer of the unit intends to move in, while an N13 form is used when a landlord requests unit vacancy to complete significant repairs, conversion, or demolition. Tenants have a right to return at the same rent, but the process is complicated and not usually pursued, said Katie Remington, a lawyer on the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic's housing team.

The clinic has seen an increase in cases related to N12 and N13 forms.

That's likely tied to the increased value of properties and increased rents that landlords can get for free units once they have evicted a tenant, in particular tenants who have lived in a unit for more than a few years," Remington said.

She is also seeing landlords use aggressive tactics to pressure tenants to abandon their units, pointing to a Spectator story in early May, where the landlord of 285 Melvin Ave. temporarily increased the laundry price to $20 per load.

Other tactics include threats, harassment and withdrawing services, such as elevator access, which interfere with safety, she said.

I think that people feel very displaced by the pandemic and that there haven't really been a lot of supports for renters."

Four adults, one problem

Sharing a rented house between four employed adults, with two children between them, seemed like a good plan at the outset.

Restaurant worker Linda Ross figured that she, her brother, their cousin, and their cousin's boyfriend could have more space and hands on deck for child care - all while saving a bit of money on rent.

But she was surprised at the apparent taboo against renting to more than two adults with kids.

The main thing I keep getting denied with was how many working adults?' Well, you'd think the more adults that are working, you'd be more inclined to rent to them because there should be zero reasons why your rent's not paid," Ross said.

Along with a lack of supply for full home rentals, another tactic she found on her search was credit checks requiring exceptional scores of renters.

That's the point of renting, because they can't afford a mortgage because their credit's shot. Now you're taking one [more] thing away from people to be able to rent," she said.

Vjosa Isai is a reporter at The Spectator covering Hamilton-based business. Reach her via email: visai@thespec.com.