Cox urges landlords: Hold your hand on evictions

Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox is urging landlords to show compassion and do their best to avoid evicting families who did not pay their rent.

In a media release from her ministry on Thursday, Cox said single mothers and their children have been forced to live on the street after eviction or domestic violence and said such trends must not be allowed to continue.

She also urged landlords to accept the ministry's Rental Assistance Grant available to tenants and show some understanding to the difficulties facing families during the pandemic.

"While there is no pandemic-related orders to protect tenants from being evicted, we want to ask landlords to have some compassion for their tenants during these unprecedented and challenging times.

"We must understand and appreciate that some persons have been placed in untenable situations given covid19 restrictions. We must be mindful of the need to come together and support each other as we share the economic burdens at this time.

"The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services prioritises those types of payments and therefore I wish to appeal to landlords to utilise the system and support clients that are applying for the Rental Assistance Grant by accepting government invoices."

The Rental Assistance Grant allows people to access rent for up to three months with a sum of $2,500 in the first month.

This is available through a standard means test after which the landlord must enter into a contractual agreement with the ministry for direct payments to be made.

The release reported that in cases where mothers and children are left homeless, they can be accommodated at government-operated shelters which would also be available for children 18-years or older who may have a disability.

The ministry through the National Family Services Division has also partnered with different non-governmental organisations for the placement of people through referrals to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and contacting relatives for temporary arrangements pending the rental grant.

Information on the ministry's grants are available at www.social.gov.tt.