Gateway Housing Cooperative

11.1 Eviction for Arrears or Persistent Late Payment

The board of directors can evict a member if the member owes housing charges to the
co-op or is persistently late in payment of housing charges.

11.2 Non-Payment and Late Payment

1. Procedures

   This section states procedures to ensure that member arrears are dealt with quickly and fairly. The board of directors can change these procedures if it decides that other procedures would be better.

2. Late payment letter

   The coordinator will contact each member who did not pay housing charges in full or make arrangements to pay late by the end of the first business day of the month. If the housing charges are not payed promptly after this contact a late payment letter will be sent. The letter will normally be sent before the end of the second business day of the month. Only one letter needs to be sent for all members in a unit.

3. Arrears Report

   The coordinator will report all arrears to the board that are over one month or have not arranged an arrears payment agreement. Persistent late payments will also be included in the arrears report.

4. Persistent late payment

   Late payment includes

   • failure to pay the full amount owing, and
   • a failed payment as described in section 11.3(a) (Failed Payment).

   Late payment of housing charges three times in any year without consent will be considered persistent late payment. The coordinator will include this in the arrear’s report.

5. Advance notice of lateness

   If for legitimate reasons of financial hardship, a member cannot pay housing charges by noon on the first business day of the month, the member must let the coordinator know before the housing charge payment day. The coordinator will decide if the reasons are legitimate. In that case, an arrears payment agreement may be arranged by the coordinator.

11.3 Replacement Payment

1. Failed Payment

   A “failed payment” includes:

   • NSF (not sufficient funds) returned by bank
   • cheque canceled by member “stop payment”
   • E-transfer canceled by member before it is accepted

2. Replacement payment required

   A member must replace a failed payment within two business days of being notified by the co-op (not counting weekends or public holidays). Only one notice needs to be given for all members in a unit. A failed payment must be replaced by a certified cheque, money order, cash or e-transfer.

3. Notice to Appear

   If the member does not replace the failed payment as required under paragraph (b), the coordinator will report it to the board of directors.

4. Future payments

   If the members in a household have two failed payments within a year, then for the next twelve months the members must pay housing charges by certified cheque, money order, cash or e-transfer.

11.4 Failed Payment Charges

1. A member will pay $10.00, or the amount charged to the co-op by the credit union whichever is greater for any failed payments.
2. Failed payment charges that are not paid are considered arrears.

11.5 Directors in Arrears

1. Directors’ arrears policy

   If directors are in arrears, it:

   • undermines the co-op’s governance
   • weakens the co-op’s financial management
   • sends the wrong message to members of the co-op and to government.

2. A director is in arrears if:

   • He/she owes more than one -month housing charges
   • He/she has not signed a repayment agreement for the month owing
   • He/she is in breach of a repayment agreement

3. Arrear’s payment agreement

   If a director cannot make a housing charge payment, they must notify the office on or before the first banking day of the month. They must work out a repayment schedule and sign a repayment agreement.

4. Procedure for director arrears

   If a director is in arrears as defined in Article 11.5b, the coordinator will report the arrears at the next board meeting if the arrears are not paid in full by that time. If still in arrears, the board will decide if the director in arrears should resign at the beginning of that meeting.
   IF there is any dispute about whether there are arrears, the director must state in writing and deliver it to the coordinator before the next board meeting. In that case the director can explain the dispute and the board will decide if the director should resign at that time.

11.6 Arrears Payment Agreements

1. Before Notice to Appear

   This Article applies to arrears payment agreements made with a member before a Notice to Appear has been issued.

2. Limits of coordinator’s authority

   The coordinator has the authority to approve the first request from a household for an arrear’s payment agreement made in a year as long as the agreement provides for full payment of arrears before the end of the fiscal year and it is not breached.

3. Board approval needed

   Approval by the board of directors is required:

   • if the arrears increase to two months housing charges
   • for an arrears payment agreement where full payment will not be made before the end of the fiscal year

4. Non-payment

   If a member does not make the payments stated in the arrear’s payment agreement, the coordinator will give each co-op member in the household a Notice to appear. This does not apply if the arrears payment agreement states something else.

11.7 Notice to Appear

1. Issuing Notice to Appear

   A Notice to Appear for arrears or Persistent Late Payment (or both) must contain the information in Schedule D attached to this By-law. It must be given at least ten days before the board of directors’ meeting where it will be considered.

2. Termination date

   The proposed termination date in the Notice to Appear will be ten days after the board of directors’ meeting or later.