"Ottawa offers rent relief for businesses as some provinces prepare to reopen economies
Loan program would cover up to 75 per cent of commercial rent costs
CBC News · <time class="timeStamp" datetime="2020-04-24T15:51:11.767Z" style="display: inline-block;">Posted: Apr 24, 2020 8:25 AM ET | Last Updated: 35 minutes ago
</time>
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced a new rent subsidy program to help businesses forced to shut down due to the global pandemic, as some provinces begin to lay out plans to reopen their economies.
The rent relief plan, to be funded jointly with the provinces, will provide non-repayable loans to commercial property owners to cover 50 per cent of rent payments for April, May and June.
<section id="inread-wrapper-id-45483622" style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></section>The loans will be forgiven if the property owner agrees to cut the rent by at least 75 per cent for those months and promises not to evict the tenant. The small business tenant must cover the remaining portion of the rent, which would be up to 25 per cent.
To qualify, small business tenants must pay less than $50,000 a month in rent. They also must have experienced a revenue decline of at least 70 per cent from pre-COVID-19 levels, or they must have been forced to close down because of pandemic restrictions.
Non-profit and charitable organizations are also eligible.
The NDP has been pressing the government to deliver rent relief. In a statement Friday, the NDP said loans alone "are not going to cut it."
"Businesses can't afford more debt," the statement said.
The NDP said the proposed rent support should be extended to residential rent.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rent-relief-covid-trudeau-1.5543558
Loan program would cover up to 75 per cent of commercial rent costs
CBC News · <time class="timeStamp" datetime="2020-04-24T15:51:11.767Z" style="display: inline-block;">Posted: Apr 24, 2020 8:25 AM ET | Last Updated: 35 minutes ago
</time>
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced a new rent subsidy program to help businesses forced to shut down due to the global pandemic, as some provinces begin to lay out plans to reopen their economies.
The rent relief plan, to be funded jointly with the provinces, will provide non-repayable loans to commercial property owners to cover 50 per cent of rent payments for April, May and June.
<section id="inread-wrapper-id-45483622" style="font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></section>The loans will be forgiven if the property owner agrees to cut the rent by at least 75 per cent for those months and promises not to evict the tenant. The small business tenant must cover the remaining portion of the rent, which would be up to 25 per cent.
To qualify, small business tenants must pay less than $50,000 a month in rent. They also must have experienced a revenue decline of at least 70 per cent from pre-COVID-19 levels, or they must have been forced to close down because of pandemic restrictions.
Non-profit and charitable organizations are also eligible.
The NDP has been pressing the government to deliver rent relief. In a statement Friday, the NDP said loans alone "are not going to cut it."
"Businesses can't afford more debt," the statement said.
The NDP said the proposed rent support should be extended to residential rent.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rent-relief-covid-trudeau-1.5543558
