Similar to residential tenants, the provincial government has extended by one month, eviction protection for Commercial tenants following the federal government’s extension of the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program.
Eligible businesses whose landlords choose not to apply for the federal CECRA program will be protected from evictions due to unpaid rent payments through to the end of July 2020, as determined by the federal program timelines. The Emergency Program Act order restricts the termination of lease agreements and the repossession of goods and property.
Note: Residential tenants will continue to receive provincial government protection from eviction for unpaid rent until further notice. However, residential tenants can be evicted for other reasons and real estate transactions which require vacant possession can proceed. Details were included in this NewsReal story.
Canada’s Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program:
Under the CECRA program, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers unsecured, interest-free and forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners.
The CMHC says the program’s extension until the end of July will only apply to tenants who applied and were approved for support in April, May and June. If a business had an average revenue decline of 70 per cent or more in April, May and June, they are deemed eligible for the additional month of relief. However, the CMHC says not all tenants in the original application may need the July extension.
To streamline the process and make it easier, the CMHC is removing the requirement to claw-back insurance payouts and provincial rent supports from the CECRA for small businesses’ forgivable loan amount for both existing and new applicants. Existing applicants who are affected will be notified and will have any previously clawed-back amounts restored to their forgivable loan.
More information:
- Visit the CMHC’s CECRA page.
- If you have questions, contact CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or cecra@cmhc.ca.
Source: FVREB Communications