Summary
All commercial landlords in Ontario can now apply for rental assistance to help their small business tenants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative will keep more small businesses in operation and more people employed as the province gradually and safely restarts the economy.
Our government is committing $241 million to partner with the federal government and deliver more than $900 million in urgent relief to small businesses and their landlords through a new program, the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program (CECRA). To find out how much rent support you may be eligible for, visit Ontario.ca/rentassistance.
The CECRA is administered by the federal government, under the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and provides forgivable loans to eligible commercial landlords to help cover 50 per cent of commercial rent for tenants for the months of April, May and June 2020. The tenant will be responsible for covering up to 25 per cent of rent, so that up to 75 per cent of the rent is covered.
Key Messages
Small businesses are experiencing real financial pressures during the COVID-19 outbreak and are struggling to pay rent as a result. Our government is acting to ease the financial pressures faced by small businesses and property owners.
• We are committing $241 million to partner with the federal government and deliver more than $900 million in urgent relief to small businesses and their landlords through a new program, the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program (CECRA). This investment is part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19, a $17 billion response package to provide support to people and businesses.
• The CECRA is providing forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners experiencing potential rent shortfalls because their small business tenants have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. To receive the loan, property owners will be required to reduce the rental costs of small business tenants from April to June 2020 by 75 per cent and commit to a moratorium on evictions for three months.