Assistance for Commercial Renters & Students
- KD Wray
- Apr 30, 2020
- 3 min read
CANADA EMERGENCY COMMERCIAL RENT ASSISTANCE (CECRA)
April 30, 2020
• The program was first announced on April 24th at the Prime Minister’s press conference
• Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will make forgivable loans to “eligible commercial property owners” so that they can reduce the rent owed by their “impacted small business tenant” by at least 75% for the months of April, May and June 2020
• “Eligible commercial property owners”
• Must own the property that generates rental revenue from commercial real property located in Canada
• Must have a mortgage loan secured by the commercial real property, alternative measures to be announced in the future if this is not the case
• Enter into a rent reduction agreement for the period of April, May and June
that reduces the rent by at least 75%
• The rent reduction agreement includes a moratorium on eviction for April,
May and June
• Property owner must have declared rental income on their personal or
corporate return for the years 2018 and/or 2019
• “Impacted small business tenant”
• A business that includes a non-profit and charitable organization
• Pays no more than $50,000 in monthly gross rent per location as defined by a
valid and enforceable lease agreement
• Generates no more than 20 million in gross revenue (see additional rules)
• Have temporarily ceased operations (generates no revenue) or have
experienced at least a 70% decline in pre-COVID-19 revenues either by comparing:
• Year over year, example April 2020 vs April 2019 or
• Comparing to the average revenues in January 2020 and February 2020
• Deadline to apply is August 31, 2020
• There are some rules to govern situations where rent has already been paid
• Forgivable loan will cover 50% of the gross rent
• The property owner will be responsible for between 25% and 50% of the gross rent
• The small business tenant will be responsible for 25% or less of the gross rent depending upon the rent reduction agreement
• The loan is forgiven if the property owner complies will all applicable program terms and conditions including not to seek to recover rent abatement amounts after the program is over
• The application process has not been finalized, expectation is mid-May, interested parties can subscribe to be updated at the website link below:
CANADA EMERGENCY STUDENT BENEFIT (CESB)
April 30, 2020
• Still a proposed program as of April 29th
• To support students and recent graduates who are not eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or Employment Insurance (EI) or unable to work due to COVID-19
• $1,250 a month for “eligible students” or $1,750 a month for “eligible students” with dependents or disabilities
• Benefit is available from May through August
• More details to come
STUDENT SERVICE GRANT (CSSG)
April 30, 2020
• Students who choose to undertake national service and serve their communities
• The program will provide up to $5,000 for their education in the Fall
• More details will be made available on the “I Want to Help” platform soon
CANADA STUDENT LOANS PROGRAM (CSLP) April 30, 2020
• Doubling the Canada Student Grants for all eligible full-time students resulting in up to $6,000 or $3,600 for part-time students for the 2020-2021 school year
• Grants will be doubled for students with permanent disabilities and students with dependents
• Eligibility criteria is being loosened as well
For details on all the federal government COVID-19 responses visit https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html
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