The federal government and all the provinces and territories have agreed to implement the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program to reduce rent costs for small businesses by up to 75 percent and support property owners in covering these costs.
Details include:
- Forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 percent of rent for eligible small business tenants who are experiencing financial hardship during April, May and June.
- These loans will be forgiven if the property owner agrees to reduce the eligible small business tenants’ rent by at least 75 percent for the three corresponding months under a rent forgiveness agreement, which will include a term not to evict the tenant while the agreement is in place.
- Small business tenants would cover the remainder, up to 25 percent of the rent.
Eligibility will be limited to small business tenants or businesses paying less than $50,000 per month in rent and who have temporarily ceased operations or have experienced at least a 70 percent drop in pre-COVID-19 revenues.
Ontario has also developed a program of its own for small businesses, while Alberta is offering its own support for small retailers affected by the pandemic.
