ACT New Residential and Commercial Tenancy Relief
The ACT Government has announced new measures to assist businesses and individuals experiencing financial hardship due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Residential – a 12 week moratorium on evictions for rent arrears for tenants who have experienced a loss of income as a result of the lockdown has been announced. Landlords who offer rent relief will be able to apply for a credit on their residential land tax of up to $100 per week to share the cost of passing rent relief onto tenants. More information regarding the application process will be made available online shortly.
Commercial – measures have been reinstated requiring commercial landlords to engage in good faith negotiations with business tenants whose operations have been impacted by Covid-19 health orders. Commercial landlords will be unable to terminate a lease without first discussing revised lease arrangements; landlords that do offer rent relief may be eligible for a commercial rates credit of up to $5,000 – a credit is also available for owner operators. The measures will apply for the full lockdown period from the 12th August.
In addition, the ACT Government will waive rent payments for the month of September for any business and community sector tenants of government-owned properties that have been affected by the COVID-19 lockdown. Tenants who have experienced a 30% decline in turnover in August will be eligible for a full waiver of their September rent payments.
To find out more about eligibility requirements, please visit the ACT Business Hub.
As always, if you have any questions regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact us!