rental relief for sme tenants

Where landlords have any doubts as to the eligibility of a tenant-occupier, both parties are encouraged to communicate the reasons and share the necessary information. 42. Tenants do not need to pay rental for the months covered by the rental relief framework, unless other factors apply. A Singapore group of entities means a group of entities that are incorporated or established in Singapore and which are related through ownership or control in such a way that the group is either required to prepare consolidated financial statements for financial reporting purposes under FRS 110 or an equivalent standard or would have been so required if equity interests in any of the entities were traded on any stock exchange in Singapore. For eligible tenant-occupiers which meet the criteria for the Additional Rental Relief, the Additional Rental Relief covers a further 2 months within the period of April to July 2020 for qualifying commercial properties, and a further 1 month within the period of April to May 2020 for other non-residential properties. For avoidance of doubt, landlords (property owners and intermediary landlords) must serve the notice on and provide the rental waivers to eligible tenants (including sub-tenants, licensees and sub-licensees) who had occupied the property during the rental relief period or part thereof, but have since vacated the property. industrial and office properties). What should property owners do if the Government assistance (Property Tax Rebate for Year 2020 and Government cash grant) is not equal to the Rental Relief that the tenant is entitled to?↩. Example: Owner A owns 3 units in a qualifying commercial property assessed under one property tax account. Assuming the previous owner was the landlord of the eligible tenant during the relief period, should the previous or new owner bear the rental waivers? What are some examples of disputes which cannot be determined by a rental relief assessor? Landlords imposing new contractual terms as condition to provide waivers: Eligible tenants do not have to pay rent (excluding maintenance and service fees) for the relevant months. annual revenue more than $100 million for the relevant period, lease entered into after 25 March 2020, etc). 32. ↩, 3. All landlords (i.e. Furthermore, the Act also provides for a moratorium on rent recovery where the landlord of an eligible tenant-occupier cannot take certain prescribed legal actions against the PTO for non-payment of rent under the lease agreement. inability to vacate or reinstate premises, lease termination: Landlords and tenants should negotiate and come to a mutual agreement on such matters. Please see the section Expansion of powers of rental relief assessors – disputes on amount of rent to be waived for details. The majority of qualifying property owners should have received the notice by mid-August 2020. For any other case, the aggregate average monthly revenue of all members of the group will be extrapolated for comparison against the $100 million revenue threshold. Landlords should not impose conditions for granting rental waivers, as contractual provisions which are inconsistent with the mandatory requirements of legislation, such as those for the rental relief framework, will not be given effect. 48. The rent to be waived includes any variable rent, including variable rent based on gross turnover. Will intermediary landlords also receive rental waivers if their tenant is an eligible tenant-occupier? Can a tenant-occupier choose an accelerated repayment schedule and pay up earlier to reduce the amount of interest due? Given this, and as far as possible, we encourage tenants to share the documents with the landlords in a timely fashion. The previous and new owners should come to a mutual agreement on how best to distribute the monies received from the Government in the form of the Property Tax Rebate for Year 2020 and the Government cash grant, given the variance in individual circumstances and terms of the sale and purchase transaction. When can they expect the notice to arrive? The Act states that in cases where rent has been paid for the relevant rental relief period, and it is not possible for the rental waivers to be offset from the next most immediate months of rent (e.g. 5. Waived rent must make up at least 50% of the reductions in rent offered. Is the landlord still required to provide the rental waivers in such cases?↩. Can the rental waivers be offset by any waivers or other forms of assistance that a landlord had provided to his tenant prior to the implementation of the Act? 49. Government tenants will also receive more rental relief, he said. Will the Assessors accept applications which are submitted after the timeline of 10 working days after receiving (a copy of) the notice of cash grant?↩. Alternatively, you may also have a right to pursue damages against the landlord for wrongfully terminating the lease or licence. shops), and April to May 2020 for eligible SMEs and NPOs in other non-residential properties (e.g. c) The lease agreement is terminated due to other defaults by the tenant. 60. 1 April to 31 July 2020 for qualifying commercial properties and 1 April to 31 May 2020 for other non-residential properties), owners can retain the full cash grant and they do not need to inform IRAS. How many months of rental relief can an eligible SME or NPO tenant (including sub-tenants, licensees and sub-licensees) obtain? What happens if a landlord had passed on the Property Tax Rebate for Year 2020 to an earlier tenant who was not renting the property from Apr-Jul 2020 (for qualifying commercial properties) or Apr-May 2020 (for other non-residential properties)? 16. vi. These are NPOs operating with a clear public benefit to the community, businesses, and society at large. Members of the National Council of Social Service; Landlords and tenants are encouraged to work towards a mutual arrangement to implement the rental waivers provided for in the Act - a rental waiver for the period of April to July 2020 for eligible SMEs and NPOs in qualifying commercial properties (e.g. industrial and office properties), comprising the following: a) Rental Relief for eligible SME and NPO tenants (supported by Government assistance): Eligible tenant-occupiers in qualifying commercial properties and other non-residential properties will receive the rental relief through a waiver of rent from their landlords. What can a landlord do if he is unable to afford a rental waiver? Scenario 3: Owner A rents the shop to an eligible tenant below market at $1,000 per month (excluding maintenance fees and service charges) during the relief period 1 April to 31 July 2020. Shops) Industrial / Office Properties 26. Tenant B will qualify for 1 month of Rental Relief for the month of June 2020. How does MinLaw plan to address such potential situations?↩. Registered or exempt charities (as provided in the Charities Act); SME and Non-Profit Organisations (NPO) who have seen a 35% or more drop in their average monthly gross income due to COVID-19 Are all tenants eligible for rental relief under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act of 2020? Is the payment of MCST fees (i.e. industrial and office properties). If the property ownership changes before IRAS issues the notice of cash grant, will the previous or new owner receive the notice? 18. 8. 311), and which meets the Tier 2 Enhanced Jobs Support Scheme criteria for arts and culture organisations as announced in the Fortitude Budget: a) Be classified under one of the SSIC classification codes (SSIC 2015 (Version 2018)): b) Satisfies one or more of the following conditions: 44. Individual landlords who have been required to provide relief to their tenants under this Bill can also apply to defer interest payments (in addition to principal payments) on their mortgages up to 31 December 2020, and to extend the loan tenure by up to the corresponding deferment period. What are some examples of disputes which cannot be determined by a rental relief assessor? What if the timeline is missed? Is GST applicable for the rent that is waived?↩, 28. However the rental waiver covers the period of April to July 2020 for qualifying commercial properties and April to May 2020 for other non-residential properties. c) Where (i) the sum of Property Tax Rebate and Government cash grant is more than the 2 or 1 month(s) Rental Relief and (ii) the Property Tax Rebate is more than the 2 or 1 month(s) Rental Relief owners are obliged to give, owners are allowed to keep the excess Government cash grant but the excess Property Tax Rebate must be passed on to the tenant in accordance with the Property Tax Rebate scheme. The Government recognises that there are landlords who may face genuine financial hardship. shops) and April to May 2020 for other non-residential properties (e.g. Any person who reduce the rents of his/her/its business premises from the original rate charged to the tenant who is a SME is given a special deduction based on the reduction of the rent. “Other SME tenants in industrial and office properties will also be given some relief. Eligible SMEs and NPOs which are tenant-occupiers who operate their business in a rented property (including sub-tenants, licensees and sub-licensees) can receive up to 4 months’ waiver of rent* for qualifying commercial properties (e.g. Such a request should only be necessary in situations where the landlord is unsure of their tenant’s eligibility. With the new Rental Relief Framework, are property owners still required to pass on the Property Tax Rebate for Year 2020?↩. Will he be required to absorb the difference in granting the rental waivers? For instance, if a landlord of a qualifying commercial property has two eligible tenant-occupiers during the period of rental relief – Tenant A (from 1 Jan to 31 May 2020), and Tenant B (from 1 Jun to 31 July 2020), Tenant A will qualify for 1 month of Rental Relief for the month of April 2020, and 1 month of Additional Rental Relief for the month of May 2020. For tenant-occupiers which meet the criteria for the Additional Rental Relief, the rental relief covers a further 2 months within the period of April to July 2020 for qualifying commercial properties, and a further 1 month in April to May 2020 for other non-residential properties. Owner A received a Property Tax Rebate of $6,000 and passed on $3,000 to Tenant A in July 2020. Qualifying tenants will have an annual turnover below $50 million (excluding any grant or assistance given by any government regarding COVID-19) and be eligible for the JobKeeper program. Under the Act, the rent that is payable by eligible tenants to their landlord for the relevant period of rental waiver is statutorily waived once qualifying property owners with eligible tenant-occupiers receive the notice of the cash grant issued by IRAS. Both landlords and tenants can make an application for a determination on disputes relating to the actual amount of rent to be waived under the rental relief framework, where the amount is affected by any of the following factors: a) The amount of maintenance and service charges, especially where such charges are not explicitly listed in the lease or licence agreement, b) The amount that can be offset by assistance provided by the landlord earlier, c) Tenant(s) occupying the property for only a part of the relief period, d) Sub-division of the property, i.e. If there is only 1 eligible tenant-occupier during the rental relief period, the rental relief will apply to the period during which the tenancy subsists. b) The following types of Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) with not more than S$100 million in annual revenue for the Financial Year 2018 or a later appropriate period where applicable, at the entity level: i. Once the property owner receives the notice of cash grant, the applicable rental and any interest payable on the rental is waived under the Act. Will IRAS recover the Government cash grant if the property was occupied by a tenant who is not eligible for Rental Relief? 11. If you require assistance on application matters, you may call the Registry during office hours at 1800-2255-772 (1800-CALL-RRA). If however, a tenant-occupier fails to provide the said documents within the prescribed time, the landlord is not precluded from filing an application to the rental relief assessors ahead of receiving the said documents. 13. b) Additional Rental Relief for SME and NPO tenants (supported by landlords/ property owners): Eligible SME and NPO tenant-occupiers who have seen a 35% or more drop in their average monthly gross income due to COVID-19 will receive up to an additional 2 months’ waiver of rent for qualifying commercial properties, and up to an additional 1 month’s waiver of rent for other non-residential … What does it mean to be an SME as part of a “Singapore group of entities”?↩, 13. The application must be accompanied by documents and information as specified in the Registrar’s directives. Do tenants need to continue paying specific components of the rent e.g. 42. What documents must a landlord submit to prove his eligibility? An application for a determination on the matters listed in section 19M(4) may not be made if a judgment of a court or arbitral award has already been given or made in relation to the matter in question. National disability sports associations; There are many landlords and tenants who may have come to an agreement on the rental waivers under the rental relief framework, and the expansion of powers of the rental relief assessors is potentially disruptive as it may result in fresh disputes. Both the obligations under the rental relief framework and the pass-on of the benefit of the Property Tax Rebate have to be fulfilled. In summary, in order to prove its eligibility for Rental Relief, the tenant-occupier may be asked by the property owner or intermediary landlord(s) to provide audited financial statements for the relevant period, or if such audited financial statements are not available, a statutory declaration stating the applicable statement in paragraph 2, Part 1 of the Seventh Schedule of the Regulations. The deadline to submit an application has since passed, and applications will no longer be accepted. 1. What is the definition of “gross income” in the context of the criteria for Additional Rental Relief? Will the Government absorb this?↩, 54. FAQs for Rental Relief Framework for SMEs & NPOs, 1. ii. What happens if a tenant-occupier’s tenancy expires within the period of rental relief (between April to July 2020 or April to May 2020)? 19. Landlords or tenants who have disputes relating to the actual amount of rent to be waived may submit applications for a rental relief assessor’s determination, following the timelines below. In any other case, the relevant period will be the rental relief period, i.e. they are not operating on the property. Landlords and tenants can negotiate an accelerated or different repayment schedule if they wish. Temporary Relief from Inability to Perform Contractual Obligations, FAQs for Lease or Licence of Non-Residential Property, FAQs for OTPs and S&P Agreements with Developers, FAQs for Hire Purchase and Conditional Sales Agreements, FAQs for Rental Agreements for Commercial Equipment, FAQs for Loans by Banks and Finance Companies to Singapore SMEs, FAQs for Event and Tourism-Related Contracts, FAQs for Construction Contracts or Supply Contracts, or Any Performance Bond Granted Thereto, Relief for Tenants Unable to Vacate Premises, Cap on Late Payment Interest or Charges for Specific Contracts, 1C. What specific components of the rent will be waived? If the landlord meets the grounds of financial hardship above, the rental relief assessor may halve the amount of Additional Rental Relief to be borne by the landlord, i.e. Now that the Act has come into force, what should I expect next?↩. What are the eligibility criteria for an NPO tenant to qualify for the rental relief?↩, 43. Are individual tenants of prescribed properties eligible for rental waivers under the Rental Relief Framework?↩, What landlords and tenants can expect and should do↩. SME tenants of industrial and office The total Government assistance is $10,000. b) Any benefit of the Property Tax Rebate for Year 2020 that has been passed on or is obliged to be passed on by the property owner in respect of the property. Rental relief under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act (“Act”) is triggered when the owner of a prescribed property receives IRAS’ notice of cash grant pertaining to an eligible tenant-occupier. 4. What should tenants do if they believe they are eligible for the rental relief but have yet to receive IRAS’ notice of cash grant from their landlord? Where the amounts of maintenance and/or service charges are not expressly set out in the lease or licence agreement, landlords and tenants are encouraged to jointly determine the amounts to be excluded based on landlords’ actual expenses, as supported by the necessary documentation. These documents must be supported by a statutory declaration. maintenance and service fees? What documents should a tenant provide to prove his eligibility for Rental Relief and/or Additional Rental Relief?↩. Payment of rental deferrals by the tenant must be amortised over the balance of the lease term and for a period of no less than 24 months, whichever is the greater, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. 21. What happens if the rent which an intermediary landlord collects from his tenant is higher than the rent he pays to his landlord? the property owner and all intermediary landlords) are required to serve a copy of the notice on their tenants within four working days of receipt of the notice, so that tenants will have timely confirmation that they are eligible for the rental waivers.

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