OTTAWA — On September 8, it was announced that the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses will be extended by one month to help eligible small businesses pay rent for September.
All provinces and territories continue to participate in this initiative and collaborate with the federal government to provide rent supports to those small businesses most in need. Current CECRA application deadlines will also be extended to accommodate this extension.
As of September 7, more than 106,000 small-business tenants had been supported, for a total of more than $1.32 billion in rent support.
Property owners are encouraged to continue to make use of CECRA for eligible tenants and to work to provide flexibility where possible to their tenants as they recover from the COVID-19 crisis. The federal government also continues to support the provincial banning of commercial evictions during the pandemic.
This will be the final extension of this program as the government explores options to support small businesses as they face the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those who qualified for CECRA based on existing program parameters will be able to apply for the additional one month based on having at least a 70-per-cent revenue decline for April, May and June, without re-assessing whether they continue to have at least a 70-per-cent revenue decline in July, August or September. Both existing applicants and new applicants are able to opt for the September rent reduction.
