13 Jul 2020
Ref No.: 130720 (1)
UEN: S97SS0046G
Dear Valued ASPRI Members,
Overcoming COVID-19 Together: COVID-19 Rental Relief Framework
COVID-19 RENTAL RELIEF FRAMEWORK FOR INDUSTRIAL/OFFICE PROPRIETORS
On 5 June 2020, the Rental Relief law was passed in Parliament. It provides rental relief to help SME tenants (including sub-tenants and licensees) who have been affected by COVID-19.
Who will qualify and how much relief am I entitled to?
With the support of the Rental Relief, tenant-occupiers who are SMEs with ≤$100 million in annual revenue reported in the Year of Assessment 2019 will get 1 month’s rental waiver if they are in industrial/office properties.
On top of that, the Additional Rental Relief will apply to tenant-occupiers who (a) have suffered ≥ 35% drop in average monthly revenue on an outlet level from April to May 2020, compared to April to May 2019; and (b) are SMEs at the group level (≤$100 million revenue based on the latest available accounts). The Additional Rental Relief provides 1 month’s rental waiver for industrial/office properties. This may be halved if the landlord is suffering financial hardship.
The rental relief framework applies to qualifying leases or licenses:
- entered into before 25 March 2020;
- OR entered into before 25 March 2020 but expired and renewed either automatically or in exercise of a right of renewal in the contract
What should I do if I qualify?
Starting from end-July 2020, IRAS will issue a notice of cash grant to qualifying property owners. Once the notice is issued, the rental is treated as waived under the Rental Relief law. Landlords are obliged to notify their tenants. Eligible tenants do not need to do anything.
Tenants do not need to pay rent for the period covered by the rental relief framework. If rent has already been paid, tenants can either apply the rental waivers to the next immediate month(s) of rent, or if this is not possible, get a refund from their landlords.
For more information, please refer to the appended or visit https://www.go.gov.sg/rentalrelief.