Updated May 20, 2020: Please note that tax policies are changing rapidly. We are updating this article as details are made available.

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses provides rent relief for small businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19.

• Forgivable loans will be offered to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50% of rent payments for April, May, and June that are payable by eligible small business tenants (including charities and NPOs).
• Loan will be forgiven if property owner agrees to reduce the eligible small business tenants’ rent by at least 75% for the three months under a rent forgiveness agreement, which will include a term not to evict the tenant while the agreement is in place.
• Small business tenant will be required to pay remaining 25% of rent.
• Small business tenants are businesses (including NPOs and charities) paying less than $50,000 per month per location in rent, generate no more than $20 million in gross annual revenues on a consolidated basis, and have experienced at least a 70% drop in pre-COVID revenue.
• Applications open May 25 on the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) website.

For more details on the CECRA click here.