Eligible SMEs, non-profit organisations in commercial properties to get rental relief
SINGAPORE – Eligible retail shops, gyms, restaurants, cinemas, tuition centres, kindergartens and medical clinics will get more help with their rental costs, amid tighter restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the community.
Rental relief will be offered to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as eligible non-profit organisations with an annual revenue of not more than $100 million that are tenants of qualifying commercial properties, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Friday (May 28).
These properties include shops, private schools, sports and recreational buildings, premises of tourist attractions as well as meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions venues.
The measure is part of an $800 million support package announced by Finance Minister Lawrence Wong to help businesses and workers cope with the impact of tightened Covid-19 restrictions.
Qualifying tenants in government-owned commercial properties will receive one month of rental relief. This is similar to the one-month rental waiver already provided to hawker stalls and coffee shops in such government-owned properties during this period of heightened alert.
“Tenants will be required to pass down the rental relief received to qualifying sub-tenants, if any,” said MOF in a statement.
For privately-owned commercial properties, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) will disburse a half-month rental relief cash payout directly to qualifying tenants as part of a new rental support scheme, said Mr Wong. This is on top of the rental waivers or rebates that some landlords are offering their tenants during this period.
The payout will be disbursed from mid-August, and computed based on the latest contractual gross rent between May 14 and May 29.
On Friday, Mr Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19, urged more landlords to match the half-month rental relief to support their tenants.
Separately, property owners running an SME or non-profit organisation on their own property will also be eligible for the cash payout, computed based on the annual value of the property for this year, or part of it, as at May 14.
Most qualifying tenants and owner-occupiers will receive the cash payout automatically without needing to submit an application, said MOF.
However, the cash payout will not be disbursed automatically to tenants who only rent part of a property, or to tenants who rent a mixed-use property such as a shophouse for both retail and residential use, or to licensees.
The ministry encouraged these businesses to submit an application to Iras, and provide supporting documents. Iras will provide more details of the rental support scheme and application process on its website by the middle of next month.
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