Rental Relief Framework

The COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Amendment) Act (“Act”) that was passed in Parliament on 5 June 2020 provides a rental relief framework for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and specified non-profit organisations (NPOs). This rental relief framework under Part 2A of the Act and the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Rental and Related Measures) Regulations 2020 (“Regulations”) came into force on 31 July 2020.

Below is a summary of the rental relief framework. You may wish to read up more at https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/covid19-relief/rental-relief-framework-for-smes

rental-relief-framework-summary

Depending on the property type, qualifying SME tenants whose business suffered at least a 35% drop in average monthly gross income will be given either 2 or 4 months of rental waiver to help them to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most landlords would have received a property tax rebate amount in May 2020 followed by a cash grant in Aug 2020. The sum of both should add up to around 2 months’ rent for commercial properties such as shops or 1 month for non-residential properties such as industrial/offices.

In addition to passing the full sum to the tenants, landlords are required to top up the difference to ensure the continued viability of the rental and property market.

Landlords who are impacted by the pandemic, in particular individuals who rely on the income from their rental property for their livelihood and meets the grounds of financial hardship may apply to halve the amount of relief.

There is a huge FAQ section that addresses a lot of various scenarios which you are encouraged to go through to better understand your rights and obligations.