Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA)

UPDATE - July and August extensions are now available

• If you have previously been approved, you automatically qualify for the extensions and no additional documents are required
   - You must log into the portal and opt-in for your impacted tenants
• If you haven’t yet applied for the CECRA, you must apply for July and August as part of your entire application

What is the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CERCA)?

The CERCA program will lower rent by 75% for small businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19.

Does my business qualify?

You are considered to be an eligible, impacted small business if you:

• are a small business tenant (revenues less than $20 million at parent level)
• pay less than $50,000 per month in rent
• have temporarily ceased operations OR have experienced a 70% drop versus pre-COVID-19 revenues

Who pays for the other 75%?

• The program will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50% of up to five monthly rent payments (April, May, June, July, August)
• The loans will be forgiven if the mortgaged property owner agrees to reduce the tenants’ rent by at least 75% for the three corresponding months under a rent forgiveness agreement that includes a term not to evict the tenant while the agreement is in place

Which months of rent will this cover?

The agreement covers the rents for April, May, June, July and August 2020.

What if I am a non-profit or charity?

The support will also be available to non-profit and charitable organizations.

Who will oversee the payments?

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will administer and deliver the CECRA.

How do I apply?

Note that only the property manager can apply to CECRA. You can apply here:

https://cecra-apply.co

Application Deadlines

• If you haven’t yet submitted an application, you must apply by August 31, 2020
• If you have been previously approved, you must opt in for the July and August extensions by September 14, 2020

Questions?

For a complete list of our COVID-19 resources for individuals and businesses, please visit availcpa.com/resources or complete the contact form below.