Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund
The Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund provides grants of up to $3,000 per month per retail or commercial lease to eligible small landlords who may experience hardship as a result of reducing rent for their tenant(s) under the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2021 (the Regulation).
This new Hardship Grant, announced by the NSW Government, will be open for applications in October 2021 via Service NSW.
This grant has been introduced to support smaller commercial landlords whose main source of income is impacted due to providing rent relief to their retail or commercial tenants.
The Fund will provide grants of up to $3,000 per month per tenancy to small commercial or retail landowners, who will suffer hardship if they waive some or all of the rent of a tenant who is financially impacted by COVID-19 in 2021 and have not claimed any land tax relief for rent reductions provided between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2021.
The Regulation provides:
a moratorium on lockouts and other prescribed actions for the non-payment of rent, outgoings or the non-compliance of business operating hours specified in the lease for businesses that have experienced a reduction in turnover due to COVID-19, and a freeze on rent increases during the moratorium (commencing 13 July 2021)
government supported mediation to help tenants and landlords renegotiate lease agreements (including rent relief) through waivers and deferrals.
How the program works
Before applying to the Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund, landlords must complete the following process under the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme:
Reach an agreement through either mediation or private negotiation with impacted tenants, that complies with the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2021
Obtain tenant’s approval to disclose terms of agreement for the purpose of applying for the Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund grant
Show evidence that the agreed amount has been applied to the month for which the grant is being claimed
Landlords may then apply for a grant of up to $3,000 per month per eligible property in proportion to their ownership share subject to:
cessation of the Scheme as publicly announced; or
until all funds from the hardship fund have been exhausted, whichever is sooner, and
monthly attestation (for the term of the rental abatement agreement) from the applicant that
The rental abatement agreement remains in force; and
All other scheme requirements continue to be met, in particular ongoing financial hardship of both the tenant and landowner.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligibly for this grant under the Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund, you must satisfy the following:
be a landowner or trustee with total taxable land holdings of less than $5 million (as at 31 December 2020, under the Land Tax Management Act 1956), including part holdings but excluding the value of a principal place of residence;
have not claimed land tax relief for the relevant property for rent reductions between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2021;
have gross rental income as their primary source of income (gross rental income being more than 50% of total assessable income) for the 2019-20 financial year;
be a landowner of the property for which an application is made;
be the landowner of a New South Wales property subject to the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2021;
be a landlord with a current lease agreement that provides rent relief to the tenant(s) from 13 July 2021 that will not be claimed as 2021 land tax relief; and
attest that providing rent relief to the tenant(s) may cause financial hardship
Grant amount
The amount in which a landlord may be eligible for will equal to the value of the rent waiver provided to the tenant in each month from August 2021, to a maximum of $3,000 per month per eligible tenancy.
Grants will be allocated according to ownership share in the property if there are multiple landowners.
Example: Three part-owners hold equal and separate shares in a property. Each eligible part-owner is entitled to one third of the grant.
Applicants must apply online via the Service NSW website. The Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund will open for applications in October 2021.