Over the weekend, the Victorian Government announced that the Commercial Tenancy Support will be extended in light of the current pandemic until 15 March 2022 to support small and medium businesses in Victoria.
What does this mean for small and medium businesses?
The extended scheme will be available to small and medium businesses with an annual turnover of $10 million or less and which have suffered a decline in turnover of at least 30 per cent due to COVID-19. There will be an obligation on the landlords to continue to provide proportional rent relief that correlates with the revenue reduction for the business.
Mediation support is available to small and medium businesses
The Victorian Small Business Commission’s (VSBC) is still facilitating mediation between tenants and landlords. Our Lawyers can also help prepare any application, letters of offer and compromise on behalf of tenants and landlords.
In addition our lawyers can also help you in facilitating discussions between the relevant parties to ensure all parties enter into negotiations in good faith.
Eviction moratorium to continue
As the scheme has been extended, the eviction moratorium also has been extended, preventing landlords from evicting eligible tenants. Tenants that already have deferments under previous arrangements will now have additional time to repay.
Support for Commercial Landlords
Landlords that have accessed support through the $20 million Commercial landlord Hardship Fund will still have access to this scheme and the support available through it.
For more information regarding the Commercial Tenancy Scheme or the extension of it, you can contact our lawyers on (03) 9696 0883 or [email protected]
