The New Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) program begins to take applications today. Businesses that are struggling due to COVID-19 can now apply for this subsidy. To apply, you can go to the government of Canada’s website.
What is the New Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)?
The new CERS program (Canada Emergency Rent subsidy) is a rent or mortgage subsidy for Canadian businesses, non profit organizations, or charities who have seen a drop in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The time period that the subsidy will cover is September 27, 2020 to June 2021.
The government’s website indicates that the subsidy will cover up to 65% of qualifying expenses. There is also an additional 25% of rent support for businesses, not profit organizations or charities that have been especially hard hit by mandatory public health orders. As a result, the hardest hit businesses can potentially receive a total rent subsidy of up to 90 %. These subsidy rates are in effect until December 19, 2020.
The new subsidy program payments will be made directly to qualifying renters or property owners without needing the participation of landlords. This is a change from the previous program where the landlords had to apply for the program and as a result the expected participation for the previous program was low.
Conclusion
The new Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy will be a welcome sight for many Canadian businesses. With the second wave of COVID-19 spiking all over the country, more restrictions and potential lockdowns seem inevitable. As a result, many struggling businesses are going to continue to struggle to keep afloat. Hopefully, this new program can help take some of the sting of the financial losses that will come with those further lockdowns. Unlike the last wage subsidy program, the government’s hope is that many more businesses will apply. Will this help? As the old saying goes, any help is good help but only time will tell. Please stay safe.