In October 2020, Colliers Real Estate Management Services gathered information from more than 6,000 tenants across its national managed portfolio to gauge the effect of rent relief on the market.
Since the pandemic started, questions have swirled around rent relief and the efficacy of the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program.
Initially, CECRA was available in April, May, and June, but was later extended through July, August, and September. Landlords were eligible to apply for CECRA if their tenants paid less than $50,000 a month in rent, brought in less than $20 million in gross annual revenue, and saw revenue drop by at least 70 percent because of the pandemic.
The federal government announced earlier this fall that the CECRA program will be replaced by the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), which will provide support directly to businesses, instead of through landlords.
Our findings indicate:
- The vast majority of tenants who requested relief received it and most landlords worked to help their tenants;
- Relief went to tenants who were most in need – retailers and small businesses;
- The Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy program will be essential to help these tenants get through the second wave and the most critical selling season of the year for retailers.
The findings from this survey are outlined in the infographic below:
