The federal government announced yesterday that the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (“CECRA”) program for small businesses will open for online applications on May 25, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. EST (6:00 a.m. MST).

We previously discussed details of the CECRA program being administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (“CMHC”), including eligibility requirements for CECRA, in a blog article here.

Due to the large volume of applications anticipated for the CECRA program, the online portal for applications will have a staggered opening based on the geographical location of the property owners registering for the program and the number of tenants they have.

CECRA REGISTRATION FOR ALBERTA PROPERTY OWNERS

Online registration will open on Monday, May 25 for Alberta property owners with up to 10 eligible tenants (as well as those in Atlantic Canada, BC and Quebec with up to 10 eligible tenants).

Online registration for all other Alberta property owners will open on Thursday, May 28 (as well as those in Atlantic Canada, BC and Quebec).

Note that once a property owner is registered on the system, the online portal will be available 24/7 for applicants to input data and upload documents.

Property owners will need to provide the following to be eligible for the program:

1. information in support of their application,
2. to sign an attestation, and
3. to agree to the terms and conditions of the loan agreement.

WHAT INFORMATION WILL APPLICANTS NEED TO PROVIDE?

The information required to support a CECRA application includes:

•  Property owner information:
  • Property address
  • Property type
  • Property tax statement
  • Latest rent roll for each property, and
  • The number of commercial units.
•  Applicant information
  • Banking information (including bank statement)
  • Property owner contact information, and
  • Co-ownership information and contact details for co-owners
• Tenant information
  • Tenant contact information
  • Registered business name
  • Lease area, and
  • The monthly gross rent for the period of April, May and June 2020.

REQUIRED ATTESTATIONS AND AGREEMENTS

Property owners will also be required to submit:

•  Tenant or Subtenant Attestation from each of their eligible commercial small business tenants and/or subtenants, confirming that the tenants are eligible for the CECRA program and meet the CECRA requirements.
•  Property Owner’s Attestation, confirming the information provided in the application is correct and that the property owner meets the eligibility requirements for the CECRA program.
•  Rent Reduction Agreement with each impacted tenant to confirm the rent reduction in accordance with the CECRA program terms and conditions. This agreement is conditional upon final approval of the application for CECRA for small businesses.

• Forgivable Loan Agreement, confirming that property owners agree to the terms and conditions in the CECRA application and outlined in the forgivable loan agreement.

Sample documents, including attestation agreements, a rent reduction agreement and forgivable loan agreement, are currently provided for applicants’ review on the CECRA website here and the official, legal version of the documents will be made available to applicants in the CECRA portal when it opens for registration on May 25 at 8:00 a.m. EST.

DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR CECRA

Landlords who can demonstrate they meet the eligibility criteria for CECRA can apply retroactively for the program up to the August 31, 2020 deadline.

Carscallen LLP’s Commercial Real Estate Expertise