The Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme (CTRS) came into effect on 28 July 2021 and was due to expire on 15 January 2022. It offered rental relief to qualifying businesses that had suffered a decline in turnover of at least 30%.
In response to the recent spike of COVID-19 cases across Victoria, the Victorian Government has announced that the CTRS will now be extended to 15 March 2022.
Although the extension regulations have not yet been released, it is expected that the scheme will be extended on similar terms to the previous iteration, including an eviction moratorium and freezes against increases in rent for eligible tenants, and a further extension of the lease term where a deferred payment of rent has been agreed to.
What remains to be seen is whether the Government will include a further mandatory re-assessment period, as they did on 31 October 2021, whereby tenants have to re-establish their entitlement to rent relief by a defined date, or whether a tenant’s entitlement to rent relief under the previous reassessment date will carry forward to March 2022.
KKI will provide further updates once the extended regulations are made available. In the meantime, the full text of the Premier’s Statement can be read here.
