COVID-19 rent and property expense support for businesses

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• What the changes are
• Who can apply
• Expenses you can claim
• Periods you can apply for
• Calculate your amount
• How to apply
• After you apply
• Contact us about a rent subsidy

Who can apply

On this page

• Eligibility criteria
  • General eligibility criteria
  • Additional requirements for each subsidy
  • Revenue drop requirements
• Confirming your eligibility

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for a rent subsidy, you must meet:

• two general eligibility criteria that relate to all subsidies
• additional requirements that are specific to the subsidy you are applying for, and
• revenue drop requirements for the subsidy you are applying for

You may only apply for one rent subsidy per claim period.

General eligibility criteria

You must meet both of these criteria to be eligible for any subsidy:

1. Meet at least one of these conditions:

   1. You had a CRA business number on September 27, 2020
      

      or

   2. You had a payroll account on March 15, 2020, or another person or partnership made payroll remittances on your behalf
      

      or

   3. You purchased the business assets of another person or partnership who meets either condition a or b, and have made an election under the special asset acquisition rules

      These special asset acquisition rules are the same for the wage subsidies:

      Learn more about the special asset acquisition rules

      or

   4. You meet other prescribed conditions that might be introduced
      Note: there are no prescribed conditions at this time

   If you don't have a business number but you qualify under condition b or c, you will need to set one up before you are able to apply for a rent subsidy.

   You do not need a payroll account to apply for a rent subsidy.

2. You are one of the following types of businesses or organizations

   • individuals (such as sole proprietors)
   • corporations (or trusts) that are not exempt from income tax under Part I of the Income Tax Act
   • the following persons that are exempt from income tax under Part I of the Income Tax Act:
     • non-profit organizations
     • agricultural organizations
     • boards of trade
     • chambers of commerce
     • non-profit corporations for scientific research and experimental development
     • labour organizations or societies
     • benevolent or fraternal benefit societies or orders
   • registered charities
   • partnerships where all members are eligible entities
   • the following prescribed organizations:
     • certain Indigenous government-owned corporations that carry on a business
     • partnerships consisting of eligible entities and certain Indigenous governments
     • registered Canadian amateur athletic associations
     • registered journalism organizations
     • private schools or private colleges, and
     • partnerships where at least 50% of the fair market value of all interests in the partnership are held by eligible entities throughout the claim period

   Public institutions are not eligible for the subsidies. This includes municipalities and local governments, Crown corporations, public universities, colleges and schools, and hospitals.

   If your business, registered charity, or non-profit is related to another eligible entity, you may be considered to be part of an "affiliated group". This may affect your calculations for your subsidy amounts.

   Learn more about affiliated groups
   

   If you are affiliated with other businesses, registered charities, or non-profits who are also applying for a rent subsidy, you must agree how you will split the maximum amounts for eligible expenses.

   You will enter the percentages you agreed to claim in the application form.

   The application form will have space for up to 10 eligible entities in the affiliated group. If you have more than 10, enter the ones with the highest allocations (percentages) and keep a full list for your records.

   Examples of affiliated groups are the same as they are for the wage subsidies.

Additional requirements for each subsidy

You must also meet the specific eligibility criteria for the subsidy you apply for.

For claim periods that begin on October 24, 2021 and later:

• answer a few questions to find out which subsidies you are eligible for

Or, for past and present claim periods, read the additional requirements to be eligible for each subsidy:

Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP) eligibility

There are two ways eligible organizations can qualify for the THRP:

Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program (HHBRP) eligibility

Eligible organizations, regardless of their business sector, may qualify for the HHBRP if they don’t qualify for the THRP.

To qualify for the HHBRP, you must meet the following two conditions:

• You have a 12-month average revenue drop from March 2020 to February 2021 of at least 50%
• You have a claim period revenue drop of at least 50%

Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) eligibility Ended

There was a minimum claim period revenue drop required to qualify for a CERS amount for some claim periods:

Claim periods 1 to 10

No minimum revenue drop required

Claim periods 11 to 14

Minimum revenue drop of more than 10% required

Revenue drop requirements

Each claim period, you will need to know how much your eligible revenue has dropped since before the pandemic.

What is eligible revenue

You may also need to know your 12-month average revenue drop. This is a one-time calculation.

The online calculator will calculate your claim period revenue drop as part of your subsidy calculation. It includes a link to the 12-month average revenue drop calculator in step 2.

Calculate your rent subsidy amount

If you use the online calculator, it will use built-in formulas to calculate your amounts based on the information you provide. If you want to see the formulas, you can read the details about how the revenue drops are calculated.

Confirming your eligibility

If we notice a mistake in your application, we will work with you to correct it. If you realize you made a mistake in your application, you can request a change to your previous claim.

We will review your claim and confirm the information you submit.

Document navigation

• Expenses you can claim

What is eligible revenue

Claim period revenue drop

12-month average revenue drop

Support in the event of a qualifying public health restriction

Organizations eligible for the THRP or HHBRP