A further extension of the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme (CTRS) to provide relief to tenants (and landlords) impacted by the effects of COVID-19 has been announced by the Victorian Government.

The CTRS was initially expected to end on 29 September 2020 under the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures)(Commercial Leases and Licences) Regulations 2020 (COVID-19 Regulations).

The COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures)(Commercial Leases and Licences) Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2020 (COVID-19 Amending Regulations) were then passed extending the application of the Regulations until 31 December 2020.

The further extension of the COVID-19 Regulations will have the effect of extending the CTRS until 28 March 2021 (being the same date the JobKeeper scheme has most recently been extended to).

What will change?

  • As with the previous extension of the CTRS, further amendments to the COVID-19 Regulations will be required to give effect to the extension. At this time, exact details of the amendments are yet to be made available.
  • It would be reasonable to assume that the amendments, in line with guidance from the VSBC, will provide that any new application for rent relief will only apply from the date a fully compliant request for rent relief is made.
  • Subject to compliance with the COVID-19 Regulations, a landlord will not be permitted to terminate a lease for the non-payment of rent or non-payment of outgoings during the extended period.
  • A landlord may not be permitted to request the payment of any deferred rent until 28 March 2021 at the earliest. This would be consistent with the approach taken in the COVID-19 Amending Regulations and would impact any earlier agreement in relation to deferred rent where this was due to be repaid from 1 January 2021.
  • Whether or not there is any change to the information to be provided to a landlord in a request for relief will need to be confirmed.
  • At this stage there is no suggestion there will be any change to the requirement that a landlord’s offer of relief will require to be proportional to the tenant’s decline in turnover (noting this is now in relation to the premises only).
  • It is expected the current land tax relief provisions for landlords will continue but again this needs to be confirmed.

The extension is good news for qualifying tenants but perhaps not so much for landlords who may have been hoping 2021 would see the end of the requirement to grant any further relief and the beginning of payments of deferred rent.

For assistance in relation to the CTRS please get in touch with Colin McCaul at [email protected]

Related Articles

View All
Leasing & Lease Disputes / Litigation & Dispute Resolution

We Won a Billboard!

Tisher Liner FC Law has won a brilliant new billboard, owing to achieving recent success for our client in the County...
Read More
Commercial Contracts & Agreements / Leasing & Lease Disputes / Property & Development

Exercising Options

If a lease is a retail lease, the provisions of the Retail Leases Act (Vic) (2003) will govern the exercise of option...
Read More
Leasing & Lease Disputes / Real Estate Agents / Small to Medium Enterprises

Is your retail tenant continuously in breach of your retail lease but still wants to renew the lease for another term?

A tenant can be in breach of a lease in a multitude of ways depending on each lease, be it late rent and outgoings...
Read More
Adverse Possession / Commercial Law / Family Law

2024 Best Lawyers list out now

Tisher Liner FC Law are proud to announce that this year three of our Principals have been selected by their peers for...
Read More
Property & Development / Leasing & Lease Disputes / Real Estate Agents

CTRS protections has ended. What do you do now when a tenant defaults?

What can landlords do if a tenant breaches the lease If a tenant is in breach of a lease, the landlord may charge...
Read More
Commercial Contracts & Agreements / Commercial Law / Leasing & Lease Disputes

The 2022 Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme Regulations are now in effect

The 2022 Regulations were foreshadowed in a press release issued by the Victorian Government on 15 January 2022 Click...
Read More
Leasing & Lease Disputes / Property & Development / Real Estate Agents

COVID-19 and the new Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme

A global pandemic, an economy forced into hibernation, and repeated, extended, and somewhat unpredictable lockdowns…...
Read More
Property & Development / Leasing & Lease Disputes / Owners Corporations & Strata

Head leases and the Retail Leases Act 2003

In the recent case of Izett St Pty Ltd v Applgold Pty Ltd (Building and Property) [2021] VCAT 174 (3 March 2021, Senior...
Read More
Leasing & Lease Disputes / Real Estate Agents / Retail Clients & Chains

Need extra time on your retail lease? This may help you.

We have observed that tenants are not just being put under financial distress to pay the rent because of the government...
Read More
Franchising & Licensing / Leasing & Lease Disputes / Property & Development

Amendments to the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme

In this blog, we have referred to the original regulations[1] as the “Principal Regulations” and the amending...
Read More
Leasing & Lease Disputes / Property & Development / Real Estate Agents

COVID-19 and the New Changes to Leasing

Additional measures are being introduced in relation to commercial tenancies, including the following: An extension to...
Read More