Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed that it has reached an agreement on a mandatory code for the provision of rent relief by commercial landlords to tenants.
In a press conference today, Mr Morrison said the mandatory code will be legislated and regulated as appropriate in each state and territory jurisdiction.
He said the code will apply to tenancies where the tenant or landlord is eligible for the JobKeeper program and where they have a turnover of $50 million or less.
“The code is designed to support those small and medium sized enterprises, be they a tenant or indeed a landlord,” Mr Morrison said.
“The code brings together a set of good faith leasing principles. Landlords must not terminate the lease or draw on a tenant’s security. Likewise, tenants must honour the lease.
Mr Morrison said landlords will be required to reduce rent proportionate to the trading reduction in the tenant’s business through a combination of waivers of rent and deferrals of rents over the course of the pandemic.
He said waivers of rent must account for at least 50 per cent of the reduction in the rental provided to the tenant during that period, while deferrals must be covered over the balance of the lease term and in a period no less than 12 months.
More to come.
Source: SMSF Advisor
Note: Legislation has not yet been passed and no additional details are currently available.