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Commercial Landlord Hardship Grant – Eligibility Criteria

The protections under the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2021 (the Regulation) for small retail and commercial tenants will be extended for an additional two months, until 13 March 2022.

Grants of up to $3,000 per month (GST inclusive), per property, are available for eligible landlords who have provided rental relief waivers to affected tenants. Rent relief waived must comprise at least half of any rental reduction provided.

The program is expanded in 2022 to landlords who claimed the 2021 land tax relief.

The Regulation prohibits certain actions by landlords (such as lock out or eviction) unless they have first renegotiated rent with eligible tenants and attempted mediation.

Eligibility

To be eligible for relief on your 2021 land tax,  you’ll need to:

  • be leasing property on your parcel of land to:
    • a commercial tenant who has:
      • an annual turnover of up to $50 million, and is eligible for the:
        • Micro-business COVID-19 Support Grant
        • 2021 COVID-19 NSW Business Grant and/or
        • JobSaver scheme, or
    • a residential tenant who has lost 25% or more of household income due to COVID-19.
  • have reduced the rent of the affected tenant for any period between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2021
  • have provided the rent reduction without any requirement for it to be paid back at a later date
  • have a 2021 land tax liability attributable to the parcel of land where the rent reduction has been given.

If you’re not eligible for land tax relief you can request an extended payment arrangement for your land tax if necessary.

Note: You can still apply for this period of land tax relief, even if you applied for any of the previous relief periods, provided you meet all the eligibility requirements.

For information on required documents see here

To apply online go to the Service NSW website

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