Saskatchewan puts moratorium on evictions of small businesses

Small businesses are getting some protection from the Saskatchewan government during the COVID-19 crisis.

On Friday, the provincial government announced it was putting a temporary moratorium on the evictions of commercial tenants who can’t pay their rent due to the pandemic.

The ban applies to landlords who are eligible to apply for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program but choose not to.

“We encourage landlords and tenants to work together, and we encourage eligible landlords to apply for the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program, which will help support small businesses by reducing their rent during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said in a media release.

“For those eligible landlords who choose not to apply, there will be a moratorium on evicting small business tenants who are not able to pay their rent.”

The CECRA program started taking applications from commercial property owners in Saskatchewan on May 27. The program offers rent relief to small business tenants who have lost at least 70 per cent of their revenue as a result of COVID-19.

Landlords must offer tenants at least a 75 per cent reduction in their rent for April, May and June.

The CECRA loans, which cover 50 per cent of a tenant’s rent, will be forgiven if the landlord complies with the program’s conditions. Those include an agreement to not attempt to recover forgiven rent when the program ends.

“(The moratorium on evictions) is great news for tenants to buy them some time to get their business back to some form of normal,” Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve McLellan said in the release.

“It should be seen by landlords and tenants as a tool to sustain a long-term relationship. COVID-19 has impacted all businesses and this provides positive news and some welcome temporary protection for many.”